Aegis
by FandomPariah
Summary: A new threat bearing a familiar name is gathering its' forces. Tommy led a force of over 100 rangers in a desperate attempt to buy time. 20 years later a new generation of Power Rangers are being assembled to defend the galaxy. This is an OC centric story, though several canon characters will appear and have prominent roles.
1. Prologue

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Prologue Part One – The Beginning**

Kimberley Hart examined her surroundings with wary eyes and a slight frown creasing her face, the room she was the current sole inhabitant of was clearly sort of conference room with a distinctly military utilitarianism that had carried over from the rest of the facility that she was currently in; steel grey walls decorated only by screens displaying maps and readouts that the former Pink Ranger had no context for, whilst the centrepiece of the rooms' furniture was a large oval table of deep reddish brown wood that had been polished to such a degree that the glaring strobe lights above reflected brilliantly from its' surface. The only other occupant of the room was a blonde woman slightly younger than Kimberley herself clad in a black uniform whose left shoulder bore an insignia resembling a pink and white shield with the number five imposed over it. The younger woman, whom Kimberley had heard referred to as Commander Mitchell carried herself with a stiff tension, standing to attention at the door in utter silence; Kimberley surmised with a small smile from the occasional furtive glances that Commander Mitchell was casting in her direction and the insignia she wore that the younger woman knew exactly who Kimberley was and was in fact one of her many successors in the role of Pink Ranger.

All in all, Kimberley found the Lightspeed Aquabase to be something of an anticlimax.

It was undeniable that Project Lightspeed had been Earths' first successful attempt to harness the powers of the Morphing Grid without alien intervention and that what had been achieved here with nothing but willpower, ingenuity and scraps from felled monsters, aliens and destroyed Megazords was truly breathtaking; Kimberley had no doubt that Billy would find dozens of kindred spirits here, but it was in her mind no substitute for the original Command Centre.

Eventually Kimberley's musings were interrupted by the hissing of decompressing air as the door to the conference room slid open to allow a trio of people inside, the first of which was clearly Commander Mitchell's superior judging by his highly decorated uniform; his true relationship with the younger officer however came as a surprise

"Dad, where's-"

"Things will be explained Dana" the mans' voice was softer than his broad shouldered and barrel chested physique would lead one to assume; both of their voices spoke of deep worry and the expression on the mans' face made it clear that something truly harrowing was afoot, an assumption which Kimberley gave more credence to as she took in the sight of the other two newcomers.

The first of which was a silver haired woman with a piercing gaze clad in a business suit whom Kimberley recognised from her various appearances on television as the scientist, philanthropist and businesswoman Grace Sterling; the second was a man with tied back hair wearing grey fatigues soaked in blood that was distinctly the wrong colour, more of which had dried in the mans' tied back hair

"This man needs medical attention!" Kimberley declared, incensed that the same black suited agents had asked her to join them would either use such force to collect a target or else simply ignore his wounds; Dana Mitchell gave an approving nod at this

"I'm fine, thank you for your concerns but this cannot wait" Kimberley found herself raising an eyebrow at this, also noting that the man had an accent that she couldn't place at all.

"Andros is right, please be seated….What will be discussed here is of utmost importance" Kimberley's heart thundered in her chest at this, it seemed that the inevitable had finally happened and the past life as a Power Ranger that she had given up had followed her; she tried to ignore the cold dread that seeped into her as she realised that there were far too few rangers here for a threat as grave as what was being implied.

"Introductions" the man said firmly, as if bracing himself for what was to come "I am Captain William Mitchell, head of Project Lightspeed, this is my daughter Commander Dana Mitchell; Pink Lightspeed Ranger"

"Former" Dana corrected "I haven't seen active duty in several years" the Captain continued

"This is Andros, Red Astro Ranger" Kimberley tried to tell herself that the sudden anger that rose up within her was irrational, she had never met the alien before but knew of his deeds; she knew enough to know that blaming him for Zordon's death would be cruel and unfair.

"Kimberley Hart, the Pink Ranger of what is widely considered to be Earths first team of Power Rangers" Kimberley found herself cocking her head in confusion at the way the description was worded whilst the man turned to the final occupant of the room

"And Grace Sterling, CEO of Promethea and former Red Ranger"

"For a single mission during the sixties to keep Rita locked away" the older woman explained, sensing Kimberley's confusion "And Bill I do think we should hurry this along if things are as dire as you seem to believe"

"Agreed" Andros hissed through clenched teeth, wincing as movement caused lances of pain to shoot through his body; still he persisted and reached into the jacket of his bloodstained uniform and produced a small rectangular device that Kimberley noted was clearly alien in origin "Captain Mitchell, whilst you know some of what has occurred it will be quicker to simply allow Tommy to explain the specifics"

"Of course it's Tommy" Kimberley laughed "Why wouldn't it be" her high-school sweetheart had grown to become a hero, leader, mentor and role model to countless people including other teams of rangers and whilst she may not have been in contact with the once Green Ranger in over a decade she was still proud of the man he had become.

"I am so sorry" Andros's words and the pitiable, broken tone they had been uttered in conspired to send ice through her veins and then the device came to life; an alien hologram projector that Tommy had most likely carried on his person for years in case of just such an eventuality. He wore the suit of the Green Ranger, blood streaking his face and the broken fragments of his helmet beside him as he lay propped against a ruined wall on some alien planet, explosions lighting what sky could be seen in the shot. Kimberley knew what would come next yet hoped with all her heart that the words wouldn't come.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as they did

"If you're seeing this then it means I'm already dead"

"No" Kimberley mouthed "No, not like this"

"I don't have much time" the holographic Tommy moved and Kim saw blood coating his gauntleted hands as he applied pressure to a wound on his chest "I gathered as many rangers as I could, over a hundred of us; we needed to break the Ranger code, self defence wouldn't work against this threat, we had to hit first….I think we've failed; we've failed and all those Rangers are dead because of me. I'm begging whoever hears this to find the families of Conor McKinight, Kira Ford, Ethan James and Trent Fernandez-Mercer….tell them that their children were heroes" the room was deathly silent, Andros and Captain Mitchell unable to meet the eyes of Dana, Kimberley or Grace as they processed the information. Then Tommy continued to speak, voice still wavering with pain and grief and the sounds of an ongoing battle still raging in the background

"There was an army building on the far side of the galaxy, far further than humanity has travelled yet; they were building on a planet called Acheron; the seat of the Dark Empire….they were planning on launching an invasion on every planet in their path, but Ranger friendly planets, Earth specifically were their main target and they had the resources to do it, we had to stop them" as Tommy made several worryingly wet coughing sounds Kimberley turned to her fellow rangers, all of whom were plainly terrified of the threat; whilst silently trying to comprehend why they had not been offered the chance to fight alongside their fellow Rangers once more. Tommy continued speaking

"The Dark Empire ships have never had large scale teleportation technology like Rangers use, they operate in smaller factions or teleport individual warriors to an area where they could be more effective; it explains a lot about the way Lord Zedd's attacks happened….this was different, they'd built a series of teleportation gates around the planet that would have allowed them to bring their entire fleet to us at any time. We destroyed the gates, we crippled most of their fleet….it isn't over, all we could do was buy the people that are left some time"

"My God" Dana mouthed, unable to keep herself from breaking the silence

"Captain Mitchell of Project Lightspeed" Tommy's voice was becoming weaker as the message went on "Andros will be able to provide you with a list of all remaining rangers, they won't be enough alone but they can train others; you have the means to ensure that the rangers who sacrificed themselves didn't do so in vain. Professor Sterling, I trust that you understand the severity of the situation and that I can count on your assistance"

"You can indeed Mister Oliver" Grace nodded, uncaring of whether or not Tommy could hear her at that moment

"Andros I need you to ensure that this message reaches the right people….you know what else I need you to do and I am sorry that it's come to that"

"Karone and Zhane are delivering the message to Triforia, Aquitar and the other Ranger aligned worlds" Andros said simply, offering no further explanation for Tommy's cryptic words

"And Kimberley….I'm sorry to bring you back into this, I'm sorry for a lot of things….mostly for everything that could have been. The threat you're all facing is unlike anything we've fought before; may the Power protect you all"

The message ended

Kimberley was numb, waves of shock and grief washing over her as tears streaked down her cheeks; intense yet unable to leave any lasting impact as her mind struggled with the sheer scale of what had been revealed until the frightened voice of Dana Mitchell spoke out

"Dad, where's Ryan?" William Mitchell's expression matched Kimberley's own and when he spoke it was obvious that he was fighting back tears

"Ryan survived, barely….Your brother is currently in a coma being attended to by our best doctors"

"Captain Mitchell, Commander" Grace bowed her head respectfully "I don't mean to intrude upon this but we most focus on the task at hand here; are there countermeasures in place for something like this, what's our timescale?"

"Twenty years, give or take...Maybe long enough to mount a coordinated defence" Andros answered her "Our fellow Rangers sold their lives dearly, it will take the Dark Empire a long time to recover from their losses, but their hatred for us will only grow in response"

"Good" Grace nodded, mind racing "In that time I can I have the Terra-Venture project expanded for colonies and safe havens across the galaxy, orbital defences and the like; rest assured Captain Mitchell that Lightspeed will have the full support of Promethea"

"Andros" Kimberley finally spoke "Have whoever you send to Aquitar contact Billy-"

"It's already being done" the alien assured her, leaving Kimberley to sort through her own thoughts for a few moments until an obvious question occurred to her

"Who were you fighting against? This invasion force, who was leading it"

"Well I have no doubt that they will be calling themselves Lord Zedd" the voice belonged to a newcomer that nobody had heard enter and both William and Dana Mitchell rose to their feet preparing to draw weapons; the man who had simply appeared in the room made a gesture that implied they meant no harm

"I come in peace and to your aid" the man said simply in a soothing voice, he was tall and thin, elderly with a narrow and heavily lined face; greying raven black hair with a small somewhat scruffy beard and eyes that seemed to hold great wisdom, his outfit seemed painfully at odds with his surroundings; a pale brown hooded robe

"Who are you?" Captain Mitchell demanded, hand still resting on a weapon that Kimberley noted was based loosely on the blade blaster she had once carried

"These days I go by the name Zebidiah Lord" the man answered before his voice was transformed into an inhuman growling which Kimberley would recognise anywhere with his next words "But Tommy knew me by a different name"

"Zedd!" Kimberley exclaimed as she leapt from her seat, a bolt of light streaking past her as Captain Mitchell fired; only to fizzle out of existence with a casually dismissive wave of Zedd's hand

"Lord Zedd" he corrected, then his voice returned to what it had been "And once but not any more, not since Zordon's great sacrifice….changed me. And besides, Lord Lord would be redundant"

"What do you want?" Kimberley bit the words out, venom lacing every syllable

"To help you" the man who had once been Lord Zedd answered simply and despite the absurdity of it the former Pink Ranger couldn't help but think that he might be telling the truth

"Why, because this new Lord Zedd usurped you and-"

"Nothing so mundane" Zebidiah Lord chuckled good naturedly despite the weapon that Captain Mitchell was still aiming at his chest

"The being you once knew as Lord Zedd no longer exists, this man just happens to carry his memories" Andros surprised his fellow Rangers' by coming to the former tyrants' aid

"Then explain" Kimberley demanded

"I was not the only one to be changed; my Rita joined me in becoming human and in doing so, she became susceptible to all of your human weaknesses and illnesses but, before she was ripped from me, taken by something so far beneath her she had time to grow to love this planet and the human spirit….I will not see the things that my Rita loved destroyed, not by unruly children" Kimberley's head was spinning at this point, this was simply too much for her although others present were eager to offer their own lines of questioning

"Children" Dana found herself cut off by a simple nod from Zebidiah

"Lord Zedd was never my given name, it's the title for the supreme leader of the people of Acheron and it's vassal worlds. With my….changing, the title passed to my firstborn, Thrax"

"Myself and other Red Rangers stopped his attempt to reactivate Serpenterror" Andros murmured

"And in doing so doomed us all to the reign of my second born son" Zebidiah huffed "If you had allowed me to return to this worlds' moon I would have spoken with my firstborn and convinced him to abandon his efforts against this world"

"You think you could've done that?" Kimberley demanded incredulously

"Thrax was honourable, in the manner of Acheron. No doubt by human standards he was a villain but he would have seen reason" Zebidiah paused, expression darkening "His brother though, his brother is a monster by all standards, there will be no quarter given in the war that is to come….He is unfit to carry the title of Lord Zedd"

"I believe him" Kimberley muttered, hating herself as she said it "I never thought I'd say this but I believe that he wants to help us"

"Indeed" the man who had once been Lord Zedd took a seat at the table and made a show of making himself comfortable before turning to Captain Mitchell

"So, there's much to do….let's be getting on with it"

* * *

**Prologue Part Two – Twenty Years Later**

The same conference room in which the initial warning from a departed Tommy Oliver had been given was dimly lit and occupied by a trio of people, all of whom were studying a shimmering projection which showed the position of Earth and its' allies in relation to the wider galaxy, with several key locations and movements of groups of spacefaring vessels annotated.

Despite the familiarity of the setting Project Lightspeed along with the Earth as a whole had undergone drastic changes; for the first time in human history the planet was united against a common foe and with the singular focus and the aid of several extraterrestrial allies human science and engineering had developed at an incredible rate, around the planet hung a ring of space stations, each similar in design to the first colony humanity had ever sent out into the void; a collection of colonies ready to depart should Earth ever fall, surrounded by a second ring composed of battle-stations and a supporting armada of warships.

All of it could be brought to bear at a word from any of the three people currently in the conference room; Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell who had succeeded her father after his passing and her trusted advisors, Captain Kimberley Hart and the unranked Zebidiah Lord.

"Has there been any further word from Princess Shayla?" Dana asked as she surveyed the map of the galaxy, the time was almost upon them and they needed to be ready

"The Princess of the Animarium stands by her convictions" Zebidiah informed her, Kimberley following up

"She will not allow the Animarium to be weaponised under any circumstances, she still distrusts machinery in all its' forms; however in addition to her current conservation efforts she is willing to take refugees and have the Wild Zords defend the planet should our enemies make it through our defences"

"That's all we can ask, tell her that we're grateful for her assistance" Dana sighed "What of our specialist defence forces?"

"Lieutenant Myers is happy to report that another class of Silver Guardians will soon be ready to join active service" Kimberley informed her, the Quantum Ranger had merged the former security force into Project Lightspeed and allowed it to transition into an elite team of fighters whose purpose was to defend Earths' colony ships until their departure; many former Rangers and their allies had joined Eric in training these individuals at several sites across the planet, including the Aquabase itself; among them were former Yellow Ranger Taylor Earhardt, TJ Johnson and to the surprise of many rangers Zen-Aku the wolf-like Duke Org.

"Good….as much as I dislike how we find some of our recruits I feel like we're going to need everyone we can spare"

"Teenagers with attitude might not be enough this time around" Zebidiah noted with an amused edge to his voice which earned the once Lord Zedd baleful glares from his companions until Kimberley spoke again

"Justin tells me that there's been a breakthrough on the new Morphers; he and Billy assure me that they'll be ready….although the final component will still need to be retrieved from Phaedos"

"Understood" Dana nodded; the former Blue Ranger Justin Stewart had taken over the role of Angela Rawlings, once Fairweather upon her transfer to another project, the Turbo Ranger had been working closely with his predecessor and Kimberley's team-mate Billy Cranston despite Billy still residing on Aquitar. The two of them had surmised, much to the annoyance of Professor Rawlings that the original Morphers designed by Project Lightspeed suffered from a more tenuous connection to the Morphing Grid than those used by other Ranger teams and had begun reverse engineering ancient Eltarian Technology and deciphering the secrets of the dead races' science in an effort to create a new generation of Power Rangers

"What about our candidate?" Dana pressed on, determined to see the effort to defend Earth come to fruition

"Eric tells me that she's progressing at a phenomenal rate" Kimberley answered with a proud smile "I've seen her train myself….I think she's more ready than most Rangers are in the beginning"

"Good, the candidate on Aquitar is making similar progress" Dana informed her advisors

"I've received word from Mirinoi, Kendrix and Kai believe they've found a suitable candidate and will move to contact them at your discretion" Zebidiah added

"Have them do it" Dana instructed before turning her attention completely to the former Lord Zedd "What of our efforts off of Earth, are our allies ready?"

"All but Triforia….their pacifism continues" Zebidiah sighed with obvious disdain "I've had word from Andros's ship-"

"Not Andros himself?"

"No….He believes he may have located our final two candidates however they are in locations that will make them difficult to contact; one of them especially so"

"I see" Dana frowned at the development "I believe it's time that we assemble our Rangers"

"My son's forces have made themselves known?" Zebidiah asked, a mix of emotions in his voice; Dana nodded slowly

"A few small scouting ships here and here" she pointed at a point on the map of the galaxy well outside of Acheron's influence yet still not close enough to be an immediate threat "Our outpost on the moon was alerted yet no other ships followed"

"They're feeling us out" Zebidiah growled "Have the Moonbase on alert" the Lightspeed Moonbase was built from what had once been Lord Zedd's palace and had provided Earths' defenders with a wealth of technology to dissect and arcane magic for those with the means to utilise; mention of the base never failed to bring a smile to Kimberley Hart's face as it may have been under the command of Lieutenant Doggie Cruger but the canine alien was aided greatly by her former classmates Bulk and Skull; though the base was primarily known within Lightspeed for being home to a team dubbed 'Strike Squad Alpha' a group of fighters who had earned a reputation of ruthless efficiency in their pursuit of Space Pirates and would be conquerors as well as having a habit of wearing helmets styled to resemble former Power Rangers as a sign of respect.

"If Lord Zedd is sending scouts then it means that an attack will be imminent….we just don't know where" Kimberley murmured "Dana's right, we need to assemble the team"

"Kim be ready to bring in our candidate and inform Justin of the developments, Zebidiah send word to Aquitar, Mirinoi and the Megaship" Dana ordered, her mind racing as she tried to consider the countless ways that the opening salvo in the battle to come could play out"

"Well then, if it's settled" Zebidiah spread his hands "I'm sure that between two former Pink Rangers one of you has some inspiring words?"

"May the Power protect them" Kimberley nodded solemnly "They'll need it"

**Authors Notes:**

So welcome to this story, I'm not sure how often it's going to update but I do have the first arc of the story planned out which will take us to Chapter Three.  
Also fair warning and spoilers; Chapter Three is where the rangers will morph for the first time, if you consider that a slow burn and too long of a wait I understand.  
I know that the prologue was exposition heavy but I promise that this won't be the case for the following chapters, I try and break my exposition down into sensible chunks with acceptable timing; consider this my _"In a long time ago in a galaxy far far away"_ to set the scene.  
Also, if you're a fan of RWBY then I'd be remiss if I didn't plug my writing for that fandom here….also if you're a fan of shows with a lot of heart that mix adventure, sci-fi and fantasy; as well as having heroes with bad-ass transforming weapons, well then give RWBY by Rooster Teeth a try; Vol.7 is premiering soon so now is a good chance to catch up.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
I'm sure you all figured out that it was Dana long before I gave her name.  
I mean we can assume from Cole's reaction in Forever Red that at least some of the newer Rangers hold the originals up as role models.  
This is just a headcanon of mine, I'm almost sure that there's no basis for it in canon but I feel like the other rangers; the teams who had advanced alien tech and ancient magic to work with probably gave Lightspeed some sideways looks; their base and equipment whilst functional was always a bit cobbled together by comparison.  
Okay I'm going to assume that people have read the Boom comics and know who Grace is but I'll also say right now that this story takes place in a different timeline; Grace led a team of Rangers in the 60s and founded Promethea but the Drakkon storyline never happened and the 'Original' Rangers have never met her, she probably won't be a major character I just thought I'd be remiss if I didn't include her here.  
Did we ever see what colour Andros bleeds? Also the thing about hi having an accent, again a headcanon of mine….they guy's an alien, he should have an accent that doesn't sound like anywhere on Earth.  
"_Of course it's Tommy why wouldn't it be" _and that's the reason I've removed Tommy so early on in the story, which I'm sure I'll get some kind of negativity for. Tommy is too powerful, to me Power Rangers is fundamentally a story about teamwork and unity, Tommy breaks that premise by being objectively superior to the rangers' whose team he ends up joining.  
Tommy could have used his phone to record that last message, but in my head he'd been preparing for something like this for years; much like he would have been in the cancelled "Hexagon" series that ended up becoming Ninja Storm instead.  
So the Dino Thunder Rangers will definitely not be appearing in this.  
Acheron is one of the rivers of Hades in Greek mythology, as far as I'm aware Lord Zedd's home planet has never been touched on in canon; although funny thing is when the '95 movie came I out I misheard one of Zedd's lines to Ivan Ooze as _"Nobody crosses Lord Zedd of Nim" _and for the longest time I thought _"Nim"_ was the name of Zedd's planet.  
I feel like my explanation for Tommy taking a Ranger army out there works, it also explains why Lord Zedd never just sent an invasion force; his people don't have the means to move large numbers like that.  
We'll see some of what Andros has been up to in the next few chapters.  
So the Titanium Ranger is still more or less alive, depending on if I have a use for him.  
Zebidiah Lord, or the old Lord Zedd; imagine Axelrod (RIP) but with a beard.  
He still has some of his magic despite the human form that he took on after Zordon's death.  
So that's the threat that the new team will be facing, a new Lord Zedd whilst the old Lord Zedd is an ally; also note that Zedd's people had something of a code of honour: A single monster at a time sent to face the rangers and chances to surrender were offered, the fights were if anything closer to duels or trial by combat than an actual war.  
And now we're in the 'Present' day I had to set the scene a little, Earth is well defended at this point; which in all likelihood means that there probably haven't been any new teams of Rangers for a few years just because no threats that require one have gotten close.  
Zen-Aku went wandering with Merrick at the end of Wild Force and I don't think he was ever seen again, so here he is helping some of the old Rangers train new recruits….also the comment about _"I don't like how we find some of our recruits" _will be touched on.  
Phaedos, which means I'm merging '95 movie, the shows and the comics….I don't think I'll be using the 2017 movie though.  
Also my comments about the Lightspeed Rangers having a less stable connection to the Morphing Grid ties into my earlier headcanon, their Morphers are the cutting edge of human technology but compared to the blending of magic and science that Zordon created they're still basic and unreliable.  
So there's one of the major premises I wanted in this story: All five Rangers are from different planets, Earth, Aquitar, Mirinoi and two others.  
The Moonbase felt like something that just needed to be done, otherwise there are just to many bases and palaces just lying around on the moon doing nothing.  
I want you to imagine Doggie having to work with Bulk and Skull.  
Also yes Strike Squad Alpha are the A-Squad from SPD, although in this timeline SPD has never formed….or hasn't been formed yet. Do with that information what you will.  
Honestly I'm enjoying writing Zebidiah.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	2. Primary Colours (Arc 01)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 01 – Primary Colours**

For Mercy Jackson of Silver Guardian Cadet group one-nine-nine-three the Light-speed Aquabase, which had been expanded and improved drastically since its' initial creation did not represent the cutting edge of human technology or a bastion from which a defence against alien invaders could be mounted the way it did to many of the citizens of Mariner Bay above it, or indeed the Earth as a whole.

To Mercy it was simply home.

The idea to train children as warriors and soldiers from childbirth was one that had caused severe backlash and animosity towards Project Lightspeed and the united Earth government which it served, riots in the street only being halted by the arrival and testimony of several former Power Rangers; many of whom took the decision to unmask themselves and tell their own stories and argue that the world had in fact been defended by children and teenagers for a generation, Project Lightspeed simply aimed to ensure that if the next team of Power Rangers were also too young for the weight that be placed upon their shoulders then they would at least have the training and support of their elders. Eventually a compromise and a status quo had been achieved, those who wished to enlist in one of the planets' many defensive forces could do so at age sixteen though would never be deployed into active combat before the age of eighteen; however those children who found themselves as wards of the state, orphaned or left in foster care would almost inevitably find themselves in a training facility operated by the Silver Guardians. In the twenty years since Tommy Oliver's fateful warning a new generation of elite fighter had been created, whilst they were not Power Rangers the new Silver Guardians were trained from infancy and were entrusted with the best armour and equipment that the scientists of Earth and its' allies could invent.

To the recently turned seventeen year old Mercy Jackson that inevitable deployment and uncertain fate seemed to be both a looming threat on the horizon and at the same time something ludicrously far removed from her current surrounding.

She was at school.

More specifically she was inside the school and training facility that she and her fellow orphans and other future Silver Guardians spent the majority of their time in, the area was contained within one of the many cylindrical tower like structures of the Aquabase whilst their quarters were housed in another, a series of bunks and cots overseen by an officer trained to deal with the wants and needs of children for younger recruits who eventually progressed to having a small apartment like dormitory of their own as they aged. The Aquabase was not all that Mercy knew, cadets were free to travel to the surface of Mariner Bay during their free time and allowed as much of a normal childhood as possible; yet it was still the only place Mercy Jackson had ever called home, she had been told that her parents had perished in one of the last monster attacks to reach Earth before the invader could be stopped and frankly she had no memory of them.

"If they're not here in five minutes we're legally allowed to leave!" a voice called out, causing Mercy to focus on her surroundings and chuckle along with the rest of her classmates; gym class was one of the areas where their schoolwork went above and beyond any regular curriculum and was taught almost exclusively by former Rangers and veteran members of Lightspeed, the Silver Guardians or other groups that had fought against aliens and monsters such as the rebels of KO-Thirty Five.

"You're welcome to try" Mercy called back to the speaker with a grin "Swim up to the surface, let us know how far you get" even the cadet who had made the initial comment laughed at her rebuttal as Mercy returned to the at ease position that they were expected to hold until their instructor for the class arrived.

She was a well built and well proportioned girl, standing at just over five and at half feet she was a little taller than average with a strong an athletic physique earned through years of hard training; defined muscles coiled beneath light brown, almost bronzed skin. Her face lacked the conditioning that her body had undergone and was more childlike for it, cheeks that could be described as prominent if not truly puffy and a light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose whilst her eyes were large and a deep shade of brown, drawing ones' gaze towards them despite the fact that they were constantly moving, habitually checking her surroundings. Silver Guardian cadets were granted a considerable amount of leniency in regards to regulations regarding hair and so Mercy's own thick and bushy curls which were naturally dark in colour had been dyed a fiery red at their tips; the same shade as the tank-top she wore beneath her plain and unflattering grey fatigues that along with her heavy black combat boots were her uniform. Other such small indulgences were earrings shaped to resemble the embossed lightning bolt emblem often associated with the Power Rangers and a small necklace with a pendant which bore the words _"Go! Go!"_ in vibrant rainbow colours.

"Aye Captain Tyranno!" the nickname Mercy had been given by the other cadets caused a round of raucous laughter; she had always been something of an aficionado, or as her friends described her a Fan-Girl of the Power Rangers who had saved the world countless times, especially the original team; this combined with the fact that her fellow cadets seemed to default to her leadership in many training simulations and her kind, outgoing and caring attitude had caused her to be given many nicknames based on the idea that she saw herself as a Red Ranger archetype.

The laughter soon died out, reducing to gasps and hushed whispers which were soon lost beneath the sound of booted yet somehow feather light footsteps and armour whose panels moved against each other with no more sound than a faint breeze

"Oh this is gonna be rough" someone muttered from beside Mercy, she merely kept her eyes forward and said nothing. Zen-Aku, despite his nature as an Org was not a cruel or brutal instructor but he was a demanding and stern one, as evidenced by the first words that left his maw; many of the students wondering, not for the first time, just where armour ended and living being began as the lupine mask and his obsidian armour each seemed to meld with his flesh and pelt at some indiscernible point.

"There will be no warm-up exercises today. My….colleagues insist that I give you proper introductions before a lesson; your enemy will offer no such niceties and I am here to teach" the words came with low primal growls and his amber eyes raked across the cadets, glowing faintly; Mercy seemed to sense what would come next before the Duke Org spoke and fought the temptation to mutter a curse under her breath as her stomach plummeted, knowing that Zen-Aku would hear it.

"Your more recent lessons have focused on overcoming your terrain, using it to your advantage so that you may draw close to your enemy and strike….this lesson is therefore the logical next step; the one true test of a warriors' skill" his eyes seemed to shine a little brighter with eagerness "Single combat. Which of you will be facing me first?" the cadets stood rigid and silent, scarcely daring to breath lest they inadvertently draw Zen-Aku's attention. None of them were cowards by any standard and had it been any other instructor over a dozen challengers would have stepped forwards but this was different, here was a being who had fought an entire team of Rangers single handed and won on several occasions.

"Very well" Zen-Aku rumbled, scanning the group almost hungrily before his eyes locked on Mercy "You! Jackson, step forward and face me. My colleagues speak well of you, let us gauge the abilities of this class" hearing that she was the metric by which her classmates were to be judged Mercy squared her shoulders and stepped forwards with her head held high, removing her jacket and passing it to a friend as she did so; gym classes were taught in uniform for the simple reason that they would be expected to be in uniform and carrying their equipment in the field, though she doubted she would be reprimanded for it here.

The two of them stepped out into the centre of the gymnasium, more akin to a basketball court or something similar with its' hardwood floor than the dojo it was often used as; around them the other cadets spread out, vying for the best seats.

"We spar until you submit or are unable to continue….I will be trying not to harm you" Zen-Aku's voice was quieter and the snarling that permeated his speech seemed to lessen for a moment "Begin!"

Mercy ran forwards, hoping to strike first and hard; it was a foolish and hope and she knew it even before Zen-Aku confirmed it by ignoring her wild windmill of a feint with her left and blocked her right jab with the slightest movement, pushing her arm aside before similarly deflecting her left hook with an almost casual flick of the wrist. From there Mercy launched her offensive in earnest, a series of punches, chops, palm strikes and elbows that were all countered and parried with seemingly no effort from her opponent until she eventually forced Zen-Aku to move; a triumphant thrill surging through her as the Duke Org weaved beneath her spinning backhand and simply took a single loping pace back

"I'm not afraid of the big bad wolf" Mercy smirked, faintly aware of her friends cheering her on from the stands; giving her a much needed boost in confidence. Zen-Aku said nothing and simply made a 'come' gesture with his hand. Mercy rushed in again, this time taking to the air and launching a trio of powerful kicks directly at her opponents' horned skull and pressing onwards with a spinning heel kick the moment she landed; it sailed overhead harmlessly as Zen-Aku weaved beneath it and blocked her follow up barrage of kicks and knee strikes aimed at any part of him that seemed unguarded until finally he seemed to decide that enough was enough; catching Mercy by the ankle as she delivered a powerful side kick and simply hauling her from her feet and across the gymnasium. She hit the ground in a crumpled heap, slowly struggling to rise whilst Zen-Aku closed in on her, speaking almost conversationally

"Good, adaptation and improvisation….but your weakness, is not your technique" Mercy gave only a slight nod of acknowledgement before launching another heel kicked which was avoided with ease. Then Zen-Aku began to fight back, his own spinning kick rustling Mercy's hair and grazing her ear as it tore through the space she had occupied a moment earlier in a whoosh of displaced air. From then every blow that Mercy attempted was countered and responded to in kind, Zen-Aku's armoured form proving painful to strike as he began to block punches with elbow strikes and deflect kicks with his own armoured shins before another kick caught Mercy in the gut and flung her back several feet; she landed in a crouch and sucked in painful gulps of air through clenched teeth. Even through her pain she was uncomfortably aware of the fact that Zen-Aku was holding back considerably and attempted to rush at him once again, losing was one thing but being toyed with was something else entirely. The Duke Org sidestepped her kick aimed for his chest and span around her faster than she could respond, seizing her lead leg whilst kicking her back foot out from beneath her and sending her tumbling to the ground, her frantic attempt to fling herself to her feet was pre-empted by Zen-Aku catching her legs as she sprung upwards, slamming her back into the ground before driving his knee into the floor beside her skull with enough force to crack it.

"Impressive, little one" Zen-Aku murmured

"You just wiped the floor with me" Mercy pointed out, trying to focus on anything other than the pain coursing though her from what the Org considered light sparring

"Perhaps" he chuckled softly, a sound at odds with his bestial appearance "But it was a test of your bravery and determination as much as your abilities; you have those to spare" with that he hauled Mercy to her feet and allowed her to limp towards the stands where her friends were waiting, he was now ready to begin teaching his lesson with the certainty that he had his students full attention; at that moment however the doors to the gymnasium were opened

"Zen-Aku, if I may borrow one of your students. I need to speak with them" the speaker wore the black uniform of a Lightspeed officer though in place of the emblem which could be seen throughout the Aquabase was a stylised pterodactyl and the collar of a pink shirt could be seen beneath her jacket. Mercy sighed, expecting the teasing to begin any moment; the fact she had once let slip that she had something of a crush on Captain Kimberley Hart, former Pink Power Ranger had been the subject of many jokes from her fellow cadets.

"Of course Captain" Zen-Aku growled, happy that Kimberley made no attempt to force an official rank or title onto him the way that some of the other humans did, in his own mind the Org had decided that he would carry the title of Duke or none at all. Kim nodded and spoke loud enough to be heard by all

"Jackson, come with me please!" Mercy's world seemed to come to a screeching halt for a second before a fellow cadet nudged her into motion and she made her way towards the Captain amidst a barrage of whispered questions, the same question she asked herself but found no answer to

'_Mercy, what did you do?'_

* * *

The planet of Aquitar was, contrary to what one would assume a scorching place, its' continents having been blasted by its' sun and lost beneath vast melting ice caps aeons ago when the planets' sun had grown volatile and even now the waters closest to the surface were perpetually in a state of being boiled and replaced by storms that would have been considered catastrophic on any other world; yet far below, in the abyss whose darkness was lit only by the cities that the amphibious inhabitants of the world had built upon the blackened and blasted ground the water was merely warm, pleasantly so in fact

A contributing factor to why Tempestus had remained outside of the walls of his ocean city for far longer than was strictly necessary.

The young Aquitian had been recognised by those around him and soon thereafter the elders who ruled the city as something of a prodigy in matters of technology, devouring knowledge voraciously at a rate that stunned even his adoptive parents, despite their own academic leanings. Cestria was immensely proud of the child that she and Billy had reared, even if he seemed destined to follow his fathers' path in life rather than the arts of healing, both physical and spiritual. Initially Tempestus had been petitioned by those who ruled his home to venture out into the depths and make some much needed repairs to part of the cities' structure that had been damaged by the planets' mega-fauna; that task had been completed a while ago and Tempestus had simply disabled the lighting rig that he had brought with him and begun to meditate, floating in a cross-legged position whilst remaining tethered to the exterior of the city to prevent himself from being carried away, contemplating the duty that had been given to him and the destiny he would soon embark upon.

He was eighteen Aquitian years of age and stood at a fraction under six feet tall, with a lithe and slender build that spoke of someone who was physically capable but preferred to push themselves in other areas. His skin was dark which served to highlight the faintly golden cartilage which protected his sensory organs, stretching from the bridge of his nose around his ears in a formation that those from other planets said resembled a mask, as well as the purple ridges adorning the top of his bald and somewhat wrinkled head, which were perhaps a shade more vibrant than those of the average Aquitian. His clothes billowed around him in the darkness, traditional Aquitian garb consisting of a loose fitting tunic, dark blue to the point of blending in with the water around him which was adorned with a lighter blue trim and golden fastenings and ornamentation which declared the city to which he belonged and his status within it as well as a pair of similarly loose off-white pants, whilst his feet were covered by a pair of golden boots which reached to his calves and were far lighter than their bulky appearance would suggest.

The sensation of movement close by didn't startle Tempestus yet it did force him to return his focus to his surroundings and open his eyes slowly, eyes which were a pale pink in colour and had a glassy, almost crystalline quality to them; as if they had been made from one of Aquitiar's city sized coral reefs. He remained calm and still as something continued to move in the darkness that surrounded him, the tip of a gargantuan flipper passed overhead and a moment later another cut through the water beneath him, Tempestus could faintly see the outline of the creature itself through the murk; a plesion, huge and ancient ocean predators native to the planets' waters since long before the ice caps had melted and Aquitians had made cities, they dwelt in the deepest trenches of what had been the planets' original seabed and were roughly the size of a small vessel when fully grown; a streamlined body which propelled itself with three pairs of flippers and a long muscular tail, a row of broad and spiny fins rose from the back of the beast and tapered down to the base of the tail; the plesion also possessed a long neck, allowing its' vaguely arrowhead shaped skull, which was covered in ridged armour plating and filled with rows of dagger like fangs to whip around and snap up prey at great speed.

Tempestus remained unafraid, controlling his breathing and remaining still as he reasoned that he was not the prey the Plesion was hunting, they were patient and intelligent things, if this one had ventured up from the deep it was already in pursuit of its' next meal and all the Aquitian needed to do was remain unassuming. Eventually he was certain that the plesion was gone and he untethered himself from the cities' exterior before kicking upwards and powering through the water to the nearest opening into the city; a bubble of semi solid light sealing the gaping hole in the vast structure which, to any human that viewed it would appear to resemble the Lightspeed Aquabase albeit built with technology beyond that which Earth possessed and a distinctly alien aesthetic. The bubble was an automatic security system of sorts, sifting out that which was unwelcome in the city whilst allowing vessels and people to enter; Tempestus transitioned to dry and solid land with practised ease, his clothes drying out in moments as the pores of skin thirstily absorbed any moisture they could.

"Tempestus" a familiar voice announced their presence and the teen held his hands together in the traditional Aquitian greeting at the sight of his adoptive parents who made their way over to him, smiling despite the concern etched into every line of their faces

"It's time, isn't it?" he asked in the native tongue of his people, a language which Billy had learned to understand surprisingly quickly, even if speaking it fluently was beyond the limitations of human vocal cords.

"It is" Cestria nodded, reaching out and clasping his shoulder gently "And you've made us proud by accepting your duty unflinchingly"

"We'll walk with you" Billy offered before sliding something from his wrist

"Take this" he urged his son as he pressed the communicator that he had carried fro decades into Tempestus's hands "I know communicators aren't anything special any more….but I want you to have mine"

"Thank you" Tempestus switched to English, his words having the watery quality that all Aquitians had when they attempted to speak an alien language.

"Delphine is waiting" Cestria pointed out and the three of them made their way through the underwater city, talking of many things and assuring each other that they would contact each other as often as possible before eventually coming to an area which, whilst not restricted was still scarcely occupied and well guarded; the long range teleportation chamber which served as a homing beacon for anyone entering Aquitar, any attempts to teleport to the planet without using such a beacon would see the interloper materialise within the boiling waves of the planets' surface.

"Greeting young Tempestus" Delphine, the White Ranger of Aquitar greeted "Cestria, Billy" Tempestus fought the urge to bow and show proper deference to the Ranger; she was a long time family friend after all and his father had been telling him for years that bowing to Rangers was somehow antithetical to what they stood for, yet custom and tradition was ingrained in Aquitian people.

"The Aquabase on Earth is expecting your arrival imminently" Cestria informed him "They have been supplied with a sizeable supply of our planets' water so that is no concern….If you have any reservations-"

"I don't" Tempestus said simply; a barefaced lie and Delphine knew it but the younger Aquitian stood firm, concerns about things such as being separated from ones' own family and the culture shock of living amongst an entirely different species were small things in the face of the threat that currently encroached upon the galaxy.

"Then farewell and I, along with the people of Aquitar wish you good fortune….may the Power protect you" Delphine said solemnly, starting the teleportation sequence as she gestured for Tempestus to step onto one of the many platforms arranged around the chamber in circular formations.

"Send my regards to Kimberley" Billy requested "And please, tell Justin to clean his work area….it's unseemly"

"I will father" Tempestus chuckled softly "Destiny awaits….it's going to be; how do Earthlings say? Radical?"

"I'm not sure they've said that since the nineties" Billy laughed and before he could explain further Tempestus's world was reduced to a flash of light a momentary disorientation followed by a darkness as he teleported.

When he opened his eyes he was no longer on Aquitar.

* * *

Mirinoi contrary to the popular beliefs of those who did not call the world home, was not covered entirely by jungles, the planet although verdant did in fact have its' polar regions, such as they were. Whilst far from the icecaps of Earth the north pole of Mirinoi was an inhospitable place; featuring frigid and steely grey seas upon which islands largely covered by barren rock or dense forests rose, with the individual islands each home to tribes of the planets' inhabitants and various forms of wildlife of the carnivorous and unwelcoming variety.

"Not far now, perhaps you'll make it before you freeze to death" one of the quartet of towering slabs of humanoid muscle that led the way sneered, the insult obvious in their growling and accented tone; their cohorts making no effort to hide their laughter. Kendrix Morgan and Kai Chen shared a glance and made no attempt to retort, they had an objective to complete and had both been warned that the Frost Fang Tribe had a particularly abrasive demeanour.

When Terra Venture had landed upon Mirinoi the inhabitants had been mindful of humanities' history and took care to ensure that those who already called the world home were not driven from their lands or that their culture was not simply subsumed into that of the colonists; instead a tradition of trading and exchange had sprung up between Earths' first extraterrestrial colony and the various tribes of Mirinoi which had overall improved the quality of life for all; the Yellow Galaxy Ranger Maya having served as an emissary to the people of her world until her demise in Tommy Oliver's final mission. There were however, inevitable instances of tribes who took a more suspicious, isolationist or simply free spirited view of the world; rejecting all offers of cooperation with the colonists and the Frost Fang Tribe were noted as being chief amongst them.

Merely orchestrating the audience which Kendrix and Kai were being marched through the forest towards had taken months of careful diplomacy and assurances; the last two remaining Galaxy Rangers had arrived in a small landing craft at the edge of what the tribe claimed was their domain clad in simple uniforms that denoted their ranks as members of the staff of Terra-Venture as well as lightweight, matte black tactical armour although both of these things did little to protect them from the biting cold that they had been subjected to from the moment that they exited their craft. They had carried weapons, if only for the sole purpose of relinquishing them as a show of good faith; members of other tribes who had dealt with the Frost Fang had warned that appearing before them unarmed would only make them suspect a more underhanded attack, and upon doing so the four members of the tribe had turned and silently bid them to follow. The four members of the tribe that escorted them were all massively and powerfully built, each of them clad in leathers and fur pelts taken from the most predatory animals to stalk the forests around them whilst their skins were decorated with tribal tattoos which Kendrix had scrutinized and surmised were some kind of saga of the battles that the wearer had fought in; each of them each carried a heavy sword or axe which whilst roughly made was still a clearly lethal weapon.

Eventually the group came to halt outside of a gate built into the perimeter of the settlement which occupied a massive and clearly artificially made clearing, a wall made of felled trees whose trunks had been sharpened to points

"Who goes there?" a voice from a watchtower behind the wall demanded

"Outlanders, to see the Jarl!" one of their escorts barked back and seconds later the gate was opened without further complaint

"Go" one of the fur clad guards growled to Kendrix and Kai "Jarl Ragnar is waiting in stone circle, centre of village" the two Rangers nodded and departed, Kendrix turning to Kai the moment they were out of earshot

"Odd of them to let us wander freely inside their settlement"

"We're unarmed and outnumbered" Kai countered "But perhaps it's a sign of trust"

"Perhaps" Kendrix sighed, hopeful despite the seeming unlikeliness "Establishing proper contact and trading with the tribes in the polar regions would do wonders for the scientific community, look at some of the plants that they use; I've never seen them before" she became notably more animated as she spoke, examining the structures of stone and wood that they encountered whilst fully aware that she too was being examined by the Frost Fang Tribe as they passed, suspicious and guarded stares of old warriors and the naked curiosity of children following them until they reached the stone circle that had been promised, a sprawling disc which evidently served as a meeting place for the tribe who numbered in the thousands, whilst also having carvings and decoration which implied that it held some ritualistic significance.

Jarl Ragnar, head of the Frost Fang Tribe was indeed waiting for them; a mountain of a man standing at almost seven feet tall bedecked in tattoos so extensive that the ink covered most of his flesh, leaving his skin the same midnight black as the pelt of some monstrous creature which was draped over his shoulders like a cape, a fanged jawbone serving as a crown

"Do not bow outlander, there are no serfs here" his voice was low and rumbling, felt as much as it was heard "The emissary of your star-people, they say you two are special, great warriors!….Tell us, why have you come here!" the Jarl had grown louder, arms splayed wide as he spoke and it became clear that he was catering to the audience that was growing around them.

"I don't think that he'll appreciate us talking around the subject" Kendrix noted, what little she had learned of the tribe informing her judgement

"Agreed" Kai nodded before staring the Jarl in the eye and raising his own voice, uttering words that whilst truthful the soldier suspected would not be well received

"We're here for your daughter!" the sound of snarled curses and blades being drawn filled the air, punctuated by the growling and snapping jaws of whatever creatures the tribe used for hunting.

"Be still!" the Jarl bellowed, his people falling silent in an instant; a guttural laugh colouring his words as he continued "These outlanders did not come here simply to die….they could have done that at their craft and spared themselves a walk in the cold. Aslaug! Come my child, hear what these Outlanders have to say!" the crowd parted and a figure leapt onto the raised stone circle, making their way to the right hand of Jarl Ragnar

"The daughter you came for" the Jarl growled, a good natured smile on his face as he gestured towards her yet both Kendrix and Kai both plainly saw the way his hand twitched towards the sword at his hip, ready to protect his child at a moments' notice.

Aslaug of the Frost Fang seemed to be everything that the seafaring traders of Mirinoi had promised when they told the commanders of Terra-Venture about a young woman within the tribes who led entire armies in her fathers' name and would certainly make a fine warrior in the darkness that those all across the galaxy knew was coming. The eighteen year old girl stood at six and a half feet tall and was powerfully built, the brown bear like pelt slung across her shoulders serving to highlight just how broad and muscular those shoulder and indeed her arms were, this was a fighter who had grown and trained in the harshest of climates surrounded by the most dangerous of foes and it showed plainly. She had the complexion of someone who spent the majority of their time outdoors, pale skin reddened by the sun and highlighting several small scars where blades had nicked her; tattoos of jagged and twisting bands of iconography encircled both of her bulging biceps whilst a stylised representation of a snarling wolf-like animal decorated her left forearm and a solid band of black ink spanned across her eyelids and the bridge of her nose, making her icy blue eyes more prominent, peering out from a face that was blunt and scowling. Her hair was dusty blonde and cropped close at the back and sides, with a wolf-tail trailing from the top of her head to the tops of her shoulder blades. Beneath her bear-like cloak she wore simple cloth and fabric garments, overlaid with light armour where it would not restrict her moment with the only decoration being a necklace of fangs which neither Kai or Kendrix would struggle to believe that she had taken from the mouths of predators herself.

"Well" Jarl Ragnar demanded "Speak"

"We, um….we came to" Kai trailed off, struggling to find a way to phrase his next words without sounding as though he intended to kidnap the young woman

"A warrior scared to speak plainly" Ragnar grunted before turning to Kendrix "You, witchdoctor; speak" Kendrix took a step forward

"You were present when Mirinoi was turned to stone, yes?" she asked simply the result was a wave of mutterings through the gathered crowd whilst Ragnar nodded slowly

"I was yes, you have gathered that my people are warriors at heart surely….We were made victims that day along the other tribes and we had no magic knives to defend ourselves"

"Another threat is coming" Kendrix said simply, pausing for effect "Myself and Kai were two of the warriors who helped restore Mirinoi; Power Rangers….we think your daughter could be able to help us in the battles to come"

"News of your exploits has reached the star-people" Ragnar noted to his daughter, a touch of pride in his voice

"You want me to fight monsters that ruin worlds?" Aslaug asked; her voice low and husky with the same guttural tones as the rest of her tribe

"We do and we're sorry that it's come to asking children" Kai admitted, noting the way Aslaug bristled and adding "It will mean being away from your people; you'll be fighting alongside warriors from other worlds against the greatest threat ever known"

"It sounds like an adventure" Aslaug said simply flashing a broad and toothy smile; Ragnar let out a burst of booming laughter and the former Power Rangers allowed themselves to believe that they had recruited their candidate without complication, then Aslaug spoke again and her smile turned predatory

"But if you are one of the Power Rangers, then you must prove it to me" without warning an axe was in her hand and she was charging forwards "Face me if you can!" she all but howled as she leapt into the air and brought the blade down in an arc that would see it cleave through Kai's skull

"Go! Galactic!" deep blue light shone and Aslaug was forced to cover her eyes, when she uncovered them her jaw hung open at the sight before her; the blade of her axe had been broken and the helmet of the Power Ranger bore no marks at all to indicate that she had struck it. Her eyes darted from the blade to Kai in his morphed state as her scowling expression transformed into one of giddy excitement

"I take it we have an agreement?" Kai asked, the most calm he had felt since arriving

"On a single condition" Aslaug answered before letting a piercing whistle and adding "Klo will be joining me" neither Ranger had the chance to ask who or what Klo was, as the beast presented itself at that exact moment; a wolf like animal with shaggy golden fur and dark eyes which reached to Aslaug's elbows whilst on all fours, playfully licking her fingers and displaying curved fangs which looked capable of biting through armour.

"Done" Kendrix assured her, disregarding protocol without a second thought

"Father" Aslaug began, turning to Jarl Ragnar "Jarl, by your leave-"

"Go my child" Ragnar's tone was the softest that the Rangers had yet heard it "If your saga is to be written in the starts then so be it….before you leave however; there must be a feast! Come Power Rangers, feast with us and we may yet find common ground!"

"Um….what just happened?" Kendrix muttered to Kai as the blue Ranger de-morphed; the two of them watching the Frost Fang tribe gather around Aslaug, congratulating her and wishing her well in her exploits

"Exactly what we wanted….not what we expected" Kai answered slowly as if struggling to process it himself "Contact Terra-Venture, let them know we'll be returning later than planned"

* * *

Mercy's head was spinning and her entire body felt numb as disbelief, apprehension and pure childlike wonder fought for dominance.

She was going to be a Power Ranger.

Captain Hart had led her to a briefing room whose entrance had been flanked by half a dozen heavily armed Silver Guardians where Vice Admiral Mitchell herself had been the one to explain to her that the time had come to form a new team of heroes to defend the galaxy against the oncoming invasion of the Dark Empire and that Mercy had been selected to be Earths' representative on said team.

After becoming coherent and calm enough to speak Mercy had accepted the offer with boundless enthusiasm, thanking both Dana and Kim profusely and promising them that she would make Lightspeed proud; her doubts only coming later once the initial shock had worn off.

For several hours she had been kept separated from the rest of her fellow cadets and the staff of the Aquabase in general until one of the Silver Guardians keeping watch had informed her cryptically that it was time and led her deep into the restricted bowels of the facility; far beyond areas that she was normally permitted to access. The area that she was led to was an expansive laboratory and holding facility for various experimental pieces of technology much of which Mercy couldn't begin to fathom the purpose of; the area had been cleared and the only two people present once the Silver Guardians had left were the robed Zebidiah Lord whom Mercy knew of by reputation alone, the man had trained many cadets who were deemed to have some potential in the arcane arts and a somewhat round faced man with messy chestnut hair in need of a barber and unbuttoned lab coat, the t-shirt between it being royal blue and emblazoned with the words _'Shift into Turbo'_ seeing this and assuming that she had found a kindred spirit Mercy grinned at the scientist and attempted to make small talk, if only to distract herself from her nerves

"Turbo….now that's a deep cut, a lot of people overlook it"

"I know right; by the way is it tacky that I wear my own merch?" the man pulled back his sleeve to reveal a device mounted on his wrist "Professor Stewart, but you can call me Justin" Mercy felt blood rushing to her cheeks at the faux pas; realising that she was in fact talking to one of the very Power Rangers she had referred to as overlooked.

"Far from the tackiest thing ever worn by rangers" Zebidiah muttered "I remember the ninja suits" before the conversation could go any further entrance that Mercy herself had been led through slid open once again, allowing Dana and Kim to enter the laboratory; several Silver Guardians flanking them before falling back revealing two people that Mercy had never seen before, the first was a dark skinned Aquitian whilst the other was a young woman who seemed to be a mountain of sculpted muscle with piercing eyes with what looked like a wolf following at her heels; Mercy straightened herself up and almost stood to attention as the group neared.

"At ease" Dana greeted her, Mercy did not relax.

"Introductions, our time is limited but they're necessary" the Vice Admiral began, tone authoritative "These are Captain Kimberley Hart, Professor Justin Stewart and Zebidiah Lord; these three people will be your first point of contact, you will report to and receive missions from them"

"Doctor Stewart" the Aquitian bowed his head whilst making a vaguely triangular gesture with his hands "It is groovy to see you" Mercy chewed the inside of her mouth and forced herself not to make eye contact with anyone, the juxtaposition of the outdated slang and the serious tone in which it had been delivered being frankly hilarious

"Groovy to see you too" Justin replied as if it were utterly ordinary

"Mercy Jackson" Kim gestured to the newcomers "Meet Tempestus and Princess Aslaug of Mirinoi"

"Do not call me princess" the towering girl stated bluntly whilst staring intently at Mercy as if sizing her up before holding out a hand, Mercy made to shake the hand only for Aslaug to grip her arm just above the wrist and squeeze; her people having a similar but not identical greeting to the handshake.

"Unfortunately" Kimberley spoke up "This is not the entirety of the team; there are two final candidates who, due to their location will be unable to come to us"

"Therefore" Zebidiah chimed in "Your mission will include you locating them and supplying them with their Morphers"

"Morphers please Professor Stewart" Dana interjected, the slightly round faced man reaching for a gleaming metal case that had been stood nearby and using a thumbprint to unlock it as he presented it to the gathered Power Ranger candidates

"The Aegis Morphers" he beamed "Power output is beyond anything used by any other Ranger team thus far; even used parts from the Psycho Rangers to regulate it, Eltarian tech and….anyway I'm rambling" he trailed off shrugging under the looks that the officers were giving him as he held the Morphers out to be taken. Despite their chimeric origins the Aegis Morphers paid homage to the devices used by the original Power Rangers in their design, vaguely rectangular with rounded edges and polished silver in colour with a white strap to affix them to the wearers wrist, the Morphers each had a zigzagging, almost jagged track running along them lengthways that could resemble either fangs or perhaps a stylized lightning bolt, the track led to a circular indentation with a black backing

"As you can see" Zebidiah intoned "The Morphers are missing a final component, part of your mission will be to retrieve these components from the planet of Phaedos"

"As Vice Admiral Mitchell has said time is of the essence" Kimberley noted "So I'll keep this as simple as I can; you will be teleported from this location to a ship at a classified location where you will rendezvous with your contacts, they've identified and will assist you in recruiting the final members of your team; from there you will be transported to Phaedos where you will meet with a woman named Dulcea. The importance of this mission cannot be overstated and it expected that you will encounter hostiles"

"We apologise for the suddenness" Dana added "But your contact is standing by….Unless there are any objections it's time for you to begin"

"None" Tempestus answered, voice bubbling as always

"I agree with him" Aslaug pointed at the Aquitian, eyeing him as though she had never seen an alien before; which Mercy realised may be the truth.

"Aslaug, it would be best if your….pet, were to remain behind" Kim stated, her tone apologetic Aslaug seemed to contemplate arguing for a moment for finally petting the huge lupine animals' head

"Klo, stay here" a whining sound escaped the animal before it simply laid down and curled up on the ground. With a sudden surge of protectiveness for her new fellow Rangers to be she braced herself and met Dana's gaze

"May the Power protect us right?"

"Indeed" she nodded before speaking into a communicator "Three to teleport from my location"

* * *

Onyx, a planet whose name was synonymous with crime of all kinds across the galaxy; a thousand fledgling tyrants, warlords and despots had met their beginnings and their ends beneath its' crimson skies and a place where pirates, smugglers and sell-swords from every conceivable star system found a place to hone their skills and conduct their business away from the reach of any form of law.

The Astro Megaship hung cloaked and invisible in a geostationary high orbit above the capital city of the once prosperous trading post in a forgotten stellar empire that the planet had been. The iconic vessel and base of operations of the Astro Rangers was heavily damaged; years of operating on the outer fringes of the territory controlled by the _'Alliance of Planets' _as it had become called, with frequent forays into both lawless space such as its' current location and into the ever expanding Dark Empire itself with few chances to return to anywhere capable of repairing it had left a noticeable impact on the Megaship. A once blue hull was gouged and burned, leaving it blackened with scars of a hundred skirmishes; entire subsections of the ship were rendered inaccessible without the use of a spacesuit due to damage and many non-essential systems had been sacrificed to keep the ship space-worthy, yet the weapons, shielding, propulsion, cloaking and most importantly life support were still operational and the Megaship still boasted its' faster than light capabilities; even if it was unlikely that it would ever transform into its' Megazord mode again.

"Three teleport signatures inbound" Karone announced

"Rerouteing to the bridge" Zhane answered her as his fingers danced across the control terminal he occupied with practised ease, DECA the ships' artificial intelligence still functioned but the need to preserve power and resources had seen certain tasks be delegated to the vessels' crew.

Both Zhane and Karone had lived alone of the vessel for quite some time now, receiving infrequent reports from Andros whenever the Red Astro Ranger was able to make them without compromising his position and the relationship between the two had progressed as far as the two of them believed that it could; they freely admitted that they loved one another yet any form of a secure future together or family seemed impossible with the threat of the Dark Empire looming ever closer.

Three beams of light streaked from the ceiling of the bridge to the ground; the air crackling as it was pushed outwards from the point of materialisation and pressurised for a moment until the ships' atmospheric controls could adjust; a product of the atmosphere of the newcomers' previous location being carried with them.

"That is something I will never get used to" one of the teens who had appeared on the bridge, a tall young woman clad in furs growled.

"It's not the physical sensation that I find particularly not jiggy, it's the knowledge that our bodies are being broken down to their barest components and reassembled elsewhere" the Aquitian member of the trio noted

"Talk less" the tall and tattooed girl growled bluntly, the idea of being broken apart clearly an uncomfortable one

"Okay let's focus we've got a job to do!" the third, and smallest of the group spoke up as she stepped forwards and saluted to Zhane and Karone

"I'm Mercy, these are Tempestus and Aslaug. We're here to find our final two team-mates" Zhane and Karone shared a look and silently agreed that they were both having similar first impressions of their new allies, it seemed that whilst each of them may be capable in their own right they were all products of very different environments and forming them into a cohesive team would take considerable effort; a fact that would no doubt be exacerbated by the addition of two more candidates.

One of the traditional hallmarks of a Power Ranger team.

"I'm Zhane and this is Karone" the Silver Ranger answered them "The planet below us in Onyx-"

"We're in outlaw space?" Mercy asked, clearly shocked "I've heard of this place….isn't it like a neutral ground for pirates?"

"You believe that one of our team-mates is on this world?" Tempestus added

"Why should they not be" Aslaug shrugged, clearly unconcerned

"We believe we've found a candidate for Ranger powers yes" Karone nodded "They operate out of a tavern in the port city we're orbiting"

"The three of you will be accompanying myself to the surface to recruit this individual; Karone will be monitoring the situation from the ship" Zhane informed them

"My face is too well known on Onyx" Karone explained. The three teens looked to one another in silence; Mercy's expression was one of apprehension and grim resolve, a fair response to her first voyage away from Earth, Tempestus seemed to be privately calculating the probabilities of every possible outcome whilst Aslaug was almost bouncing on her heels with unbound enthusiasm.

"Okay" Mercy spoke eventually, her force surprisingly forceful and determined as she took charge of the situation "Let's go find our Rangers"

* * *

On the world of Acheron a palace rose up from the sprawling and endless metropolis around it and into the tumultuous and roiling clouds that blotted out the light of the planets' sun; the size of a city in its' own right and constructed entirely from a black marble like stone that reflected the lightning storms that flashed around it. Gargoyles made of living stone prowled across the walls of the palace with hungry and malevolent eyes that gleamed a bloody crimson, a further line of defence should any attacker breach the layered forcefields that protected the palace and the hundreds of armaments mounted upon its' jagged spires and twisting ramparts; weapons of all kinds that ranged from arcane relics capable of unleashing a living firestorm to technology refined to the highest standards of lethality.

This was the true palace of Lord Zedd, ruler of the Dark Empire and if the inhabitants of Earth ever laid eyes upon this place they would understand that what had been built upon their own moon was nothing more than a simple outpost.

Deep within the palace was the throne room, a pair of doors capable of withstanding a direct hit from even the most powerful weapons opening into a long walkway flanked on either side by Putties, the stony automatons sculpted from the same black marble as the palace itself and the gargoyles that stalked its' exterior; behind them were walls that were lined with the banners of slain armies, weapons taken from fallen heroes and relics from conquered worlds; growing more and more remarkable as one drew closer to the raised platform on which the throne itself sat which was surrounded by a series of polished skulls mounted on spikes, each skull wearing the damaged helmet of a Power Ranger.

A flickering holographic image came into existence at the base of the platform, the figure depicted already kneeling with their head bowed in supplication with the fact that they were immeasurably far away from the throne itself having no bearing on that fact. The kneeling figure sported a spiked and ridged exoskeleton over their flesh, rendering them skeletal and muscular at the same time; their legs were digitigrade and taloned like a bird of prey and a thick, powerful tail coiled around their feet. The figure had two pairs of arms, each ending in a three fingered hand tipped with sharpened claws whilst their head vaguely resembled the skull of a canine in appearance with the exception of having four eyes which were deep violet with slitted pupils.

"My Lord" the monster deepened its' bow, it's voice an unsettling and metallic screeching sound like that of a saw cutting through steel "Yokai reporting"

"What news" the voice that responded was a deep rumbling snarl laced with a ghoulish rasping undertone; the throne itself was shrouded in unnatural shadows and even if General Yokai had been present in the throne room itself he would have seen nothing of its' occupant. The voice was eager though, Yokai captained one of the vessels scouting forward into the territory controlled by those marked for destruction by the Dark Empire and their news would be of importance or they would not have dared disturb the throne room at all.

"My spies have informed me that there have been long range teleportation streams to and from Earth in rapid succession; all incoming streams from worlds known to be home to previous Power Rangers, outward towards the planet Onyx" a moment passed before the rumbling snarl spoke again

"Onyx….They would not go there without good cause, which means that they're looking for something important; better we deny it to them" the voice paused before becoming filled with a deep unfathomable menace "A den of thieves and smugglers would become a thorn in the side of my Empire regardless….Divert your ship to Onyx and reduce its' settlements to dust"

Yokai rose to their feet, violet eyes blazing with cruel intent

"Your will be done Lord Zedd"

**Authors Notes:**

The first official chapter and three rangers have been introduced; we'll meet another ranger in Chapter two, the fifth in Chapter three and we'll get the culmination of the arc including their first morph in Chapter four.  
Also I realised that I got my team-up events wrong, it wasn't actually Thrax that tried to retrieve Serpenterror it was the remnants of the Machine Empire….honestly, my way makes more sense so that's what I'm sticking with but it won't really make a difference to the plot considering that Thrax is dead and staying that way.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
Cadet group 1993, because that's the year Power Rangers debuted.  
Yes we're weaponising orphans, we're going full Mecha Anime here….but honestly it just serves as a way to open up Mercy's backstory and the fact that she can't actually remember it will become relevant later on.  
So that's our introduction to our first Ranger, in my head I only ever had the roughest ideas of what the characters would be; Red's the leader, Blue's was the brains, Yellow's was the brawler, Pink's the bad-ass rebel of the group and Black's the brooding loner. Having the characters develop their own quirks and personalities as the stories goes on is one of the fun parts of writing; in Mercy's case I can see already that she's a people pleaser, an overachiever and a bit of a dork.  
Also, I'm imagining the grey fatigues that cadets wear to be kinda like what Andros wore in the show.  
Can you imagine going to a PE class and having Zen-Aku telling you that today's lesson will involve him throwing hands with you.  
"_Good, adaptation and improvisation….but your weakness, is not your technique" _I'm not even being subtle about the fact I based that scene on the sparring match in the Matrix.  
I defy you to show me a nineties kid who didn't have a crush on Kimberley Hart….also yes I'm pulling the _'Useless lesbian'_ trope out early.  
I honestly couldn't find much lore about what Aquitar is actually like as a planet, so I improvised.  
So our second ranger, I knew I wanted him to be somewhat awkward around Earth culture; the idea of him using 90s slang because the only human he knows is Billy who left Earth in the 90s occurred to me and I ran with it; I feel like he manages to look calm while his internal monologue is just screaming most of the time. His clothes are similar to what the Alien Rangers wore, I changed the colour of his pants because those blue ones bug me.  
The brighter purple ridges aren't anything special, I just feel like they'd be one of the things with some variance in an entire planet of people that have them; it's like hair or eye colour.  
If you saw the Plesion and thought _"That's gonna be a Zord"_ congrats.  
A point worth noting is that Tempestus is the only Ranger who knew that they were going to be one.  
Billy giving his old communicator away was just a little touch I felt had to be added.  
I couldn't find much lore on the climate and geography of Mirinoi outside of where Maya was from so, again I improvised and it made sense to me that the north pole of that planet it warmer than ours.  
Yes there are other tribes, no Terra-Venture did not bring good old American values and Christianity to the people of Mirinoi with or without their consent; not the kind of story I want to write.  
The Frost Fang tribe are basically the stereotypical Vikings….because Space Viking is a cool premise and that's all the justification I need.  
Kai_ "Balls of steel"_ Chen right there.  
Aslaug is built like a mountain, simple as that.  
There was originally going to be a full on fight between Aslaug and Kai which ended in him morphing but showed off just how capable she is, it would have been based on a scene in the story _"Dirge"_ by , which if you haven't read you should do because it is quite possibly the best Power Rangers story written.  
Yes she's bringing her dog.  
Her mentality just seemed to jump out at me, I play Warhammer 40K and she reminds me of the character Leman Russ in some ways; especially his first meeting with his brother Horus where he says something to the effect of _"The Emperor didn't need to tell me that I'm his son to make me follow him, he promised my people a chance to sail the stars; we would have come just for the adventure"  
_I'm going to make it my solemn duty to make Justin not be annoying somehow; he was canonically a child prodigy, so here he is….basically being the Cisco of this Flash Team.  
And Zebidiah is going to be fun to write, I can see him just being a character who gets to almost break the fourth wall and say things that we were all thinking….and we all look back at those Ninja Suits from season three in disgust don't we.  
The New Aegis Morphers are basically wrist mounted versions of the originals with the Power Coin fitted towards the end nearest the hand.  
Onyx looked different in the two series in appeared in so I'm averaged it out here; red skies like in Space, yellowish clouds like Lost Galaxy and no rings.  
The Megaship Mark 2 has taken a bit of a kicking; looks like the surviving Astro Rangers have been busy.  
It's true though, Ranger teams are always awkward at the start.  
And our Fourth Ranger is going to be on this dive of a world.  
Lord Zedd's palace is MAXIMUM EDGY!  
Oh look, new super Putties.  
The Ranger skulls might have been a bit much.  
So, one of Lord Zedd's forward operatives is going to be meeting our Rangers very soon….Also I hope you all caught the fact that he's got spies on Earth; I'm sure someone will be able to figure out who it is.  
And yes I teased the new Lord Zedd without showing him; oh well.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	3. Pink

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 02 – Pink**

Four teleport streams materialised on the surface of the planet Onyx, appearing as a quartet of beams of light streaking downwards from some indeterminate point above them; a single beam of shimmering pale silver surrounded by crackling off-white beams which flashed out of existence a moment later; the displaced air whooshing out in all directions as the atmosphere of the Megaship was dispersed in thin trails of mist, Zhane, Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug standing in the epicentre of it all; the three teens taking a moment to steady themselves and gather their bearings whilst the older and more experienced calmly raised a blaster and panned the sweeping and angular pistol with an oddly shaped muzzle across the horizon, turning and ensuring that no opportunistic cut-throats were seeking to attack them from behind.

"Keep your guard up, this is a dangerous place" Zhane offered by way of explanation before tucking the weapon into a holster that left it on clear display as a warning; he then set off and silently bid the fledgling Ranger team to follow him, allowing them their first proper look at the planet.

The first impression many of those visiting Onyx from off-world had of the place was simply that it was a drab and dusty place; its' crimson skies obscured by an almost all-encompassing layer of sickly yellow clouds whilst anything further away than ones' immediate surroundings were rendering hazy and indistinct by the grit and filth that seemed to permeate the very air, with every faint gust of wind acting as a miniature sandstorm and Mercy privately noted that it was no wonder that this place was home to so many criminals, one could commit almost any crime here without fear of witnesses. Presently they reached their destination, Zhane having wisely chosen to teleport some distance away for fear of startling the patrons.

"It looks almost….normal" Mercy observed in a hushed whisper "By Earth standards I mean"

"We have similar places on Aquitar" Tempestus noted quietly

"Anywhere in the galaxy where there's people has taverns like this" Zhane answered with a grin "A lot of people like to unwind after a hard days' work, legal or not" the tavern that they had reached was constructed from some stone with a colouration that suggested it had not been mined locally, its' walls and roof reinforced with armour plating that seemed to have been scavenged from several spaceships of various designs whilst the windows had been converted into easily defensible firing positions; as if whoever owned this tavern expected it to be attacked. Several signs adorned the doorway, though they were written in a glyph like script that Mercy couldn't read and outside of the tavern were several open topped land vehicles whose owners, a collection of rough looking individuals of various species snarled at the group as they passed. The silhouettes of several spaceships of various sizes could be seen through the haze, though Mercy paid them little mind as she and her new allies were led inside by Zhane.

"Let me do the talking….everyone has a universal translator right?" Zhane asked, his question seemingly directed primarily at Aslaug

"My people are not so primitive that we can't trade for such things" she assured him, Mercy and Tempestus merely nodded, having had the small, subdermal implants inserted behind their ears as children much like most citizens within the Alliance of Worlds. The Silver Astro Ranger nodded and led the group deeper into the tavern and the teens followed, Mercy and Tempestus trying to avoid meeting the eye of any of the aliens who stared at them with naked interest or contempt; Aslaug merely stared right back and silently dared any of their number to challenge her.

"Weapons" a buzzing voice demanded and Zhane nodded in acquiescence to the speaker before handing his blaster over to a rotund and many eyed insectoid creature leaning over the bar, the large wings gracing the aliens' back let out a dull throbbing drone as they buzzed incessantly

"Good to see you again" Zhane greeted the bartender with surprising familiarity, taking a three fingered appendage covered in thick fibrous hairs in his hands and shaking it firmly

"Who're they?" the bartender nodded towards the teens, leaving the business of tending to customers to what appeared to be a Machine Empire Cog working behind him, the back of the automatons' cranium having been opened to perform some crude modifications; it also wore what appeared to be a bowler hat for some reason.

"I was under the impression that people could do business here without persecution?" Zhane feigned hurt even as his smile widened "Representatives of my business partner, they're unarmed" the assurance seemed to do little to assuage insectoid barkeeps' suspicions

"She won't like this, I'm warning you now"

"With the terms I'm offering she'll be understanding" Zhane waved the concerns away before becoming serious "Is she here? The Felidae?"

"Back room, I assumed you didn't want to be disturbed when conducting business….it's taken a while to arrange the meeting after all"

"That it has" Zhane agreed "Thank you" he made his way through the crowd, the teens following him and each of them realised independently that they were being allowed to do so without incident solely due to Zhane's presence; none of the obviously hardened criminals that surrounded them seemed willing to meet his intense gaze.

Mere moments later they were stepping out of the main tavern and into a small hallway which led to several rooms, Zhane marched towards the furthest door and rapped against its' surface before entering without waiting for a response; Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug following him into a small room decorated in such away that it seemed uncertain of whether it was intended to be an office, a lounge or a dining room; yet all present found their eyes drawn to the sole occupant of the room rather than its' furnishings as she surveyed them in kind

"So, this is who's been so eager to meet me" the speaker was humanoid in form yet at the same time unmistakably alien, roughly six feet in height with a body that whilst clearly well muscled and unmistakably curvy was graceful even whilst still, the coiled and elegant power of a big cat; her skin was a pale teal blue colour and the fingers that had begun to drum against the table were tipped with long and sharp black claws. Her face, lean and angular gave one the idea that she was young, no older than her late teens, full dark lips behind which lay sharp teeth and ears adorning the sides of her head protruded outwards as reached back, more bat-like that anything else; her eyes were a deep shimmering amber with slitted pupils and held a certain wariness whilst beneath her right eye a small thin scar followed her cheekbone. Her hair was a violet colour flecked with with sea green towards its' tips and seemed to naturally form a medium height and swept forward Mohawk whose appearance promised that it would be fluffy to the touch, a few strands of hair had fallen in front of her eyes and the hair trailed down the back of her neck beneath the neckline of her clothing, presumably spanning the length of her back as her tail, which was long enough to reach a little beyond her knees when stood upright was coated in fur of the same colour which the Rangers noted as it swished lazily. She wore a largely black outfit which left a fair amount of her blueish flesh on display; tight pants tucked into a practical pair of boots with dull grey metal armour plates fastened over her shins and thighs and a black, low-cut vest top. The Rangers could see over a dozen sheaths and holsters that had been emptied prior to this meeting, including a grey bandolier worn across her torso which had clearly been intended to hold some larger weapon against her back. The only real colour adorning her attire was a slightly faded pink kerchief worn around her neck and a collection of gold bangles worn on her right forearm, each of them engraved with minute details and set with vivid pink gemstones.

"So, are we here to do business?" she asked, her voice low and smokey with an amused edge as she nodded towards Mercy and Aslaug "Or are they here for something to stare at?" Zhane made no effort to turn around, though Mercy felt her cheeks redden somewhat whilst Aslaug merely arched an eyebrow

"We're looking for a smuggler with their own warp capable ship" Zhane explained calmly "A lot of people suggested that we look for _'The Felidae'_"

"I have the ship and I use the name" the alien nodded, though her expression faltered and was overcome with a clear sadness "Though many of those recommendations will have been referring to Acinonyx Cato….She's-"

"I know" Zhane interrupted softly, sparing her the obvious pain of explaining "I know that your name is Panthera Cato, I know that the Dark Empire killed your sister and I know that ever since you've been using her ship to raid and smuggle along the edge of Dark Empire space….a lot of people are starting to think you've got a death wish" Panthera remained silent, though Mercy saw her lithe muscles coil a fraction of a second before she moved; Zhane obviously saw it too as he launched into motion in the same instant she did, Panthera plucking a small knife from within the armour adorning her shin and hurling it across the room; Zhane taking one of the comfortable chairs and holding it in front of his face, setting it down once again as the blade sunk into its' surface with a dull thud

"You dare ?" Aslaug demanded, enraged she made to leap at Panthera; only for Mercy to reach out and seize her forearm

"Everyone calm down, we don't need to do this" Aslaug turned to face her, icy blue eyes incredulous but she relented nonetheless

"Agreed" Tempestus added "It would seem that we want the same thing, albeit perhaps for different reasons"

"Oh, and what is it you think that I want?" Panthera demanded, on her feet now and clearly ready to strike again if she felt threatened

"The destruction of the Dark Empire" Mercy answered simply, to which Panthera let out a cackling laugh which held no mirth

"Have you lost your mind human?" she demanded

"It's a serious offer" Zhane answered her

"I'm a smuggler, not a soldier"

"So you're content to do nothing? Stealing scraps that they won't miss and never being more than a nuisance whilst they conquer everything in their path" Aslaug's question came with a clear accusation and Panthera's amber eyes narrowed

"She doesn't speak to me again whilst we're doing business" she hissed, addressing Zhane "What are you offering, exactly?"

"A chance to be part of something bigger and make a real difference. Show her" as he spoke Zhane pulled back his left sleeve to reveal his own Morpher, prompting Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug to do the same.

"We're done here" Panthera's voice wavered as her ears slicked back against her skull "I know what those are, I know what you are….Not a chance"

"You don't want to fight the Dark Empire?" Mercy asked, suddenly confused

"Do you really think there's anywhere in the galaxy that's safe for a Power Ranger?….The Dark Empire has already killed them by the hundred"

"I know" Zhane admitted, eyes taking on a haunted look "I was there on Acheron….things will be different this time"

"No they won't" Panthera muttered; Mercy saw the utter hopelessness in her eyes and let out a sigh

"We won't force you to come with us, leave if you want….but take this; if you change your mind you can contact us and if you get into trouble it'll act as a teleport beacon" as she spoke she produced one of the final two Aegis Morphers, Panthera eyed it with suspicion

"It's missing the component that allows you to Morph" Tempestus added "Nobody can prove that you have any real connections to any Power Rangers"

"I'm sure it'll be worth something to someone on the black market" Panthera huffed, taking the device seemingly against her own better judgement as she hurriedly left the room

"Should we go after her?" Aslaug demanded, Zhane simply shook his head and opened his communicator

"Karone, we've found our Ranger. She has her Morpher but isn't coming with us….I'm gonna need you to track her location through the Morpher in case she tries to get rid of it" a moment later Karone's voice answered them, static crackling over the channel doing little to hide her worried voice

"We've got bigger problems Zhane….A Dark Empire ship just dropped out of warp right on top of you"

* * *

Yokai sat upon a throne of twisted metal interwoven with countless totems and ornaments from the warrior culture from which they hailed; their species having been allowed to retain much of its' culture and identity after being subsumed into the Dark Empire for the simple reason that said culture promoted traits that were useful and mirrored that of Acheron in many ways, martial pride, ruthless determination and an insatiable need to expand outwards. From the perspective of Yokai's people they had never been conquered, they had simply found allies and kindred spirits from across the stars.

Yokai's clawed digits tapped against the pommels of the four sickle like weapons they carried as they surveyed the command bridge of their vessel from the throne at its' centre; the warship was named the Shinigami and was roughly twice the length of Megaship sporting a streamlined design oddly reminiscent of a battleaxe; weapons bristling along the length of its' long and narrow main body. The bride was dark, as any member of Yokai's species would prefer it; faint lights shone weakly from the ceiling and floor though the various displays and screens of computer terminals whose construction was as twisted and baroque as the throne did more to pierce the gloom, giving the bridge a sickly and poisonous green cast whilst the vast view screen which took up the entire front of the bridge displayed nothing but the void of space and the curve of the crimson world below

"Orders my liege?" a member of Yokai's bridge crew enquired; taking heed to bow their head in deference as they spoke, their voice a screeching metallic rasp. Yokai did not respond immediately, instead they took several moments to appraise the situation and consider the options available to them. Their supply of the mutagenic grenades employed by the Dark Empire which allowed an afflicted target to grow to horrific sizes were utterly depleted due to a previous campaign on a world whose inhabitants were so feeble that Yokai had refused to sully their blades on them; instead they had used the Shinigami's entire cache of the grenades to grow the most dangerous of the planets predators and once the population had been slaughtered allowed their warriors to hunt the animals for sport.

"Our orders were to burn this world, deny our enemies whatever they seek here and remove the vermin without honour from the galaxy….find the largest settlement and-" the Shinigami shuddered under the force of the assault that it was subjected to

"Shields are holding firm!" a member of the bridge crew bellowed

"What fired on us?" Yokai demanded, eyes ablaze with bloodlust

"A ship is disengaging its' cloaking nearby" another voice snarled; bringing the sight on screen without needing to be ordered; a sound of murderous fury escaped Yokai as they took in the sight of the largely circular vessel whose hull bore numerous scars as testament to the battles it had fought, even now it continued to unleash its' weapons against the Shinigami without pause.

"Then it's decided" Yokai snarled, their shrieking voice seemingly assaulting several octaves at once as it both pierced and rumbled "That vessel belongs to Power Rangers; find what it is they're protecting! What lies beneath them? AND RETURN FIRE YOU FOOLS!" a second later the darkness of space was set alight as the two ships duelled, lances of light and explosions of various colours flashed between the ships and guttered out into nothingness in the vacuum until one of the bridge crew finally gave Yokai an answer

"A port city, they're in geostationary orbit above one of Onyx's ports-"

"A den of pirates" Yokai spat, reaching for a communications device integrated into their throne and demanding "Is our forge operational?"

"Yes my liege, we have a battalion of Putties ready to deploy at your command"

"Have them sent to the teleportation chamber, I shall join them shortly" as they closed the communication channel Yokai saw their second in command staring at them; a silent challenge in their four eyes

"Speak Fenrir" Yokai demanded

"You would send the Putties but not your own warriors for this?" the offended tone was obvious, their race lived for such conquest and to see the first blow gifted to mindless, soulless automatons was an insult of the highest order

"The Putties will attend to the thieves and cowards whilst I search for any Power Rangers on the surface….Lord Zedd wants them alive and we must know what they're protecting, here of all places" Yokai leaned close, a feral smile on their canine and skeletal face "You will lead the warriors and storm that vessel, it will make for worthy spoils"

"As you command my Liege" Fenrir growled savagely; following Yokai as the war-chief rose to their feet and stalked out of the command bridge, leaving the task of crippling the Megaships' shields and engines to those unsuited for the art form that was face to face combat with a final snarled order over their shoulder

"Obliterate any ship that leaves that port city!"

* * *

"LET'S ROCKET!" blinding light seemed to both burst from an envelop Zhane's body, the silver glow coalescing and forming his Ranger suit around him, shimmering silver with white and gold detailing and a single band of darkened squares across his chest; with a single slashing motion he manifested a weapon in his hand, an oddly shaped firearm with a visible yet retracted blade.

He and the as yet powerless Rangers accompanying him had made it outside of the alien tavern, Zhane having bellowed a warning to the patrons of the place that they should be prepared to either leave or fight, the Dark Empire had come to their world.

"Here they come!" Aslaug warned, a swarm of bodies beginning to cut through the dusty haze that covered Onyx's surface. Whilst Zhane had not been present on Earth for the conflict with Rita Repulsa and the first Lord Zedd to threaten it, he had spent enough time harrying and disrupting the Dark Empire by any means available for the oddly hunched and splayed gait of the oncoming attackers, the utter lack of formation and the odd warbling sounds that preceded them to be intimately familiar

"Putties" he announced, behind his helmet he wore a confident smirk; whilst they might be attacking in far greater numbers than they ever had on Earth they were still fragile and wretched things.

"Mind if we help out?" the buzzing voice of the bartender asked, the insectoid creature stepping out of their tavern with Zhane's baster in hand, a dozen patrons of the place using either their own weapons, those improvised from objects such as chair legs and broken bottles or in many cases simply their own claws and natural blades; behind them were roughly two dozen reprogrammed Cogs of the defunct Machine Empire

"A lot of good customers just got scared off" the Bartender noted "I'd like to take up the matter of their unpaid tabs with someone"

"Be careful" Zhane sighed before turning to Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug "Go! Get to the docked ships and find Panthera before anyone else does!" Mercy snapped off a silent salute and burst into a full sprint, team-mates she was still unaccustomed to thankfully following her without complaint. The Putties had come from the east whilst the space-port was to the north meaning that they encountered little resistance other than being jostled by others fleeing from the battle which could now be heard raging behind them

"Panthera's ship is supposed to be warp capable!" Mercy declared "Tempestus, any idea what we're looking for?"

"Perhaps a vague one" he replied through ragged breaths "Although with her being a smuggler I suppose it could be-" whatever else he intended to say was silenced as beams of destructive light ripped through the sky; a lance of acid green wider than the tavern they had just left sent a wave of dust out in all directions and everything in front of them became simple light and sound as a small craft that had been rising from the planets' surface was simply swallowed whole and unmade by the attack, whatever atmosphere and fuel was contained within the vessel being ignited and spewing out of its' sundered hull in a flash of blue flames and a thundering explosion which shook the ground. Mercy's deep brown eyes widened, then the narrowed and her jaw set

"GO!" she bolted forwards again, shielding her eyes as she pushed through the sandstorm that the attack from above had left in its' wake before finally finally reaching the now cracked and burned ground of the space-port.

There were Putties here as well

"They fired on their own people?" Aslaug was aghast, such a notion utterly beyond her

"Those are not people" Tempestus assured her "Rock and dark magic, mass produced and used to do jobs deemed not worth spending living soldiers for"

"We need to find Panthera!" Mercy called ordered; horrified as she took in the raging battle around them.

The Putties were clearly outmatched in terms of firepower, yet they simply pushed on with uncaring resolve, their rocky bodies being torn apart by laser-fire or melted by plasma until they either succumbed to the damage done to them or successfully closed the distance between themselves and the defenders, where they would soon be dispatched by sheer blunt force in the most sickening ways imaginable. The air was thick with the scent of burning, the metallic ionized smell left by the weapons being discharged and the cloying, coppery smells of the blood of countless species as it painted the ground in a bleak rainbow.

Mercy was dragged to her senses as another craft attempted to escape, Tempestus seemed to sense what would happen the moment light began to build within its' alien propulsion systems and the ground began to throb beneath it

"DOWN!" he quickly pulled Mercy and Aslaug into cover beneath the wing of a nearby vessel, no sooner had the escaping craft begun to lift than the a beam of vibrant green light washed over it, the trio felt the explosion of tear through their surroundings as the ship was destroyed; yet there was a silver lining to be found, not matter how thin and meagre it seemed

"THERE!" Aslaug roared, desperate to be heard over the ringing in her own ears as she frantically pointed to a lone fighter in the distance.

They had found Panthera

"She needs help!" Mercy declared as she saw well over a dozen Putties turn their attention towards her, some primitive intelligence bound to them marking Panthera out as a threat to be overcome.

"There's a weak point on their chest! Hit that and they come apart!" Mercy informed her allies as they rushed out of cover to aid their unwilling fellow Ranger; Putties were one of the threats that her class of Silver Guardian cadets had been briefed on, the Dark Empire had used them before, likely would again and Earth had experience in defeating them after all.

Mercy reached the group of Putties first; leaping into a wide arcing spinning kick that forced several back as it chipped stone from the jaw of one of their number, she knew that the key to fighting the things up close was to take control of the pace and direction of the fight, never allowing herself to become boxed in or overrun. The moment she landed she drove her knee into the side of the same Putty, a blow that would broken the ribs of a human opponent, however she merely grit her teeth in pain as it shrugged off the attack, pushing on she extended her leg outwards, kicking the Putty in the back and sending it staggering as she dropped low to ground for a spinning sweep that took the legs out from under the next automaton; continuing her assault as she rose and leapt into the air with one knee striking the chest of another putty whilst her foot smashing into the chest of the one she had floored and whatever dark magic animated them failed, the things shattered like pottery and left Mercy with four to content with.

The Putties surged towards her in a wave of chattering stone, she weaved under the wild swing of the first and drove her elbow into its' chest before launching both hands out in a palm strike that crushed the chest of another, flinging it back into a third with enough force to bring that one down as well. Mercy and the final Putty faced off against one another, her limbs burned and stung with the pain of striking solid stone, blood tricked down her arm from broken skin on her elbow and her knee protested as shifted he weight yet she persevered; the Putty charged and flailed its' arms whilst Mercy attacked with calm and focused precision, her spinning heel kick crashing squarely into the chest of the thing and she watched the arcane light leave its' hollow eye sockets as its' body shattered. Wasting no time she raised her guard once again and scanned her surroundings and was treated to her first glimpse of her fellow Rangers' fighting styles as they battled with their own groups of Putties.

Tempestus was serenely graceful, fluid and sweeping movements given strength by a physiology capable of surviving the crushing pressure of the oceans of Aquitar; he seemed more than content to simply parry and redirect blows rather than launch his own offensive, yet fragments of shattered Putties still littered the ground at his feet and Mercy realised as he blocked the ankle of Putty attempting an artless parody of her own spinning kicks that he had mastered turning their own momentum against them, the Putty was thrown off balance and simply smashed chest first into the hard ground.

Aslaug was a stark contrast, the native of Mirinoi was wild eyed as she smashed through Putties in something close to a berserk fury; Mercy watched in detached horror as the larger girl headbutted one of the automatons to send it staggering backwards but opening a gash along her own forehead in the process before driving her booted foot into its' chest. Aslaug had turned her attention to the next foe before its' crumpled body had hit the ground, a savage backhand bloodied her knuckles but tore the entire lower jaw from a Putty, silencing its' warbles before she drove her first through its' chest entirely; whatever physiology had produced the people of Mirinoi had clearly given them terrifying strength.

Panthera however was something else entirely, she was force of nature; an avenging manifestation of wrath upon the battlefield who fought with ruthlessness that would have been terrifying had it been directed at a living adversary. Mercy watched as a Putty attempted to grab her from behind, only for her sidestep around it, catching the Putties' arm in her right hand and driving her left into its' elbow to damage the joint before kicking its' knee to similarly cripple that joint; finishing off with a swift palm strike to the chest. Panthera was far from finished however as she grabbed the broken arm of the shattering Putty and hurled it into the chest into an oncoming mob the noisome things, the thrashing of the first to be struck taking several more of their number with it. Mercy was then left dumbfounded as the smuggler rushed over to the body of a fellow criminal who had not fared so well against the attackers and promptly began looting it, searching for weapons as the last of the Putties began closing in on her

"HELP HER-" Mercy's plea went unfinished as Panthera began advancing on the Putties with a heavy looking pistol in hand, whilst many of the weapons employed thus far utilised lasers and plasma, this used simple solid slugs which tore the automatons apart with ease and as she closed the distance between herself and the final Putty she lashed out and smashed the butt of the weapon into its' chest.

"Are you okay?" Mercy asked as she, Tempestus and Aslaug rushed over to her "Is everyone okay?"

"Never better" Aslaug chuckled grimly, wiping blood from her face whilst Tempestus merely nodded

"Does that offer still stand?" Panthera asked with a sigh "If your ship is already in orbit I'd rather take my chances with you than get killed trying to escape in mine"

"Wise choice" Tempestus noted

"Yeah, yeah it still stands" Mercy grinned, a small sense of triumph within her despite he carnage around them. She activated her communicator and contacted Zhane

"We've got Panthera we're ready to pull out; where do we regroup"

"No time for that" Zhane's voice replied urgently, followed by the sound of another channel being added to the transmission "Karone, teleport 'em out"

"I can't" her words came with a grim sense of finality "I've got teleport jammers activated, they're trying to storm the Megaship; shields won't hold much longer either….Zhane, we're gonna need another way out; I'm coming to you"

"Damn it!" Zhane spat, clearly fearful as Karone's transmission ended "Hold your ground, don't try to leave-"  
"No, don't try to leave" a new voice laughed; a voice like a saw blade on metal announcing the arrival of a figure with a ridged and spike exoskeleton, the face of a four eyed, skeletal wolf and a sickle blade clutched in each of its' four arms

"Zhane we've got a problem" here Mercy announced before disregarding her communicator and stepping in front of her team-mates, as if she could stand alone and defend them from this monster.

"Three warriors from the Alliance of doomed worlds" Yokai sneered before their violet eyes locked on Panthera "And a Felidae smuggler….Panthera Cato"

"You'll pay" the words were hissed through clenched teeth; every syllable dripping with unspeakable hatred as Panthera's clenched fists trembled

"Tell me….are honour and bravery really such rare things to your people? Your sister was the only one of you I've met that had them"

What happened next was simply the only thing that could have happened; Panthera charged.

* * *

The Morpher of the Pink Astro Ranger had been repaired and as Karone slipped the device that had once belonged to Cassie onto her wrist it seemed somehow fitting that she should wear it; she was a Pink Ranger after all, yet a Pink Ranger out of place ever since Kendrix Morgan's return to the realm of the living. Knowing that the former wearer of this Morpher would greatly approve did little to lessen the weight of the responsibilities that came with donning it yet Karone typed in the commands before quietly breathing out the commands that she had heard her lover and her older brother utter so many times

"Let's Rocket" in a flash of pink light she was transformed and felt the incredible power coursing through her; for a moment the situation seemed less dire than it was and she almost considered the possibility of winning in some dramatic face to face showdown with her aggressors until another explosion rocked the Megaship and disabused her of the notion. Sirens screamed out that the ship was on the verge of destruction; its' shields reduced to the point of fluctuating almost at random as they were unable to protect the entirety of the hull at once whilst the various displays of the bridge displayed readings that, if she had cared to read them would have informed Karone of the fires on various decks and breaches in the hull sucking the atmosphere from within.

Instead she had a much more cunning plan in mind and she began enacting it; ignoring the alerts and warnings of the control station she worked from

"Warning" the synthetic voice of DECA announced "Teleport jamming has been disabled. Twenty unauthorised signatures detected aboard the ship"

"Where are they headed DECA?" Karone asked, waiting with baited breath before the answer finally came

"The bridge"

"Not a problem" she sighed in relief; there was nothing they would be able to do to stop her plan from here. If they had made for the engine room she would have been concerned; instead she put her plan into action.

"Prepare warp jump to the following co-ordinates and wait for my command" Karone ordered calmly before letting loose the last of Megaship's might and finally crippling the shields of the Dark Empire ship. She could hear the footsteps of the boarding party drawing close and beneath her helmet she smiled.

They expected her to fight them like a Power Ranger, but what they overlooked, what her enemies always overlooked; was that she still had every memory of being Astronema and she carried that darkness within her still, just waiting to be utilised. As the door to the bridge was ripped aside and the aliens began surging towards her Karone simply prepared to teleport away; with one final command to the ship that had served her well for years, an order given from the depths of repressed darker nature

"Destroy them!" she vanished in a streak of pink light and Fenrir let out a shrieking howl of rage at being denied the chance to fight a Power Ranger through nothing other than seeming cowardice; then the AI that operated the Megaship spoke its' final words

"Confirmed, preparing warp jump"

"What?" Fenrir demanded, understanding came as the stars scattered throughout the void began to blur and the Megaship prepared to surge forwards

"NO!" there was nothing that could be done, with the shields of the Shinigami taken offline the Megaship was free to jump forwards at faster than light speeds and cross the distance between them; vanishing and re-materialising directly into the larger ships' main engines and setting off a chain reaction which claimed both ships in the catastrophic explosion.

* * *

Panthera hit the ground hard, Yokai's muscular tail whipping around and striking her with crushing force as she leapt at them and sending her skidding across the dusty and debris covered ground with a pained wheeze.

"Abysmal" Yokai chuckled, the sound a hollow rattling which was answered by a feral snarl from Panthera as she leapt to her feet, another hidden blade ripped from an unseen compartment on the armour around her lower legs before she lunged forwards again; the pistol that had dispatched the Putties doing little as she emptied it whilst closing the distance before preparing to drive the narrow blade into the neck of her enemy.

Yokai sheathed their blades and hoisted her from the ground with a careless lack of effort, one clawed hand around her neck before a deluge of blows from their other three arms left sea-green blood streaming from a split eyebrow and lip.

"Your sister was the better fighter" Yokai confided as they hurled Panthera to the ground and drew one of their sickles for a killing blow, only to find the weapon promptly knocked from their hand as a slab of muscle clad in furs and roaring in defiance crashed into them. Aslaug promptly dragged a recovering Panthera away as Tempestus and Mercy pushed Yokai back another step, the Aquitian parring their many arms with obvious difficulty whilst the human weaved between them and delivered punishing blows to any unprotected joint and attacked what little soft tissue was available between the plates of Yokai's exoskeleton.

"ENOUGH!" the shriek was accompanied by Yokai spinning and sweeping their tail in a wide arc, forcing the teens back before drawing their remaining blades

"We're gonna need more dakka for this" Panthera noted as she discarded the spent pistol

"Dakka?" Tempestus queried, yet he received no reply.

"There are no tricks that will save you, no amount of scurrying and biting at the-" Yokai was silenced as something erupted in the sky above them; appearing brighter than Onyx's own weak second for a brief moment and Yokai knew, without ever needing to attempt to reach Fenrir or the Shinigami exactly what had transpired

"NO!" the agonised howl was punctuated by a streak of pink light; appearing much the same way their own arrival to the world has and dissipating to reveal the Pink Astro Ranger standing ready

"Your ship is gone, your forces are beaten….stand down" Karone held out a single hand as an offer "The Dark Empire took your world the way they take everything, fight against them….or live here, in peace. The choice is yours"

"I CHOOSE HONOURABLE DEATH RANGER!" Yokai roared as they charged; though their own war cry was not the only one to pierce the air, the monstrous alien turned just in time to gaze into the visor of the Silver Astro Ranger as Zhane's blade pierced through the left side of their chest. Viscous liquid dripped from between Yokai's teeth as they let out several gurgling choking sounds which soon gave way to terrifying, demented laughter

"You truly are fools" they declared "My heart isn't there….but now I know where yours is" without warning Yokai slashed at Zhane's chest with all three of their blades; sending the Silver Ranger back in a shower of sparks

"ZHANE!" Karone cried out as she watched Yokai continue his onslaught before turning to the four teens behind her "Go, get out of here we'll handle this!" hearing the order being given Yokai turned to face them, their tail cracking Zhane's visor as it collided with his skull

"NO ONE SHALL FLEE!" they charged towards the teens

"Come on!" Mercy urged, tugging her allies along after her as she made to follow the orders given to her "Panthera where's your ship? The Dark Empire aren't shooting anyone else down"

"This way" the teal skinned and beaten girl took the lead and the four of them ran as fast as their tired, aching bodies would allow; painfully aware of the sound of Yokai giving chase, managing to do so whilst locked in battle with both Zhane and Karone in a fearsome display of skill and power.

"YOU WILL PERISH HERE!" Yokai roared, Mercy dared to glance over her shoulder and saw that they had both Zhane and Karone gripped by the throat; crouching down she grabbed a fist size piece of rubble that had presumably been ripped free in the battle with the Putties and pitched it directly into the monsters' eyes before turning and rushing towards Panthera's ship, the distraction having been enough for the Astro Rangers to struggle free.

"Here it is!" Panthera announced, her ship was far smaller than the Megaship and seemed to be utterly unable to live up to her reputation as a smuggler; the thing was black-hulled and sleek with a streamlined cockpit and almost crescent shaped wings leading back to a propulsion system which seemed disproportionately large, pulling a hatch open on the side of the ship Panthera leapt aboard and turned to her newfound allies

"Come on, get on!" she leaned into the cockpit area of the small ship "CAT, prime warp-drive"

"Acknowledged" a digitised voice replied

"Cat?" Aslaug asked as she slumped against the interior wall of the ship, wiping blood from her face

"Central Autonomous Transporter" Panthera replied distractedly as she began frantically ripping open hidden compartments, each of which was revealed to hold one of the many weapons whose vacant sheaths and holsters she wore

"We can't just leave them out there!" Mercy insisted, when Panthera turned to face the human it was with a bright smile that displayed her sharp teeth and a wicked glint in her eyes

"Oh I'm not" Panthera turned to Tempestus "This….is dakka" she held up an absurdly large, many barrelled weapon which seemed that it would be more at home fitted onto the craft itself. Without another word Panthera hopped back out of her ship and levelled the weapon at Yokai, just as they batted Karone aside with their tail and bore down on Zhane with their blades

"We're not finished!" she bellowed before unleashing a firestorm of magenta light; Zhane rolled aside and watched as the beams of energy ripped into his adversary and left them sprawled and motionless, face down in the dust.

"COME ON, GET ON!" Mercy bellowed and moments later Zhane and Karone had made it onto the ship; Mercy closed the hatch behind them and her eyes widened as she saw that Yokai was beginning to stir, still refusing to admit defeat.

"That thing's not down!" she warned

"Time to go!" Panthera called back from the cockpit where she had taken a seat "Where're we heading" Karone powered down in response, her suit being reduced to a million incandescent fragments as she made her way to the smugglers' side

"Use these co-ordinates"

"CAT, warp jump the second we leave atmosphere!"

"Acknowledged"

"You did good kid" the world seemed to stop spinning and Mercy found herself finally able to make sense of things again as the ship began to surge upwards; Zhane had placed his hand on her shoulder as he powered down, revealing a bloody wound on the side of his face that left his pale hair dirtied and plastered to his skull

"Thanks" she breathed out uncertainly, the adrenaline leaving her system allowing her to finally realise just how much pain she was in after facing off against the Putties

"Everyone okay?" she murmured softly

"I was promised an adventure, you Rangers have certainly delivered" Aslaug laughed

"It was….if not radical, most certainly gnarly" Tempestus nodded sagely, at this point Mercy could contain herself no longer and simply gave in to hysterics

"We're leaving the atmosphere any second now….hold on" Panthera warned, Mercy noticed, as she finally stopped giggling that the teal-skinned girl was wearing her Morpher though before she could ask what had changed her mind they escaped Onyx's atmosphere and the darkness of space became a blinding white as the stars seemed to bleed together before reality reasserted itself

"Ready for another adventure?" Zhane asked, expression becoming tense "We've got one more Ranger to find

"Where have you taken us?" Panthera demanded, amber eyes scanning her ships' displays in disbelief; certain that either there was a mistake or that she was in the company of the insane

"My brother Andros sent these co-ordinates, he's on the surface" Karone explained, Mercy stepped into the cockpit and stared down at the world whose orbit they had arrived just outside of

"This is madness" Panthera's eyes were wide

"What?" Mercy asked, keenly aware that her team-mates were now standing behind her

"The locals of the planet call it _'Dread'"_ Karone sighed, eyes downcast "It's a prison world….we're deep in Dark Empire territory"

**Authors Notes:**

So we're halfway into our first arc and we've had our first Putty fight without morphing, it's not really Power Rangers if you don't throw that in before the main event is it.  
Four out of five rangers found and obviously we'll meet the fifth in the next chapter.

So let's summarise shall we:  
Our rangers haven't got their Power Coins yet so their teleport streams are still off-brand….even though we all know who's gonna be what colour.  
Seriously I'm averaging Onyx out between its' appearances in Space and Lost Galaxy and in Lost Galaxy it just looked dusty as all hell.  
The Pub, a universal constant.  
Okay look, either I have the offhand comment about universal translators or I make the joke about the universal language "English" and Team Four Star already beat me to that second one.  
I don't why the idea of a repurposed Cog being a bartender occurred to me when I was writing this, or why it was so funny to me...only that it was.  
Felidae is the name of Panthera's species, they're not canon to Power Rangers but look….it's a big galaxy.  
So far Mercy is the smallest of the Rangers by a kinda noticeable margin.  
Okay so basically for Panthera's design I decided to mix _'Buff Orc Lady'_, _'Anime Cat-girl' _and_ 'Big Titty Goth GF'_….Tumblr, you're welcome.  
Zhane obviously did his homework, he went into that meeting knowing exactly what to expect.  
And while everyone was staring at her low cut top nobody noticed that she was the only person in the bar who hadn't handed over all of her weapons, she's a professional smuggler; simple as that.  
Let's be honest the whole _"Be part of something bigger" _speech would work on most prospective Rangers.  
Zhane might have come across as a dick there but that Morpher really is too important to lose track of.  
Remember the Dark Empire has had twenty years to rebuild, they've got some long range capabilities now and also that Yokai was part of an advance vanguard.  
If the villains are going to be actual characters and not just monsters of the week then you need to give them some character; the whole thing about them using the grenades that Lord Zedd used to grow his monsters on a planets' wildlife is intended to do that.  
I needed some plot device to explain why Yokai didn't just show up down there with their elite fighter and lay waste to everything around them; so having the try and take the Megaship made sense.  
I kinda like that bartender; I might have to find an excuse to have him show up somewhere else in the story.  
Okay, I watched a video of Zhane morphing after I wrote it in this scene and I saw that his Morpher wasn't actually wrist mounted like the other Astro Rangers; I'm just gonna ignore that because honestly it should be, a Morpher you can drop is dumb.  
What Tempestus was going to say is that Panthera's ship could look like anything, which is a fair comment.  
Remember the Dark Empire doesn't spend Putties the way other armies spend infantry; they spend Putties the way other armies spend bullets.  
I hope that battle scene managed to convey the chaotic nature of it that I was trying to get across.  
I wanted each ranger to have a distinct fighting style; Mercy uses martial arts taught by various armies, a mix of Muai Thai, Krav Maga and similar stuff, Tempestus uses something like Aikido or Judo, Aslaug is a straight up brawler and Panthera uses literally anything that's available at the time.  
But seriously though, fighting Putties bare handed is gonna leave you bleeding.  
Space age laser weapons are cool, but against Putties use something with an actual physical projectile.  
So, Yokai is responsible for killing Panthera's sister, enjoy cheering when they get what's coming to 'em.  
I'm sure the Pink Astro Morpher got repaired in canon as well but I just felt a need to put it out there here as well.  
I had to let Karone have an Astronema moment and there is no better line for it than _"Destroy them"_ also….I'm sure some of you thought Fenrir was going to be a major antagonist; nope, you got faked out.  
Yokai made an amateur mistake, they got cocky and kept talking when they should have just handled business.  
You need more dakka, you always need more dakka….come on I was gonna have a vaguely Orc character without making that joke.  
Kinda dumb to assume that aliens' hearts are in the same place as ours, but so much Sci-Fi does it.  
I had t make the cat pun, had to.  
Yes, she just used a laser Mini-gun.  
Yes Yokai is still breathing.  
Tempestus and Aslaug are gonna be a treasure to write.  
So next chapter we'll get to see what Andros has been doing; looking forward to it?

Thank you to PastyMan for their review on the last chapter.  
I'm glad your enjoying and I hope it lives up to your expectations.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	4. Black

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 03 – Black**

The planet that had come to be known as Dread by its' current inhabitants had once been a prosperous and verdant world; forests the size of Earths' continents thriving beneath an emerald coloured sky, filled with a rich variety of life, its' original inhabitants having formed a society in harmony with their surroundings; building villages within the treetops and enjoying a peaceful existence.

The planets' past and the name given to it by its own people had been lost along with that society when the vanguard of an expeditionary fleet from the world of Acheron had arrived. This world had abundant resources and its' people were not warlike by their nature, when the Lord Zedd of the time had decreed that this world would be subsumed into the fledgeling Dark Empire it was done with ruthless efficiency and horrifying displays of brutality intended to break the spirit of any meagre resistance that was rallied against them. For generations the Dark Empire had mined and exploited all the world had to offer, razing its' forests and industrialising the world whilst press-ganging its' people into servitude and sending those prisoners taken in other conflicts or from the citizenry of the Dark Empire at large to toil in the mines and factories that fuelled the Empire's war machine until their deaths.

Eventually the resources had been depleted, leaving nothing behind; those natives and prisoners who had now lived under the boot of the Dark Empire for generations had seen this as their moment to strike back, reasoning that surely with nothing left to take their oppressors would finally relent; it was not to be however and the Dark Empire simply unleashed orbital barrages on their own, now redundant factories and the sprawling cities which were more akin to termite nests or shanty towns that had risen around them before sealing the world within a planet-wide forcefield and revealing the true extent of their remorseless cruelty.

The planet was reclassified within the Dark Empire and its' inhabitants consigned to their fate as the first inmates of a prison world.

Centuries had passed since that time and the ravaged world had grown ever bleaker until it had earned the name given to it by its' inhabitants, Dread.

The world was dark and cold; generations of merciless industrialisation followed by the failed attempts to liberate the planet and the Dark Empire's own retaliation had left the once emerald skies choked and clogged until all that remained was an endless night, it had been over a hundred years since anyone born on Dread had seen the light of their planets' sun through the obsidian clouds that filled the atmosphere. The forests were nothing but a distant memory and the cities had been scourged from the worlds' surface, leaving those who scraped out an existence nowhere to shelter themselves except for caves in the mountains or ruined cities and collapsed tunnels for the particularly desperate. The planets' peaceful natives were an all but extinct race, those that called Dread their home now were a combination of the descendants of slave workers and prisoners of the Dark Empire; sentenced to Dread for any number of crimes so deplorable that even by the standard of the Empire they required punishment.

The planet had become a violent and unforgiving place, its' people a collection of gangs and near feral packs fighting over what little resources remained, the drop pods which carried new prisoners and whose discarded bodies formed mountains of scrap upon Dreads' surface being the only things of any real value left. The wildlife too had changed and become more brutal; where once there had been balanced ecosystems there were now only terrifying beasts that stalked the blasted surface of the world in search of the only reliable food source available, the prisoners themselves.

This was the world that Andros stared out at as the same, now familiar mixture of emotions welled up inside him once again; rage, sadness, disgust, grim determination and perhaps even a scrap of hope.

"It's almost time" a voice from beside him noted and he turned, the voice had been soft and gentle; it almost seemed that such a voice should never had belonged to the person who had spoken

"I know" Andros nodded as he took in the sight of the fifth and final candidate for the new Ranger team that Earth was hoping to form; Rensa-Kage, whose full given name included the name of a prison gang in place of a family was a sixteen year old boy who like most children born on dread seemed far older than their years owing to the stoic and wary way they carried themselves; the children of this world were hard faced and underfed wraiths to whom violence and death were a simple reality.

The boy was humanoid, in fact Andros was convinced that somewhere in the boys ancestry were natives of his own world of KO Thirty Five; yet those features were lost beneath those more dominant traits produced by the world of Dread. Rensa was a rake thin and emaciating husk of a thing who stood at five and a half feet tall, with a prowling and skulking manner that made him seem perhaps a little smaller still; his clothes were simply whatever was available, boots, loose fitting and ripped pants and a ragged hooded cloak which were all black in an effort to allow him to blend into the darkness of this sunless world, with the only real colour coming in the form of dirty bandages wrapped around his knuckles. His skin was pale almost to the point of translucence, a deathly pallor common to the planets' inhabitants; his cheeks were hollowed and his lips were thin, his lank hair hung below his shoulders and had a surprisingly glossy black sheen though whatever chemicals choked the air had also had the effect of tinting its' tips a dark green. Attention was naturally drawn to the boys' eyes however which, like all inhabitants of Dread who had evolved to survive in their bleak habitat, were entirely black; the irises and sclera either non-existent or simply hidden from view by a pupil which appeared to be a bottomless well of darkness more potent than even that of the planet itself.

"Are you sure that your friends will come?" Rensa murmured

"I am" Andros nodded before pointing out into the distance to a single spire that rose into the air, lights adorning its' surface making it the brightest thing for miles around and easily visible from the abandoned mine from which they were operating "When that spire goes offline the shields around the planet will start to falter long enough for their ship to get in and out"

"And when the other spires fall then Dread will be free to revenge itself upon the Dark Empire" Rensa replied, his stoic mask cracking enough to allow a smile which showed teeth perhaps just a little too sharp to be entirely human

"Exactly" Andros nodded; he had landed on the world of Dread years prior with the intention of recruiting a ranger from the planets' embittered populace but upon meeting Rensa, who had only been a child at the time, yet had already seen more horrors than a citizen of most worlds would ever encounter the Red Astro Ranger had found himself unable to simply take what he needed and leave, he felt it would make him no better than the Dark Empire and after suffering through the occupation of his own home world he could not in good conscience allow what had been done to Dread to go unanswered; instead Andros had sent out overtures to the various gangs, clans and tribes that had sprung up in the place of functioning society and begun forming them into a resistance of sorts. Those whose crimes were truly abhorrent had been simply exiled into the wastelands and the limited resources available had been allocated with painstaking precision, fashioning weapons and retrofitting as many of the drop pods that delivered new prisoners as possible into small spacecraft in preparation for an assault on the only real strongholds of the Dark Empire that remained, existing solely to protect the spires; jagged and gargantuan monoliths sunk deep below the crust of the world and powered by its' still warm core as they powered the forcefields that enveloped the world. It had been a long and arduous task but through it all Rensa had remained at Andros's side, learning, training and growing to become a truly terrifying fighter in his own right and an apprentice to the Red Ranger, perhaps even as family.

"We'll need to be at the top of the spire and we won't have long" Andros stated flatly "Go and tell the others we move out soon" Rensa nodded in silence before turning and stalking into the mine, his movements possessing a certain unsettling grace that would forever put Andros in the mind of some predatory animal.

Within the mines were several hundred members of the resistance that Andros had formed, drawn from several disparate groups and whose lives the Red Astro Ranger was painfully aware that he was essentially using as currency.

The first casualty of war was innocence however and both he and the people of Dread had lost theirs long ago.

* * *

The dusty air of the world of Onyx was rendered more acrid and intolerable by the smoke and stench of death which currently filled it; the sound of frantic begging for mercy being snuffed out and replaced by pained choking and then silence.

Yokai kicked the body of the insectoid bartender from their blade which was currently buried to the hilt in the chest of the now lifeless body; taking a moment to admire the sickly yellow blood that now coated the sickle-like weapon before casting their violet eyes around their surroundings and taking in the destruction that greeted them. The Putties had swarmed over the tavern filled with pirates and smugglers whose existence would hinder the Dark Empire as much as it would the Alliance that opposed it; the tavern burned close by and the bodies of its' former occupants littered the ground along with the broken fragments of countless stony automatons that they had managed to destroy before being utterly overrun and overwhelmed.

The sense of victory was fleeting and fragile; far from enough to outweigh the crushing shame of defeat and the cold creeping dread that chased it and found a home deep in Yokai's gut. Dark viscous ichor had poured from the stab wound in their chest left by the Silver Ranger, leaving their bony exoskeleton painted a deep midnight blue which had then been further sullied by the onslaught of the smuggler Panthera Cato; her weapon had left deep blackened scorch marks and gouges torn into their form.

The true loss however was not in their failure to kill the smuggler, but in the abject and utter failure to complete the mission given to them by Lord Zedd himself; their ship was now a ruined hulk floating in the void with its' crew either dead or dying, the Power Rangers and their accomplices had escaped and the cities they had been ordered to destroy remained standing in the distance; the warbling of the remaining Putties that had survived the battle seemed distant and unimportant as Yokai removed a hidden communication device from within its' hiding place of the plates of their exoskeleton and examined it, finding that it was undamaged they knelt in supplication and placed the device on the ground before them; making peace with the fact that their own life was forfeit.

"Yokai" the voice of Lord Zedd rumbled "How goes the razing of Onyx?"

"My Lord….it goes badly" Yokai started, their rasping voice cracking under the sheer dread consuming them. Though they couldn't see Lord Zedd, the projection showed nothing more than the darkened from of the throne and the platform upon which it stood; yet Yokai had the sensation of malignant and hateful power gathering as if their master could simply snuff out his essence from several star systems away

"Explain your failures"

"Yes my Lord" Yokai bowed deeper still "I ventured to the surface of the world in order to acquire whatever our enemies sought so that it might serve the Empire….there were Power Rangers present my Lord

"Rangers?" Lord Zedd's voice trembled with unspeakable hatred, demanding further explanation

"The same Rangers who have been attacking our ships and disrupting supply lines….they had others with them; my ship was destroyed in the battle my Lord"

"And did you, in your failure at least discern what it was that these Rangers were seeking"

"The aid of a known smuggler who escaped with them my Lord"

"The ones that were not Rangers….how many were there?"

"Three in total my Lord"

"I see" Lord Zedd's voice was still a deep rumbling that sent waves of fear crashing though Yokai with every syllable, yet now it held a thoughtful note as the unseen warlord contemplated the information that been given

"Now it all makes sense, and you may yet reclaim your honour and win back your continued existence Yokai" the bowed monster said nothing, not daring to at that moment "They're planning to create a new team of Power Rangers…..yet they're not done recruiting; time is on our side"

"How may I serve my Lord?" Yokai all but begged, the flicker of hope that sparked within them fuelling their eagerness

"Find a way to the world of Phaedos; I will have other vanguard ships move to assist you" Lord Zedd snarled "They will need a way to access the Morphing Grid from which their Power flows….coins, crystals or some such trinkets. I thought that since I slew Ninjor in their failed assault they would no longer have the means to create them….the sage must have had an apprentice"

"Your will be done my Lord"

"See that it is this time" Lord Zedd growled "Return to Acheron with the bodies of these new Rangers and Ninjor's successor….or do not dare return at all" with that the communication died and Yokai remained bowed for several moments longer; needing time to stop their knees from trembling before they could rise. Once stood they gestured to the remaining Putties to follow them; there were plenty of Spacecraft which were now without an owner and many of them were capable of the warp travel that would allow Yokai to arrive at Phaedos before the Power Rangers.

Their people were hunters and warriors, ambushing prey was deemed beneath them; but in this instance Yokai would make an exception if only to relish the look of fear on their faces when their hopes were extinguished.

* * *

"This is insane!" Panthera spat, her words being delivered with force of a dam being breached "You don't wait for a rendezvous in Dark Empire space; either your contact is on time or they're already dead!" her small and crescent winged craft, named simply _'The Claw' _had remained at the coordinates that Karone had given to her, lurking in the void of space and hanging in stationary orbit above the world of Dread whose blighted atmosphere was so dark that the planet itself could be truly seen when the light of its' star refracted against the forcefield surrounding the world.

They had waited for roughly an hour, though it seemed far longer with each moment passing at an agonisingly slow pace with Panthera's tensions mounting, the smugglers' clawed fingers extending whilst her tail swished agitatedly behind her until her resolve had broken and her exclamation had echoed throughout the interior of her ship.

"We have to wait" Zhane said simply, his attempt at a soothing tone hindered by his own clear unease "We don't have-"

"You don't have a choice" Panthera cut him off coldly "I'm about to choose to pull out of here, pick a planet to be dropped off on"

"We are not abandoning my brother" Karone stated flatly, her unwavering sternness a challenge which Panthera readily accepted

"Then I hope you can morph faster than I can shoot you" the air seemed to become charged with her words and far colder than the void outside as amber eyes with slitted pupils narrowed "Because that sounds to me like you're trying to hijack my ship"

"Woah, woah, everyone calm down!" Mercy exclaimed, quickly putting herself between the pair; knowing that Karone would not shoot with her in the way and hoping that Panthera would not attack without further provocation

"We're on the same side here" she gazed at Panthera imploringly "I thought you were with us….you seemed pretty eager to take down the Dark Empire back on Onyx"

"That was different" Panthera looked away "This Power Ranger idea of yours was a bad idea and I knew it"

"But you're here anyway, because you hoped it could work" Mercy countered before Aslaug's low and husky voice chimed in

"Your problem isn't with being here….your problem is with sitting here doing nothing; a problem we share"

"We need a plan" Mercy nodded before turning expectantly to Zhane and Karone, hoping that we would have an idea of how to proceed yet before either of them could speak Tempestus's bubbling voice sounded from behind them

"Perhaps we should see just how well defended the planet really is?" he saw that he was being greeted with disbelieving stares and added "We can see the forcefield, but one of that size…..we may be able to destabilise a small enough area of it to slip through"

"It's something at least" Mercy grinned

"Unless it triggers a response" Panthera countered

"I'm not sure it will" Karone mused "I'm not seeing any defensive satellites or ships protecting the planet"

"It's a prison world" Zhane reminded them "They literally just send people here to make the planet useful after they stripped it dry"

"Okay" Panthera's nervous tail-swishing continued as she readied the limited weapons her ship had at its' disposal and unleashed a salvo at a single point directly below.

It had no effect at all.

"Brace for impact!" she hissed, expecting the atmosphere to be lit by thousands of incoming rockets within seconds; yet they never came.

"Nothing" Karone muttered before a notion occurred to her "If there's no countermeasures in place….what about signal jamming; Andros has been contacting us from this planet, we should be able to get readings"

"Panthera, see if you can find out exactly what's below us; we need to know why Andros wanted us to arrive here specifically"

"On it" Panthera nodded, nerves abating somewhat as she found herself doing something, however small to take control of the situation.

"Massive energy signature directly below" she announced "It looks like a power source for the shields….hold on"

"What is it?" Mercy enquired, a sudden sense of urgency filling her

"Life signs" she answered "Lots of them, at the power source and heading towards it-"

"He actually did it" Zhane shook his head in disbelief; Karone saw the confused looks on the teens faces and explained

"Andros, he's been trying to turn the prisoners into a rebel army; our planet has promised to arm and aid any that make it off-world so that they can operate within the Dark Empire….He's trying to bring down the shields from the inside

"They're not going to make it" Mercy informed them sadly "Look"

"They're getting slaughtered" Panthera whispered as she watched scores of life signs simply flicker out of existence, whatever was responsible had no such life signs of its' own; though it was an unsurprising thing considering the Dark Empires tactics.

"Then let's join the battle and help them!" Aslaug exclaimed, the towering girl ready to throw herself into the fray without hesitation

"Does your ship have a teleporter?" Mercy asked Panthera hopefully

"Short range, but we can't teleport through that shield" the answer was no worse than expected

"And Andros's Ranger candidate won't have a teleport beacon, we'll have to physically get them out" Karone noted. The problem of the shield remained just as impassible as the shield itself until Tempestus spoke again, asking a question whose obviousness rendered Mercy speechless

"How did Andros get onto the planet?"

"The shield is keyed to Dark Empire ships, their drop pods slip right through it" Zhane shrugged "It's the same way fighters can deploy from a larger ship without dropping shields"

"And the same way that Aquitian cities can open themselves without being flooded" Tempestus's face lit up in a bright smile "I can get us through the shield" the words left his lips and all sound seemed to vanish within the cockpit as the six of them dared to hope until Panthera pointed out a small detail

"But you'd need to be on the ground to do it, that's where the controls are" Tempestus's smile faltered for a moment, a hint of fear flashing across his face as he made his suggestion

"Not necessarily….I'm going to have to make some modifications to your ships computer though. I can make the shield think that this is a Dark Empire ship" Panthera winced at the suggestion, then she saw the life signs still flickering and fading away below and realised that every moment they wasted was leading to more deaths

"Do it quickly" she sighed "And don't break anything"

"Okay, we've got a plan" Mercy surprised herself with her sudden confidence as she turned to Aslaug, Zhane and Karone "Let's go rescue a Power Ranger, who's coming?"

* * *

The plan was proceeding as expected, though with far more bloodshed than even Rensa-Kage, or simply Rensa as Andros had always called him had been expecting.

Prison Gang Delta four-four-six-two; the tribe to which Delta belonged had led the charge on both the spire which to Rensa's people was a relic from a time that they had never known and the defences around it. Unseen runes of an arcane and diabolical nature had been etched into the cursed and frost covered ground which brought the defences of the ancient spire to life; Putties that had lain dormant beneath the ash and snow that had covered the world since the sun had been blotted out were suddenly animated; clawing their way to the surface with glowing red eyes that were among the brightest things that the inhabitants of Dread had seen in their grim lives; along with them ancient machines protected from the ravages of time by some dark magic had been brought to life with ominous clanking and snarling, a perimeter of defensive emplacements activating and taking aim at the attackers before unleashing arcing bolts of energy which reduced anyone they struck to a smouldering lifeless ruin.

Rensa grimaced as one such bolt of energy seared the air close by, the light of the unfamiliar weapon painfully bright to eyes accustomed to the endless night of Dread yet he continued onwards, blindly slashing with an improvised blade made of sharpened bone and was rewarded with a scraping sensation as his blade ripped into the face of a charging Putty, with his vision still blurry and breath misting in front of him in the cold Rensa flung himself bodily into the automaton, tackling it to the ground and driving his fists into its' chest until its' entire body shattered beneath the blows. As his vision refocused he was treated to the sight of the true scale of the horror around him; bodies were strewn across the ground in burning heaps yet the people of Dread fought on, the world they inhabited had spawned a people seemingly without fear and armed with the knowledge and skills that Andros had imparted upon them they were slowly gaining a foothold. Several of the ancient weapons had been destroyed. Whilst Rensa's people were armed primarily with makeshift blades and clubs they had been taught to repurpose the hulls of fallen drop-pods which brought new prisoners to the world into shields and their thrusters into concussive blasters which reduced Putties to dust and fragments or flamethrowers powerful enough to simply melt them.

"WHERE'S ANDROS?" Rensa demanded, his soft and gentle voice replaced by a fierce roar directed at anyone who would listen; the man who had raised him and brought hope to the world had been at the very forefront of the fighting, a flash of scarlet light transforming him into a warrior without equal but Rensa had fallen behind in the charge and could no longer see him

"Near the spire! They're swarming him!" a voice called out and Rensa was on the move in an instant; each gasp of icy air feeling like knives in his chest as he weaved through the battle with singular purpose until finally he caught sight of the Red Astro Ranger stood at the centre of what could best be described as an open plain of destroyed Putties, spiral bladed sword in hand and moving with speeds that rendered it invisible as he was beset by more of the hated automatons

"ANDROS!" Rensa called out it unfettered terror as he watched the Red Ranger vanish beneath the tide of warbling bodies. He rushed into the battle, green tinged hair trailing behind him as he launched himself at the first Putty; Andros had always taught the teen to fight honourably, yet honour had little place on Dread and Rensa fell upon the Putties like a savage animal

"DIE!" the word was spat like venom as he leaped onto the back of an automaton and dragged it to the ground, crushing its' chest with his knee and lunging forwards whilst still crouched to drag another pair down by seizing their legs; he sprung upwards with a series of acrobatic kicks which impacted against the weak points of half a dozen more of their number, using each body as a springboard to leap to the next, flinging the sharpened bone he wielded into the face of a Putty that was attempting to clamber onto Andros's back, allowing Andros to simply run the thing through.

From then the pair worked in seamless harmony, Andros cutting the Putties down or simply shattering them with powerful blows whilst Rensa flitted around the periphery, dragging them down or simply pouncing on them, his approach to battle being a mixture of martial arts from a dozen worlds filtered through a lens of primal aggression at stark odds with his usual soft spoken and calm demeanour

"Rensa! Are you okay?" Andros demanded as the last Putty in the vicinity fell, the concern and fear in his voice clear

"I'm fine" Rensa assured him, looking down at fists that stung and ached to see dark stains spreading beneath the bandages wrapped around his knuckles "We have to get to the top of that spire" another arc of destructive energy flashed out and he could sense Andros's hesitation before the Red Ranger spoke

"I can't leave these people to die here" Rensa nodded in understanding, eyeing the spire which was now within reach with a calculating gaze; its' surface was etched and embossed with countless runes, whatever their initial purpose had been they would make suitable handholds

"I can climb the spire, I have a charge" Rensa gestured to something beneath his hooded cloak "Where do I need to be"

"Are you sure about this?" Andros asked, knowing what the answer would be and fearing it nonetheless "Okay, the spire wasn't designed to be controlled from the ground just in case the people ever tried exactly what we're doing….there's an external platform near the top, you'll see it. Fit the charge and get out of there"

"Okay" Rensa nodded before pulling Andros into something that the Red Ranger had called a hug, a gesture that Rensa had never experienced before meeting him "And if I don't make it down-"

"You will" Andros interrupted, refusing to accept any other notion "May the Power Protect you" with no more to be said Rensa surged towards the spire as Andros made to assist the other attackers, the teen leapt into the air and kicked a Putty whose entire right side was in a molten state to the ground and leapt onto the surface of the jagged and monstrous monolith that powered the forcefields around his world; scurrying up its' surface with practised ease and for the first time since the battle had begun, without fear or doubt.

Then fear reimposed itself upon him as he finally caught sight of the platform that was his target, a simple metal oblong surrounded a railing which in an instant demystified the spires for Rensa, these were no longer ancient relics left by the empire that had spread their foul influence across his world, they were simple machines that could be broken; but fear came nonetheless as a series of wet sucking and squelching sounds came from below.

Putties were forming from the very structure of the spire yet these automatons were different in appearance, they were more slender with elongated limbs which ended in clawed feet and long hooked appendages in place of hands; the length of their limbs were covered in small grasping claws which sunk into the surface of the spire and aided them in scuttling across its' surface whilst keeping their chests flush against the wall of the spire to protect it from attack. Every muscle in Rensa's body ached and burned from exertion and he knew that the lead Putty which was scurrying ahead of the others and baring down on him with frightening rapidity would reach him before he reached the platform.

So instead he let go of the spire and allowed himself to fall.

The putty warbled and chattered in confusion as it watched Rensa fall, his descent carrying him behind the automaton where promptly planted a knee in its' back and wrapped both hands around its' neck, smashing it against the wall and thrashing uncontrollably until it was finally ripped free before leaping from its' back to seize the wall of the spire once again. The other Putties had ceased climbing and had begun to home in on the point below Rensa when he had fallen, proving them to be no more intelligent than their regular counterparts and he now saw that there was enough distance between himself and the remaining Putties to make it onto the platform.

After more frantic climbing he dragged himself onto its' surface, slipping below the railings around it and laying on its' icy surface gasping for breath whilst staring up at the control panel he sought to destroy; within moments a hooked limb gouged into the platform close to his head and forced him to leap to his feet as the first of the Putties clambered onto the small and narrow platform.

"Not here, not now" Rensa breathed out, refusing to be denied this close to his goal and rushing to meet his attacker, he crouched low and kicked out as the Putty charged and slashed; taking its' legs from beneath it and seizing a clawed forearm as he used its' own momentum as leverage to hurl the thing over his shoulder and off of the platform, it took another Putty with it as it fell but yet another was already scuttling up on the other side. His foot lashed out and struck the Putty in the chin, staggering it for long enough for a palm strike to shatter its' chest and before before its' broken body had hit the ground Rensa was already focused on another pair, weaving around a wild slash at his chest and grabbing the hooked limb whilst driving his elbow into a neck and kicking legs out to send them both toppling backwards; breaking the Putties' chest cavity with his elbow before flinging himself into the air and delivering a kick to the skull of the second Putty which had been reaching toward him, rolling over its' back and driving his knee into its' chest with explosive results.

Staggering forwards he reached into his cloak and a toothy smile formed on his thin and gaunt face as he examined the explosive device he had brought with him.

Then without warning he was tumbling forwards, head cracking painfully against the control panel he sought to destroy and as he hit the ground he caught sight of the Putty whose hooked limb had dragged him to the ground as it reached the platform, then he watched in horror as his explosive charge rolled over the edge.

"NO!" the word was a tortured scream as he lashed out and kicked the Putty away, scrabbling to his feet again his dark eyes wide with horror as more Putties came.

Then the sky opened

Something far larger than any drop-pod tore a brief hole in the endless darkness and allowed Rensa his first glimpse at the true colour of his home worlds' sky

Then the blinding light of teleportation streaked downwards in front of him; to a native of Dread it was like a star had been forced into his retinas and he collapsed backwards clutching his face and howling in pain; unaware of the railing as he toppled backwards and crashing over them as his consciousness failed, his last pain-blurred memories being of falling, blinded whilst unfamiliar voices screamed out to catch him.

* * *

The trio of Aegis Rangers who had first been assembled on Earth had departed for the rendezvous with the surviving Astro Rangers scant hours ago; yet it felt to Kimberley Hart and indeed to those others with the knowledge of the team and the mission entrusted to them as though an age had passed. Kimberley knew that Zebidiah had entered a meditative trance to both calm his mind and gather his mystical powers to him in their full capacity in case need of them arose, Justin had simply flung himself into his work in an effort to distract himself which the once Pink Ranger was trying to emulate, pen tapping against the surface of the desk within her office as she stared at paperwork which required her signature yet which seemed utterly irrelevant in comparison.

Then her communicator began to beep, the device which had been on the cutting edge of technology when Billy had first made it was now rendered obsolete by the average cell phone and served only as a secure line of communication between former Power Rangers and Lightspeed officers, which Kimberley was both of.

"This is Captain Hart"

"Kim" the voice of Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell was insistent "I need you in conference room one immediately; we have incoming communication claiming to be from the Aegis and Astro Rangers"

"Can't it be patched though to my office?" Kim questioned before the sentence seemed to reply itself in her mind with the word 'claiming' standing out as exceptionally odd.

"It isn't coming from the Megaship, we're still trying to verify before answering" Dana's answer explained the uncertainty but raised more questions which Kimberley elected to keep unspoken for the moment

"Understood, I'm on my way" her paperwork lay forgotten as she marched out of her office and took off towards the conference room intended for long range interstellar communications, her brisk walk soon giving in to to an outright run. In her mind the fact that the signal was not being broadcast from the Megaship meant one of two things, either that the ship had been destroyed and they had managed to procure another or that the rangers had been captured and information had been extracted by means best left unconsidered, meaning that this communication could in fact by a ploy to transmit malware directly to the Aquabase.

Within mere minutes Kimberley had reached conference room one and she felt a vast and crushing weight lift from her soul as the image displayed on one of the many screens that filled the vast meeting room all but confirmed that her fears had been unfounded; the Rangers were accounted for if somewhat worse for wear. The Astro Rangers were morphed but had removed their helmets allowing Kim and Dana to see that Zhane's hair and face were stained with dried blood and that Andros was deathly pale as though he hadn't seen the sun for far too long; beside them were the three prospective Rangers that had departed who had clearly seen battle, Aslaug in particular having dried blood streaking most of of her face whilst the individual piloting their new vessel was unfamiliar; though both Kimberley and Dana could plainly see the Aegis Morpher adorning her wrist.

"Captain Mitchell" Andros nodded, the use of Dana's former title suggesting that he had been unaware of several recent developments "We have the Rangers"

"I only see four" Kimberley noted, trying to keep her tone even despite the concern evidently colouring it

"Our fifth candidate received some, hopefully minor injuries"

"He's a night-sider and these idiots" the teal-skinned alien interrupted as she gestured to Zhane, Mercy and Aslaug "Teleported in right in front of him" Kim was unable to mask her wince at the news, night-sider being an obvious name for those whose planets were perpetually dark or whose societies could only find homes below the surface, she understood inherently what the flash of teleportation must have felt like to eyes accustomed to the dark.

"This is Panthera Cato" Karone intoned gesturing to the pilot "Our fourth candidate"

"You've done well Rangers" Dana nodded, a smile of relief on her weary face "Make your way to Phaedos as soon as possible then return to Earth"

"Understood" Andros replied, pausing briefly before adding "I need you to send word to KO thirty five and tell them to send a ship to the Dark Empire prison world of Dread"

"What?" Dana was unable to mask her confusion at this, Kimberley stood behind her open mouthed in shock at the request

"That would be the night world that we recruited our fifth Ranger from" Zhane chuckled darkly "A portion of the natives have formed a guerilla army who would work well within KO thirty fives' strike teams and there's now a sizeable hole in the planets' defences to act as an extraction point but time is of the essence"

"Consider it done" Dana answered ecstatic at the news; the very idea of a prison world was repugnant to her and not only had one been seemingly liberated but its' inhabitants were willing to combat the Dark Empire alongside them, this was an additional victory on top of their successful mission.

"We have to make some slight reconfigurations to the ship before we depart for Phaedos" Andros informed them "Over and out" the communication ended and Kimberley and Dana both stared at each other in silence for a single tense second before erupting into cheers.

"They did it" Kimberley exclaimed "We have new Power Rangers!"

"Contact Dulcea" Dana replied, equally elated "I'm going to contact KO thirty five and tell them to send transports" Kimberley was soon alone in the conference room and quickly went about starting the long range transmission to the world of Phaedos which was soon answered, the image of the interior of an ancient temple atop a rocky plateau coming into focus; occupied by a woman in a dull green cloak clutching a staff whose face appeared to simply be beyond time and whose age was impossible to guess, this was Dulcea; the last living being who truly understood the secrets of the Morphing Grid

"Your Rangers are coming?" she asked, the reason for her being contacted obvious to her

"They are" Kimberley nodded "Three from the best our Alliance of Planets can muster and two who have already fought against the Dark Empire"

"Then they're already worthy and will have no need to face the trials that would otherwise await them" Dulcea nodded, though she did not seem particularly happy with this divergence from tradition; gesturing to something with her cloak she added "I have progressed the ritual as far as possible for the moment, I won't be able to bond these Power Coins to them until they arrive"

"I see" Kimberley replied tonelessly, unsure of how to respond to this ancient being that had been hand chosen by the equally ancient Ninjor. She was spared having to speak any more by a dark shadow falling over the temple and a hateful expression forming across Dulcea's face

"THEY DARE COMMIT SACRILEGE BY COMING HERE?" her robe was cast aside to reveal emerald coloured armour and rune-etched staff

"Dulcea?"

"The Dark Empire, they desecrate my temple with their presence! I can sense their darkness from here! I must go young crane" the transmission ended and Kimberley was left frozen in wide eyed horror as she realised a single, terrifying and undeniable truth

The Rangers would be flying straight into a trap.

* * *

"Keep your eyes closed" an unfamiliar voice, low and smokey instructed the moment Rensa began to stir; consciousness returning to him in a frantic rush of memories that caused him to try and leap to his feet and open his eyes in open defiance of the voice. He was held down and a hand forced over his eyes

"Rensa, close your eyes and stay still" this new voice was gentle and familiar

"Andros?" his voice cracked as emotions threatened to overcome him and hearing the Red Ranger's voice he did as requested, the hand moved away and a moment later its' weight was replaced by something else that was quickly fastened behind his head

"Filter goggles, I've needed to use them before" the smokey voice explained "You can open your eyes now" he did so and found that despite the blinding flash of light that had sent him toppling over the edge of the spires' control platform, he could still see.

"The spire-"

"Gone" Andros assured him as he gestured to a young woman whose appearance was unlike anyone Rensa had ever met before "Panthera brought it down after we got you to safety, people from my world are going to evacuate as much of Dread as possible….your people are free"

"Thank you" Rensa croaked out, feeling a sudden urge to wipe his eyes despite the goggles he now wore making that an impossibility, instead he merely looked around and took in the various strangers before him; a man and woman whose Power Ranger suits were similar to Andros's own meaning that they could only be the sister and lifelong friend that Andros had told Rensa about many times. The others were a dark skinned man and woman and another woman who would be considered pale by any standards other than those of Rensa's home world, all of whom seemed to be close to his own age; the teen with light brown skin and whose curly hair had been dyed red at the tips crouched down and helped Rensa to his feet as she introduced herself

"I'm Mercy, these are Tempestus, Aslaug and Panthera….welcome to the team"

"Team?" Rensa arched an eyebrow that had discoloured by Dreads' atmosphere

"You're going to be a Power Ranger" Andros explained, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder "This is what I've been training you for; a new team"

"To fight the Dark Empire?" behind his goggles Rensa's dark eyes gleamed with excitement that his soft voice failed to convey "For you….it would be my pleasure"

"Glad to hear it" Mercy chuckled before pressing something into his hands, Rensa looked down and saw that it was a device very similar to Andros's own Morpher and he slipped it onto his wrist with murmured thanks which went unheard as another voice sounded throughout the ship

"Approaching destination. Dropping from warp"

"Thank you CAT" Panthera answered the unseen voice and Rensa watched her slip into the pilots' seat and reassume direct control of her vessel; the endless span of brilliantly white light visible outside, which Rensa's goggles filtered to tolerable levels seemed to break apart and reform into distant starts as the darkness of space bled through the cracks. The ship slowed and entered what could be considered normal space, no longer travelling faster than light as it neared its' final approach above a world whose surface was a dull granite grey yet whose atmosphere was a swirling and shifting pallet of blues, oranges and magenta; like the glow of a perpetual sunset that encompassed the entire planet.

"Wow" Mercy breathed out, a simple assessment but one Rensa was inclined to agree with

"Are all other worlds this….beautiful?" he asked in something close to awe

"Not really" Panthera shrugged from the pilots' seat "But the pretty ones make up for the rest" Andros, Zhane and Karone made their way into the cockpit beside her.

"Bring us in, I'll try and raise Dulcea" Karone instructed "We should be in communicator range" the ship glowed with heat that went unfelt inside as it slipped through the atmosphere of Phaedos; Panthera quickly adjusting several control as forces began to act on its' hull whilst Karone's expression grew concerned

"No response"

"That's not right" Zhane noted "She should know that we're en route by now" things were silent for a moment longer as the ship descended, Rensa following Mercy whom he could sense seemed to hold some unspoken authority amongst this new team of his as she entered the cockpit; Tempestus and Aslaug doing the same a moment later. The ship burst through vibrant clouds and surged downwards until something became visible that caused the Astro Rangers to collectively don their helmets, sharp intakes of breath escaping them.

"Fires" Zhane exclaimed "The temple's under attack!"

"No" Karone breathed out in abject fear "That's a downed ship; it looks like it crashed into the temple"

"Panthera bring us down!" Andros ordered; she complied and the Astro Rangers quickly rushed to the nearest exit hatch

"Stay behind us!" Karone ordered to the currently powerless teens, though Panthera still quickly readied the rapid firing weapon that she'd used against Yokai whilst Aslaug simply looked for something blunt and heavy she could use as a makeshift weapon. Rensa rushed out beside Mercy, both of them a step behind the Astro Rangers only to come to a halt at the sight that greeted them, each Ranger trying to piece together what had happened.

Dulcea had, with her own magical might ripped the incoming ship from the sky to which the pilot had retaliated by sending it on a collision course into her temple; attackers had swarmed from the wreckage whilst Dulcea had summoned monstrous automatons of her own; the ancient and ferocious Temple Guard though it seemed that however skilled they had been it was not enough to overcome the sheer weight of numbers that the Putties possessed; their broken forms lay motionless amidst the shattered remains of countless Putties yet dozens more still stood chattering and leering at the Power Rangers.

In the midst of it all was Yokai, burned, bloodied, their lower left arm hanging limp and broken and with a gash carved into their own skeletal face, seemingly with one of their own blades.

Yet their remaining lower arm was wrapped around Dulcea's throat as they leered at the Rangers; Dulcea herself seemingly struggling to remain conscious as her breathing was constricted

"I knew you'd come, I wanted you to see this part" the monsters' metallic and scraping voice was unmistakably pleased

"Let her go" Zhane demanded

"You're outnumbered"

"You're outclassed" Yokai chuckled at the retort, content to concede that the Rangers were capable opponents at the very least, though their grip never relented

"For the moment" the grinned savagely "But I have reinforcements on the way, do you?" there was tense silence as the Rangers realised that they may well be alone with no aid coming; Panthera's finger gently brushed against the trigger of her weapon, the Astro Rangers were coiled and ready to leap into battle and Rensa swallowed his reservations and prepared to join them; whatever this creature was he would see it brought low.

Dulcea continued to struggle against Yokai, eventually loosing their grip around her neck enough to speak which only amused the monster

"Rangers!" she gasped "May the Power pro-" her words were cut short, replaced by a gasp of pain and surprise in equal measure as two of Yokai's blades stabbed into her back and burst through her chest.

**Authors Notes:**

Come on its' the penultimate chapter of the first arc, I had to have a little bit of fun with a cliffhanger.  
Also yeah, next chapter wraps up this arc and I think that's the length per-arc I'm gonna go with, think of each arc as a multi part episode.  
So; we've got all of our rangers, we're on Phaedos; looks like I really need to finalise these Ranger suit designs before I get ahead of myself.  
There might be a bit of a gap between the end of this arc and the start of the next one; I've gotta plan it out is all.

Anyway let's summarise:  
The history of the planet Dread doesn't really have any plot relevance but it serves as a deeper insight into how the Dark Empire operates and why they can't be reasoned, debated or negotiated with; they spread like a plague….which is something that I'll get into in a little more detail next chapter.  
Okay so those that follow my RWBY writing will know this but, I play Warhammer 40K and the lore of that universe influences my own world-building to some degree; anyone familiar with 40K lore, feel free to imagine Dread as a decimated cross between Nostramo and Cthonia.  
Well Mercy isn't the shortest Ranger now, her and Rensa are about the same size, but he looks smaller when he isn't Morphed because of bad posture.  
Its' official Rensa-Kage is a creepy looking mother fucker and earns his title of _"The quiet broody one"_ on looks alone.  
Dread has been completely cut off, the only things the inhabitants know about the Dark Empire are stories passed down through generations and whatever they learned from the steady stream of murderers, thieves, rapists and political dissidents that were exiled to the world.  
The KO-35 characters are pretty much perfectly suited to starting insurrections on Dark Empire world and fighting guerilla wars; Zhane and Andros did it for years.  
It feels like this intro gave away less about the character than the others did because it was from Andros's perspective rather than Rensa's but honestly it works considering.  
If Zhane had stayed with the aliens at the bar they would have won eventually, but Yokai was with the ground attacking the docked ships and the Ranger candidates so he had to leave them; I was debating bringing the bug guy back but oh well.  
Yokai was fully expecting to be told to fall on their swords when they contacted Zedd….who we will see in full by the end of this arc.  
Remember Yokai's ship was only part of the first wave, there are plenty more where that came from and this Lord Zedd is at least a competent antagonist capable of figuring of his enemies motives and extrapolating their next move.  
Okay just a quick distinction to make here, if I say warp I mean faster than light travel; warp and teleportation are not the same thing, teleportation near is instantaneous which is what the gates Tommy led the attack on in the prologue were for.  
Panthera fidgets, it's a little quirk I wasn't even aware I was writing for her when I did it...although now I have the idea of someone giving her a Yo-Yo when she gets to Earth in my head and I can't shake it.  
Tempestus carrying on blue Ranger tradition by being the tech guy and having the ideas.  
There is another thing that the Dark Empire can do with a planet to make it useful, we'll get into that in the next arc.  
Tempestus working on his home city was actually foreshadowing; people who've read my RWBY stuff before know what to expect, new people….prepare for long games.  
The contrast between the different fighting styles is still fun to write, Rensa has been taught to fight 'like a Ranger' but still defaults to either prison style dirty fighting or just jumping on someone and savaging them like an animal.  
Putties are mass produced, the idea of different 'models' of them as well as Putties made from different base materials is one I'll be coming back to fairly regularly.  
I feel like the whole Spire scene had a very_ 'Rogue One'_ vibe and I can't say that I mind that at all.  
Rensa was born in the dark, moulded by it…..he didn't see the light until he was already a man, by then it was nothing to him but blinding.  
So yeah, just a quick trip back to the Aquabase and a reminder that these last few chapters have taken place over the course of only a few hours.  
Dulcea is wearing actual armour in this, not a bikini made out banana leaves.  
So basically Rensa is going to have goggles on and his eyes covered for most of the story, Earth would actually blind him. Also Panthera having goggles makes sense, considering she has cat eyes and her line of work takes her all over the galaxy.  
I was debating outright stating that Andros and Rensa's relationship is a father son one but yeah that's what it is, or as close to one as anybody from Dread really has.  
Come on you knew it was gonna end like this from the moment Yokai didn't die on Onyx.  
The Temple Guard from the 1995 movie get at least a slight cameo in the form of corpses.  
Yes Dulcea slashed Yokai's face with their own blade.  
"_You're outnumbered" "You're outclassed"  
_Okay, we all know that it's not a real cliffhanger but come on I had to have something in the penultimate chapter….besides, without Dulcea there is a definite hard limit on the amount of coins the Rangers can have.

Thank you to Jen425, SumoSnipe, Super ShadowHenshin and D for their reviews on the last chapter.I hope you're enjoying my OCs as much as the legacy characters.  
The only weapons that Panthera actually had in the tavern were her knives, the rest were stashed on her ship, Zhane left his blaster behind but considering he's a Power Ranger the bartender needed it more.  
I can see why you'd think that Yokai is going to be a recurring villain and perhaps even a second in command….but wait.  
I won't be using anything from after Dino Thunder, with the exception of SPD although I won't be using the setting, only the characters. SPD as an organisation doesn't exist within this timeline but I've already referenced Doggie Cruger and the characters who were A-Squad based on the Lightspeed Moonbase….which was made from Rita's palace.  
Regarding typos, once I'm done with this arc I'm gonna go back and correct any mistakes before I make a start on the next one.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	5. Morphin' Time

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 04 – Morphin' Time**

The world fell silent and time simply ceased, for a single eternity spanning moment nothing moved or breathed and then, in slow motion Dulcea collapsed forwards; dark blood that had spilled from where Yokai's blades had burst through her armour began to pool on the debris-ridden ground around her. Mercy's ears were ringing as her own heartbeat thundered inside her skull, deafening her to the sound of her own anguished scream yet Yokai's rasping voice cut cleanly through the haze, the monster didn't shout but rather raised one of their three arms that still functioned and pointed their a blade at the Rangers with a single word, delivered with calm finality

"Attack" those Putties that had not been laid low by Dulcea and her Temple Guard swarmed towards the Rangers, Yokai stalking behind them at an almost leisurely pace. Without warning Mercy's fury reached a fever pitch, her field of vision seemed to narrow until there was nothing but herself, Yokai and the straight line of attack between them and she would not be denied. With a roar of primal rage she charged forwards and slipped between the trio of Astro Rangers and rushed headlong into the nearest Putty, a flying kick colliding with the centre of its' chest with the expected result yet immediately she was surrounded and weathering a storm of blows from fists and feet made of stone and forced to the ground

"That wasn't clever" Aslaug grunted with exertion as she bodily threw a pair of the automatons away from Mercy and kicked another in the chest "But it was brave" beside her Tempestus and Panthera were attempting to force back several putties each and in a blur of movement Rensa leapt over Mercy, who was yet to stand; landing in the midst of several flailing bodies which were dragged down and dismissed in short order. Mercy struggled to her feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood as Aslaug made to pull her away from the fighting; her wide eyes scanned the battlefield and she saw that Andros, Zhane and Karone had forced Yokai back several paces but were struggling to overcome the monsters' sheer power. Several feet in front of where they now fought Dulcea still lay motionless.

Until Mercy watched her body rise and fall with a single weak, shuddering breath; a moment later her hand twitched as though she were trying to support her weight on limbs that simply refused to move

"SHE'S STILL ALIVE!" hearing Mercy's exclamation brought another moment of silence to the ruined temple; rippling outwards until Andros leapt at Yokai once more with a bellowed order on his lips

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!"

"FALL BACK TO THE SHIP!" Karone added as she rolled away from a crushing swipe of Yokai's tail "LEAVE US BEHIND IF YOU HAVE TO!"

"RUN COWARDS!" Yokai howled in response, midnight blue ichor flying from their lipless, skeletal maw "CLING TO YOUR HOPES, THEY CAN'T SAVE YOU NOW!"

"Panthera!" Mercy called to the teal-skinned alien "Cut 'em down!" nodding in understanding Panthera readied her rapid-firing laser weapon which had been temporarily forgotten as the teens had rushed into melee combat, bolts of magenta light ripping though stone bodies and leaving the holes they gouged in the Putties glowing like magma, yet many of the automatons simply refused to fall to anything other than a direct hit to the weak point of their chests

"Tempestus, Rensa! Help her!" the two young men did as ordered and weaved through the maelstrom of laser-fire to attack any Putties that drew dangerously close to Panthera, however riddled with burning holes they were; the three of them effectively diverting the attention of their dull and senseless enemies

"Aslaug come on!" Mercy ran towards the wounded and bleeding sage with the larger girl behind her; she balked at the amount of blood that had stained the ground, none of her training had truly been able to prepare her for the bloody reality of war though Aslaug seemed to be somehow desensitised to it and hauled Dulcea over her shoulder as gently as possible

"To the ship!" she said simply and both she and Mercy ran towards Panthera's craft, Mercy gesturing for the others to fall back

"COME ON, COME ON GET IN!" Mercy called as Tempestus and Rensa slipped through the entrance hatch whilst Panthera retreated in slow deliberate steps backwards, determined to thin down the Putties more before finally leaping into her ship and closing the hatch; within moments the sound of Putties thumping against the hull could be heard

"We should be safe here for a while" Mercy panted

"A while?" Tempestus questioned "They told us to go"

"We're not abandoning Andros!" Rensa spat

"He's right we're not" Mercy shook her head "Some orders aren't worth following"

"R-Rangers" a pained croak silenced them all and the teens turned towards Dulcea, whom Aslaug had lain gently on the floor of the spacecraft; finding nothing other than her own furs to use in a futile attempt to slow the bleeding.

"Hush, save your strength, you fought bravely" Aslaug's tone was gentle and Mercy had the unshakeable impression that her team-mate had comforted dying warriors like this before; Dulcea was insistent however a blood trickled from her lips as she continued to speak

"I have no more time and what strength I had I saved for this" forcing herself into a clearly painful sitting position she clasped her hands together and golden light began to shine from within them "Come, gather round….it's time" the teens did so, the air crackling with some indescribable power as Dulcea's hands opened and five shimmering golden coins levitated from between them, each shining with a corona of rainbow coloured light; Dulcea's eyes glowed pure and incandescent white as she spoke, her voice echoing and amplified by the power coursing through her as she became a conduit for the Morphing Grid and spoke on its' behalf

"Mercy Jackson; you are the red-tailed hawk of Earth, soaring free" Mercy reacted without thought, her hand flying out and seizing the golden coin that flew towards her, an embossed image of the bird of prey rising from within and forming on the surface of the coin.

"Tempestus, son of William, scion of Anuket; you are the Aquitian Plesion, patient and determined" the dark skinned boy held the coin he received with open reverence

"Aslaug, Princess of the Frost Fang Tribe of Mirinoi; you are the Ursa Titan, a mighty protector" the towering young woman seemed stunned by the words yet Dulcea was clearly incapable of explaining further, words pouring from her of their own volition

"Panthera Cato; you are the Felixian Sabre-Beast, cunning and fierce" she received her coin without comment, leaving only one remaining

"Rensa-Kage of Prison Gang Delta four-four-six-two; you are the Osore of Dread, relentless and unyielding" as he caught the coin that flew towards him Dulcea spoke again "And all of you, are Power Rangers" with that the light left her eyes and she fell backwards, though Dulcea never hit the floor, instead her body seemed to shatter into a million fragments of light which flickered and faded from reality

"What? What just happened?" Mercy stared at where Dulcea has been

"She left this plane of existence" Tempestus answered simply "Her spirit passed on" he stared at the coin in his hand and then at the Aegis Morpher adorning his left wrist

"I think one was made for the other" with that he slipped the coin into the indentation that was indeed the perfect size for it; Mercy nodded silently and did the same with Aslaug, Panthera and Rensa following suit.

Nothing happened.

The oppressive silence was shattered moments later by the sky suddenly darkening and alarms began to shriek within the ship

"CAT, what's happening?" Panthera demanded

"Dark Empire ships have entered the atmosphere" the computerised voice answered tonelessly; the newly forged and unmorphed Rangers shared a look of fear, Yokai's promised reinforcements had arrived

"WE NEED TO GET THE OTHERS-" whatever Mercy intended went unheard; her words were lost in the cacophony of explosions that tore the world asunder as the Dark Empire ships opened fire.

* * *

"Kimberley what're you doing?" Vice-Admiral Dana Mitchell demanded as she strode into the teleportation chamber that her fellow former Pink Ranger was attempting to use, Dana's own authority being enough to halt the process and prevent Kimberley from leaving.

"My job" Kimberley answered, panic making giving her words an unintended sharpness "Strike Squad Alpha are preparing to mobilise from the Moonbase, they're gonna need help-"

"So you're going alone and with no Morpher?" Dana asked, when Tommy had formed his small army of Power Rangers the Pink Power Coin had once again been given to Katherine Hillard; leaving Kimberley with no way to access the Morphing Grid.

"I know what you're thinking" Kimberley said sternly, any notions of rank forgotten "And no Dana, you're needed here; Lightspeed needs you, Earth need you. My Rangers need me"

"And you need the Power" Dana's voice became choked with emotion as she pressed something into Kimberley's hands "Take this….Ryan's never going to use it again" Kimberley looked down and saw that she was holding the Titanium Morpher. Ryan Mitchell had returned from the battle on Acheron twenty years ago and had recovered as much as the medical science of the entire Alliance would allow, yet he had known that his days as a Power Ranger were over and had handed over his Morpher to his sister in the hopes that its' next user would not share his fate.

"Thank you" Kimberley said simply, Dana nodded and with a few digital commands reactivated the teleportation chamber. Kimberley held the unfamiliar Morpher out in front of her and felt Power course through her as she spoke

"TITANIUM POWER!" the sensation of becoming a Power Ranger was one that she would always remember and even after so many years she could sense the subtle differences between this man-made manifestation of the Power and the one that she had wielded as a teenager; her morphing was intermingled with the sensation of teleportation and when the flash of light subsided she stepped forward into the midst of a group of elite soldiers who were preparing to deploy, wearing the suit of the Titanium Ranger

"Captain Hart reporting for duty" she declared as she removed her helmet and surveyed her surroundings. Lightspeed had made every effort to strip as much influence of the Dark Empire from the vast structure that had once served as the palace of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd as possible; the open balconies had been sealed as the magic which kept the artificial atmosphere within from being sucked out had long since faded, motionless sentry gargoyles had been removed with high powered explosives and the arcane forge which Finster had once used to create the horrors that plagued Angel Grove had been dismantled and any lingering traces of magic dispelled along with countless other diabolical artefacts and mechanisms whose usage Zebidiah Lord has assured Lightspeed would bring nothing good. In its' place was a base of operations that despite its' origins and architecture was the model of the interplanetary society that the Alliance aspired to be; signs in the various languages of a dozen worlds adorned the walls and among the gathering soldiers Kimberley could see members of several species representing the Alliance.

"I always knew you were out of my league in high-school….but the fact you were a Power Ranger back then always gets me" Kimberley turned and allowed herself a small smile at the fact that some things would seemingly never change

"Unless you're here for a date after all these years?" Skull gave a sly wink and adjusted a beret that was now part of an official uniform rather a fashion statement whilst beside him Bulk, who had gained an impressive amount of muscle since joining Lightspeed but would always be a heavyset man shook his head at his lifelong friends antics

"Skullovitch, Bulkmier are co-ordinates set?"

"Aye sir!" both men exclaimed in unison, turning to salute the approaching forms of Doggie Cruger and Strike Squad Alpha; the elite rapid response unit that Project Lightspeed had used to devastating effect since their creation

"At ease" Doggie instructed as he snapped off a quick salute to Kimberley who returned it, though she noticed that Strike Squad Alpha, who had seemingly forgone their customary helmets which had been styled to resemble the Astro Rangers did not; instead the five individuals who were clad in heavy-duty yet lightweight and mobile armour, coloured glossy black and silver with areas where other colours seemed to have been hastily scratched away and carried a variety of powerful advanced weapons simply wore determined scowls

"So your new Rangers need saving" the leader of the team, a tanned woman named Charlie scoffed as she stepped forwards "Should have just sent us instead"

"That's enough" Doggie growled, his tone implying that this was a topic that had been discussed more than once before; the canine alien adjusted his grip on the ancestral sword that he carried "Our people need us and the galaxy needs them, that's all there is to it. Who's ready?" a chorus of assent echoed throughout the teleportation chamber of the Moonbase which Kimberley found herself adding her own voice to

"I'm glad you're here with us Ma'am" Doggie bowed his head to Kimberley who slipped her helmet back into place as Bulk and Skull prepared to teleport the group of dozens of soldiers onto Phaedos; familiar words on her lips as she did so

"Back to action"

Whatever momentary swell of hope and determination she may have felt was soon reduced to flickering embers; the reality of war imposed itself upon her the moment the flash of teleportation subsided. The sky was darkened by Dark Empire ships above blocking out the sun with their presence and even as Kimberley rushed into the fray beside Strike Squad Alpha she knew that this battle would be a hard fought one; Putties were being teleported onto the surface of Phaedos from the ships in their hundreds and even as they turned to engage the newcomers the many-limbed monster that could only be the leader of this attack could be seen fighting Andros, Zhane and Karone to a standstill alone

Most importantly, Kimberley realised as she swung the Titanium laser in its' axe form into the skull of an oncoming Putty that she couldn't see Dulcea or the Aegis Rangers anywhere.

Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw something moving within the blazing and devastated ruins of a spacecraft.

* * *

There were no words to describe of the sensation of the power coursing through her body.

All Mercy could adequately explain was that she felt invincible, a statement given credence by the fact that she stood in the utterly destroyed remains of Panthera's ship completely unharmed despite the wall of sheer concussive force and scorching flames that had washed over her as the Dark Empire's missiles impacted. She didn't need to glance down at herself to see that she had morphed, she could sense the influence of the Power on her mind and body; yet glance down she did and she was awed at what she saw.

Mercy was now the Red Aegis Ranger, her suit a deep scarlet. A curved and stylized lightning bolt reached from her collarbones to her left hip and arced back upwards to beneath her right arm, pure white in colour and with a silver trim; the white extended to the entirety of the right arm of her suit, her belt, left gauntleted hand and her boots whilst heavy and ornate silver bracers inscribed with runes in a language that was clearly not found on Earth adorned her legs just above her boots and her forearms below her elbows. In the centre of her chest, displayed over the lightning bolt insignia was a single silver diamond whose lowest point reached to just above her abdomen; embossed upon the diamond was the image which had formed on her power coin, that of a red-tailed hawk swooping downwards with its' talons extended. Mercy couldn't feel her helmet and in truth was barely aware of its' presence, her entire suit simply felt as though it were a natural extension of herself though she knew it must be there. Her helmet was the same shade of red as her suit with an angular and slightly angled forwards mouth guard coloured silver; the top of her helmet was sculpted to resemble a stylised depiction of the red-tailed Hawk that Dulcea had named her as, sleek and imposing with fierce golden yellow eyes and a hooked beak dipping below the edge of the visor that hid her identity; her visor was an exaggerated wide arrowhead shape that only continued the theme of streamlined sleekness and was trimmed with the same right silver that appeared elsewhere on her armour.

"This feels incredible" Mercy mouthed as she turned to her team-mates and saw that they had been similarly transformed.

Tempestus wore a suit of royal blue whose base design was the same as Mercy's own with the exception of its' helmet and the creature being depicted within the diamond on his chest, both of which displayed the Aquitian Plesion. The stylised head of the animal featured wide-set and beady black eyes with a row of ridged armour plates running backwards along the top of the helmet with the crevices between them being a notably darker shade of blue, though the most notable feature of the helmet were the twin points of the animals' arrowhead shaped skull which extended beyond the back of Tempestus's head. His visor was a narrow yet sweeping curve and the silver trim of the visor was interrupted by countless small fangs being depicted.

Aslaug simply looked more imposing than ever in her suit of golden yellow. The Ursa-Titan of Mirinoi was an apex predator amongst the worlds' polar regions which the Yellow Ranger called home; if a native of Earth were to describe the animal they would say that it resembled a grizzly bear though it was far larger and that its' head sported the mane of a lion whilst oversized tusks sprouted from its' lower jaw; traits that Aslaug's helmet encapsulated. Her visor was angular, it would have been perfectly rectangular were it not for the cutaway segments positioned above her cheekbones from which long silver tusks jutted outwards; the bear like visage adorning her helmet featured silver teeth reaching into the visor, a black nose and blood red eyes with an angular and stylised mane sweeping behind the helmet itself.

Panthera's suit was a striking shade of fuchsia and featured some slight variations from the other rangers' suits, the most obvious being that her tail was enclosed within the Pink Ranger's suit but also that silver claws adorned her fingertips. The Felixian Sabre-Beast was a native to the jungles Panthera's home-world of Felix that shared a common ancestor with Felidae themselves; to a human they would look like some long extinct sabre-toothed cat with fangs and claws exaggerated to a larger degree; their bodies however had a distinctly ape or gorilla-like build that allowed them to move through the trees and descend on prey with ease. Panthera's helmet featured a wide and almost rounded visor, complemented by a pair of long fangs sinking down into it; a pair of vivid green eyes leered from the top of the helmet, framed by three silvery stripes along the sides of the helmet and stylised cat ears protruding from the top.

The Osore of Dread were nightmarish things that stalked the wastelands of the world, pack hunters who, to human eyes at least resembled a hyena; though with a scaly reptilian hide and a long serpentine tail, a single row of swept back and bony spines jutted from their snouts and trailed from their skulls and along their spines. Rensa effortlessly conveyed the same primal power in his suit of jet black; the silver trim of his visor highlighting its' jagged shape whilst the canine head that adorned the helmet featured a snout mottled with dark gunmetal patches, snowy white eyes and a crest formed by a row of silver spikes arranged like a Mohawk.

"Rangers" Mercy smiled beneath her helmet, voice trembling with various emotions "Let's do this!" the Aegis Rangers moved as one, bursting out of the flames and streaking across the battlefield before colliding with the army of Putties that were attempting to overwhelm their would-be rescuers like a series of brightly coloured comets.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" Mercy exclaimed as her first blow, an acrobatic axe kick delivered from the air shattered a trio of Putties in a single motion and her onslaught only continued as she landed; the Power giving her not only unimaginable strength and speed but also the instinctive reflexes and balance to use it effectively. Her knee struck a Putty in the torso and lifted it into the air as she drove her fist through its' chest before a spinning back-fist that destroyed another led into a hurricane of kicks that cut a swathe through the tide of automatons; the last warbling and flailing body in her path was struck down before she could reach it however, a burst of light boring through the weak point in its' chest

"Mission accomplished" the voice of Kimberley Hart coming from the Titanium Ranger gave Mercy a brief pause though she quickly nodded in agreement and took stock of the situation around her. Doggie Cruger was ordering soldiers into cover and directing punishing salvo after salvo that cut through the Putties whilst Strike Squad Alpha fought with brutality and recklessness that was almost unsettling to watch, using their more powerful weapons or fixing explosives to the chests of the automatons regardless of any allies close by.

It was obvious however that the Rangers were the ones turning the tide; Tempestus moved with fluid grace and broke limbs away from his opponents with each redirected blow and shattered bodies with each counter-attack. Aslaug was simply a juggernaut, nothing could withstand her as she waded into the battle and smashed Putties into broken fragments. Panthera was close by, weaving between Putties and leaving their collapsing forms in her wake. It took Mercy a moment to locate Rensa but her eyes widened when she did; the Black Ranger was sprinting through the Putties, destroying any he passed as he rushed towards where Yokai was gradually overpowering the Astro Rangers.

"Pull everyone out!" Mercy called to Kimberley as she took off before shouting to her fellow Aegis Rangers "Come on, the Astro Rangers need help!" she tore through the Putties again, though this time a thought came unbidden to her mind and her suit responded; a pulse of scarlet light surged from the diamond on her chest along her right arm and solidified in the palm of her hand, taking the shape of a katana with a deep red blade which she quickly brought to bear as she slashed through Putties with ease. As the Aegis Rangers skidded to a halt Mercy saw that the others had also deployed their weapons, Tempestus carried a large quarterstaff, Aslaug wielded a two-handed, single bladed battleaxe and Rensa held a pair of daggers whilst Panthera's weapons were curved hook-like blades with a serrated inner edge that gave them a claw like appearance.

"Andros!" Mercy dragged her fellow Red Ranger to his feet as Zhane and Karone rushed to their side "Everyone's pulling out, help the soldiers take care of the Putties; we'll handle this" she gestured to Yokai and the Astro Rangers nodded in silent agreement before leaving.

Yokai stared at the newly assembled Ranger team in rage and defiance; violet eyes narrowed

"You have been worthy opponents" they snarled, blood dripping from their mouth as they spoke

"It ends here" Mercy adjusted her grip on her sword and braced herself

"Yes, it does" Yokai grinned savagely before reaching for their hidden communicator and contacting the ranking officer commanding the ships that still hung in the air above them "Teleport me out, burn the world" their bravado soon flickered as they saw that the Putties were being extracted from the battlefield and the Rangers' reinforcements were evacuating as well, yet they were simply being left behind; Yokai understood intimately what was happening, they were being given a final chance to redeem themselves for their failures and now that they and the Rangers stood alone on the surface of Phaedos Yokai would either slay the Rangers or they would perish.

"So be it" the words were rasped with finality and Yokai lunged forwards with their blades at the ready; the ground cratering under the force of their collision with the Rangers.

Mercy met Yokai's first wild swing of their upper right arm with a parry that tore the blade from their grasp though Yokai blocked her follow-up slash, their blades crackling with sparking energy where they met. Seeing Yokai's sole remaining lower arm about to stab the Red Ranger in the gut Aslaug charged and brought her axe down in a wide arc, the monster broke away and lashed out with their tail yet Tempestus brought his staff crashing into Yokai's skull and a second later Rensa had rushed in, his daggers clashing with Yokai's sickles as the Black Ranger tried to find an opening

"This bastard's mine!" Panthera bellowed as kicked Yokai squarely in the chest and slashed with both of her blades as the monster staggered back, cutting fresh gouges into their exoskeleton

"Panthera, let's finish this!" Mercy called, a solution to the problem of Yokai's resilience forming in all of their minds as the Power guided them

"This is for my sister" the Pink Ranger spat as she leapt back towards the others and readied her weapons. Panthera's blades combined at the grips and formed single arcing assembly which was fitted over Aslaug's axe whose shaft formed an extended barrel; Tempestus's staff separated into two halves which were fitted under Panthera's blades whilst Rensa's daggers lay backwards above it; finally Mercy lay her katana along the barrel of the weapon, the blade giving it a streamlined appearance

"POWER BLASTER!" she called out as the Rangers moved to support the weapon "FIRE!" the weapon discharged a beam of brilliant white light, wreathed in rainbow coloured lightning and as Yokai was struck by the beam everything was washed out by the blinding light; when it subsided Yokai was gone with only a smoking crater and a single broken sickle to prove that the monster had ever existed at all.

* * *

The people of Acheron had, unlike many of the other species that had risen to dominance on their native planets never evolved from one of the more complex forms of life; animal orders such as mammals, reptiles, avians or even in several cases insects. The people of Acheron were a virus that had evolved into a fully fledged organism in its' own right right after devouring every available host on the world aeons ago; whatever warrior culture and notions of honour or martial pride they possessed had come as a by-product of consuming so many species which prided those virtues, they were an aggressive and invasive species to whom the entire galaxy was simply raw materials to consume and traits to be absorbed and appropriated. The people of Acheron had one distinct genetic advantage over their enemies across the stars however, one that had first manifested back in their species' infancy as mere parasites that had served them well; their biological structure was incredibly flexible and adaptable and allowed almost any form of organic material to be added to the whole.

Simply put, the people of Acheron could breed with almost any species that had desirable traits and the Dark Empire was filled with subjugated worlds ruled over by hybrids and one being who claimed to be a scion of Acheron could look utterly different from another.

The flickering holographic form of one such hybrid knelt before Lord Zedd and spoke

"The Power Rangers escaped my Lord, but the Sage has been killed and my ships stand ready….Phaedos will burn at your command" the woman was the product of Acheron genetics being introduced into a cocoon of the species which had produced such notable scourges of the galaxy as Trakeena and Scorpina before her. She was tall and largely humanoid though much of her body was covered in a durable carapace whose midnight black surface shone green and purple when light struck it, an appearance not unlike oil on water; the carapace was completely smooth and had taken on the appearance of armour which encased her torso and her legs from the knees downwards, her shoulders and her arms from below the elbow, reaching down to hands whose fingers seemed too long and flexible, as if they had additional joints whilst what appeared to be wing casings trailed from her waist, in truth the casings housed a redundant and atrophied pair of limbs which existed solely to hold her weapons. The unprotected flesh of her thighs and upper arms was a pale mint green colour which was mirrored on her face; her features were sharply defined and angular, a pointed chin and high cheekbones which framed vibrant yellow eyes whilst around her largely humanoid countenance her armoured carapace continued to display her alien nature; a helmet which featured a pair of antenna which moved without pause and a raised mask intended to cover her eyes formed a crown whilst large and jagged mandibles grew from the point where her cheeks and armour met, in combat the mask would slide down and her mandibles would close to create a sealed covering with the mask rapidly forming a pair of translucent cerulean coloured compound eyes; from the back of her head a mass of loosely braided stormy grey hair hung to below hair shoulder-blades, the thick and fibrous strands detecting vibrations in the air. This was Paradoxa, the Captain of the vessel leading Yokai's reinforcements and the air of Lord Zedd's throne room trembled as he spoke

"You are not the first from the vanguard ships to send word" Paradoxa remained bowed and betrayed nothing as Lord Zedd continued "Yokai ordered you to extract them and open fire, yet you didn't….explain yourself"

"Yokai wasn't in a position to give orders my Lord" Paradoxa's voice was smooth, silky and utterly calm "They were ordered to stop the Rangers from forming and then from gaining their powers….they had failed both times and I saw no need to rescue them from their fate"

"And why did you not open fire?" Zedd demanded

"The Rangers had already survived one salvo, their allies were teleporting from the battle….It seemed a fruitless waste of resources that are limited within the vanguard" there was a moment of tense silence before the darkness that wreathed Lord Zedd's throne dispersed, retracting and skittering into the recesses as though the shadows themselves were living things and the tyrant himself rose to his feet and strode towards the holographic form of Paradoxa. Lord Zedd was simply a behemoth, three-toed and clawed feet supporting a towering mass of muscled crimson flesh encased within a suit of armour that seemed to have been forged entirely from the blades of fallen opponents and beneath which a layer of under-armour integrated the suit and its' various hidden mechanisms and devices into his body, it was adorned with claws and fangs taken from countless predators whilst monstrous skulls adorned his shoulder pauldrons, their empty eye sockets filled with a bloody light. At eight and a half feet tall the average human barely reached the tyrants' elbows and he would be more than capable of besting most adversaries in combat whilst unarmed, yet his hands still sported obsidian coloured talons sheathed in metal claws and he still clutched a gargantuan broadsword adorned with the Z icon of his station, the blade of the weapon formed from two single-bladed weapons merged together with a small space running between the two blades. His face was hidden behind a mask that greatly resembled that of his father, yet this Lord Zedd sported a crown of twisting horns beneath it. Zedd's blade lashed out with frightening precision, coming to a halt a hairs' breadth above where Paradoxa's shoulder would have been were she physically present in the room before he spoke again; his voice a lower and more collected rumble though it lacked none of its' snarling menace

"The vanguard fleet is yours to command and you are free to conduct the campaign against the Alliance as you see fit" Lord Zedd removed their sword "Now rise and leave me"

"As you wish my Lord, your generosity will be rewarded with the worlds I deliver to you" with that Paradoxa's flickering form vanished. Lord Zedd turned and took in the sight of the helmets of various slaughtered Power Rangers, the Morphers plucked from their bodies and kept as trophies keeping the damaged suits from simply vanishing; after a moment he rested a clawed hand on the helmet of the Green Ranger who had led the attack on Acheron; a brazen and worthy opponent who had set the Dark Empire back decades in their expansion

"The Power won't protect you" Zedd snarled as he ripped the helmet free of the spike that had been driven through it "Not from me"

* * *

"I love it!" Mercy squealed her hands behind her mouth "I love it, I love it, I love it!"

"It's almost like home, it's groovy" Tempestus noted fondly as he took in the sight of his surroundings

"Are you sure this is….safe?" Rensa enquired, the idea of a base being built on the seabed filling him with suspicion regardless of his Aquitian team-mate assuring him that his entire world was built in such a way

"It is, come on let's look around!" Mercy exclaimed as she led her team into their new quarters. Upon returning the Aegis Rangers had been given a thorough and extensive debriefing and medical exam; a process made immeasurably more difficult by the fact that each of them was a different species with unique quirks to their physiology and psychology. Eventually the various minor wounds the Rangers had received had been treated, though it became clear that Rensa would need to wear the filter goggles that Panthera had given him for the duration of his time on Earth, it had also been noted that the Black and Pink Rangers were most likely struggling with post traumatic stress disorder. Upon leaving her debriefing and medical exam Mercy had made to return to her quarters, only to learn that she had been relocated to a new suite that she would share with her fellow Rangers; each of them having what was essentially a small apartment which led out into a shared common area and kitchen. It also transpired that the entire team would be expected to partake in the extensive schooling and training regimen which Mercy was already well acquainted with.

As the Rangers examined their new home Mercy noticed that Aslaug wore a sullen frown and found herself wandering over to the Yellow Ranger and softly murmuring

"Hey, you okay?"

"Where's….wait" Aslaug seemed to sense something and quickly made her way to the door to her own small apartment and opened the door; letting out a sound of pure joy as she saw what lay within

"Klo!" hearing his name the shaggy, golden furred wolf-like animal sprung from where he had been curled up on Aslaug's new bed and pounced at his master who rewarded him with scratches behind the ears

"Nope, that's a deal breaker" Panthera' grumbled, surreptitiously putting some distance between herself and the animal

"What?" Mercy gasped "Look at him, he's a good boy" with that she joined in petting the alien hound, too busy looking in Panthera's direction to notice Aslaug's surprise

"He can be a good boy away from me" Panthera grumbled "Besides, you still owe me a ship"

"We'll steal a Dark Empire one" Rensa offered, the teal-skinned girl treating him to an approving smile

"So what do we do now?" Tempestus asked "I want to learn more about Earth culture, my Father speaks highly of it"

"Find a tavern" Panthera suggested

"Um….you're not actually old enough to drink here" Mercy's words brought a looked of appalled shock to Panthera's face which in turn left everyone present laughing.

"Food?" Rensa suggested softly "I haven't actually eaten in two days-"

"WHAT?" Mercy demanded "Okay that's it, it's settled we're going out and getting food….I know you don't have any money that's good here so, dinner's on me?" the offer was met with unanimous agreement and Mercy led her new team towards the nearest exit from the Aquabase; determined to make a good first impression as a Red Ranger, leader and friend.

* * *

The Aegis Rangers were unaware that they were being monitored as they left the Aquabase, though Mercy and Tempestus would have both suspected or simply assumed it due to calling either the Aquabase or an Aquitian city which it resembled their home for as long as either of them could remember.

"Think it's a good idea to let them leave?" Kimberley turned from the screen she was watching the Rangers on to Zebidiah Lord, the former Pink Ranger was almost certain that her former nemesis used some form of magic to silence his footsteps and deflect attention from himself for the sole purpose of revealing himself in dramatic or startling ways

"They've earned a chance to relax" Kim shrugged "Besides, do you wanna go and stop them?"

"Absolutely not" Zebidiah chuckled "I've learned my lesson; even putting Power Rangers in a pocket dimension doesn't keep them from their social lives" Kimberley found herself laughing at that, the idea of laughing with the former Lord Zedd about the conflict which they had been on opposite sides of had long since become normal to her; Zebidiah glanced at her now unadorned wrist and asked in a gentle, grandfatherly tone

"And what about you? Have you not earned the right to relax?….I heard you morphed again"

"I did" she nodded "I gave the Titanium Morpher back to Dana, it didn't feel right….honestly my skin's still crawling now. I think I understand what Billy and Justin mean when they say the Lightspeed Morphers use a different connection to the Grid"

"Ranger metaphysics and the melding of magic and science" Zebidiah grinned "Odd subjects to put in layman's terms" Kimberley merely shrugged

"So why are you here?"

"Passing on updates from Vice-Admiral Mitchell" Zebidiah answered simply "Justin is ecstatic at having some data from the new Morphers to work with, he plans to contact Billy as soon as possible and begin work on harnessing the Power into new Zords….though with Dulcea's passing it may be more difficult"

"Is it wrong that I hope we never have to use them?" Kimberley asked

"No….but we certainly will need them; even if the Animarium is willing to send their Zords to defend Earth" Zebidiah sighed softly before adding "The reinforcements from the Moonbase report no casualties and no untreatable injuries, Cruger led them well"

"I still want Strike Squad Alpha disciplined" Kimberley noted with a sudden scowl "They fight like our enemies do; no regard for bystanders at all"

"This is war Kimberley, they're not Rangers….they exist to do the things that a Power Ranger never could" the fact provided little comfort to the former Pink Ranger who had been deeply disturbed by their recklessness and the fact that it seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary for them

"One final thing" Zebidiah added "Andros, Zhane and Karone have teleported to KO-Thirty Five, ships from the world have already begun extracting their recruits from Dread; a new Megaship is being constructed as we speak and the Astro Rangers want to return to their covert operations as soon as possible"

"That's going to be hard on the Black Ranger" Kimberley noted, having already noted from the psychological evaluations that she had skimmed through that the boy didn't seem to realise how troubled his upbringing had been

"Being Rangers is going to be hard on all of them" Zebidiah grimaced "A peppy leader, an awkward genius, a warrior princess, a cocky smuggler and the broody one….I know you Rangers have a formula of sorts but do you really think they can become a cohesive team?"

"I think they're better prepared than my team ever were and we did okay" Kimberley noted with a wry smile "Besides, they're the best bet the galaxy has"

**Authors Notes:**

So that's the first arc of this story done and considering how small of a fandom Power Rangers seems to be in comparison to others I'm really happy to see that this story is gaining even a little bit of traction.  
Give me a little time to plan out the next arc of the story, I know roughly how it's gonna play out but I want to put some meat on the bones before I start writing scenes and chapters.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
I was really trying to convey that cinematic slow motion collapse at the start, I hope it came across.  
Someone had to break ranks and charge the oncoming attack, may as well be the Red Ranger.  
Yes I will continue to call what Putties do flailing, I can't in good conscience call it fighting.  
As I said in an earlier chapter, laser or other beam weapons aren't that effective against Putties; they're animated stone so they don't have any organs, soft tissue or bone to burn through.  
The old dilemma of which is more important, the mission or the people.  
Remember I said in Chapter 01 that Aslaug was trusted to lead armies, she had definitely had members of her tribe die in her arms.  
Obviously the way they got their coins was based on the '95 movie which was the whole point of Dulcea but I reimagined it because I am not constrained by a budget; the idea of each of the Rangers animals/Zords being from the their home world was one of the first ideas I had when I decided that I wanted to make a team of Rangers from across the galaxy.  
Osore means Fear in Japanese, it seems like a pretty fitting name for something that hunts in packs on a planet called Dread.  
You knew that there were more Dark Empire ships inbound, you knew that I was going to have them show up at a moment like that for dramatic reasons.  
Just making it 100% official Kimberley does not have her Morpher in this story, it's gone.  
Okay so Ryan survived Acheron but I've decided I don't honestly have a use for him in this story; so the Titanium Morpher is there if anyone needs to use it.  
Our first look at the Moonbase, I wanted it be just as advanced as the Aquabase but at the same time it has to be obvious from even a casual glance that is and was Zedd and Rita's palace.  
I said that Bulk & Skull were up here working with Doggie.  
SPD is set in2025 and this events is set 20 years after an attack where the Dino Thunder Rangers were the last active team; if my maths is right then it means that the SPD characters should actually all be present in this universe somewhere and roughly the same age although SPD as an organisation obviously never formed.  
Speaking of SPD characters, Strike Squad Alpha; I told you they were the A-Squad….who wants to guess what them taking their helmets off and scratching their 'Ranger colours' off their uniforms when they heard a new team was being formed means?  
Love Doggie Cruger as a character, love the Shadow Ranger suit….hate that it's Doggie wearing it and yes it just because his head doesn't fit in that helmet; no I won't let it go.  
Zebidiah said that this conflict is going to be different and I wanted to try and convey that by having one of the veteran Rangers run into battle and immediately see the difference; this Lord Zedd isn't playing around.  
I still don't have actual references of the Ranger suits yet because I suck at art _(But fan art is pending though thanks to some of my more talented friends)_ I just knew that I wanted them to be asymmetrical, blend elements from the classic Mighty Morphin' suits and later series and that the whole _"Visor is in the mouth"_ look is iconic and had to be done.  
Also yes the curved lightning bolt thing is basically the one that has been in every single Power Rangers logo but I don't think has ever appeared on any of the suits.  
The hard part of designing the suits was knowing what elements I want to incorporate into the sixth Ranger's design and figuring out how to integrate the two concepts.  
Yes Mercy has a red bladed Katana, make all the Mary-Sue edgy fourteen year old jokes you want.  
If you want an idea of what Panthera's blades look like then think of the Arakh that the Dothraki use in Game of Thrones; a bow just didn't seem to suit her.  
It was at that moment Yokai knew they fucked up.  
Already losing track of the amount of times Aslaug has covered Mercy.  
I'm almost sure that the Power does actually guide Rangers and give them some ideas, skills and control of their powers and not just boost strength; otherwise Billy would have still been unable to fight even after he morphed, he would have just been throwing wild punches with no coordination.  
I took the original Power Blaster design and updated it, it's more streamlined now and the longer barrel almost gives it a Sniper-Blaster feel.  
Okay none of my background for the Dark Empire or Lord Zedd's people is canon but I'm willing to defend it on the grounds that it makes sense considering what we've seen. Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa are not members of the same species as far as we know, yet Thrax exists and Rita resembled none of her relatives so making Lord Zedd part of a species that assimilates things like the Borg or the Tyranids makes sense for both aesthetic reasons and as a motivation.  
Scorpina is not canonically related to Trakeena in any way but it works; the author made Goldar a Fear Cat in their story and this is a similar case, besides it doesn't make sense for the entire species from Lost Galaxy to have been contained on one ship.  
Paradoxa's name comes from the scientific name for the Ghost Mantis and in my head the helmet she's wearing looks a little like Wasp from Transformers Animated when it closes.  
Paradoxa is one ruthless bitch and she's going to be Lord Zedd's right hand for at least the next few volumes.  
So the new Lord Zedd is basically the old Lord Zedd+Dinosaur+Savitar from the Flash+ Literal Satan….enjoy.  
He has the sword because Lord Zedd's staff is gone.  
So Lord Zedd does have the Morphers of the Rangers he killed, including Tommy who was using the Dragon coin at the time….do with that what you will.  
Okay so the whole post debriefing scene was to establish what the new normal is going to be for the Rangers; they have their home-base and something of a sense of normalcy and regular lives; although for a few them it's for the first time. It also gives them some interactions outside of missions and battles to develop characters.  
Zebidiah just casually bringing up stuff from back in the day is always going to be fun.  
Kimberley isn't going to be the Titanium Ranger Ex Machina to solve the teams' problems.  
There didn't seem to anywhere in the conversation between Lord Zedd and Paradoxa to mention if Lord Zedd knows about Dread yet. Truthfully it won't even matter to the Dark Empire that much, they have other prison worlds, they can repair the shield spires and carry on using it or they could use it for something else….which we'll get into in the next arc.  
"_A peppy leader, an awkward genius, a warrior princess, a cocky smuggler and the broody one….I know you Rangers have a formula"_ Lord Zedd is all of us.

Thank you to Jen425 and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
I'm glad you're enjoying my characters; Mercy is the enthusiasm of a golden retriever puppy given human form.  
Oh don't worry I have plans for _(At least) _a Sixth Ranger.  
The Ranger suits probably come with reinforced armour around the knuckles, but regular armed forces and the elite Silver Guardian squads would definitely use brass knuckles instead of bayonets for close combat.  
So yeah Yokai is gone and Paradoxa has stepped into the space they were set up to occupy.  
However if you don't see a body they're not dead and well….Panthera didn't see her sisters' body.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	6. Preforming (Arc 02)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 05 – Preforming**

With the death of Yokai and the destruction of their ship the Shinigami, the role of command vessel for the Vanguard Fleet dispatched by the Dark Empire to wage the opening campaigns of the war against the Alliance had fallen to Paradoxa's own vessel, the Heliothis.

The vessel lurked along the intangible yet undeniably real border of Alliance space surrounded by the other vessels at Paradoxa's command and whilst the insectoid Acheron hybrid may have had no connection to the vestigial hive mind of the species whose genes had been stolen to create her, and was thus utterly incapable of controlling one of the vast and writhing, living hive-ships that carried their swarms throughout the galaxy, her vessel had been extensively modified to reflect Paradoxa's lineage. The Heliothis was huge, its' angular and menacing prow alone being comparable to several smaller classes of ship,with twin weapons arrays mounted to the sides of the prow like gargantuan pincers whilst a primary weapons battery was situated below; the length of its' main body was segmented and its' hull was styled like some monstrous mechanical carapace, seemingly moving of its' own accord. At the rear of the ship were the propulsion systems and mounted around them were six wings, swept forwards and arranged into trios at the side of the sides of the vessel so that they reached outwards, above and below; each wing being shaped like the blade of some impossibly large scythe.

The innards of the vessel were no less macabre or frightening, each segment of the vessel housing crew drawn from a different world and the hundreds of slaves at their command and was designed to emulate said home world, with décor and internal architecture ranging from the smog choked cacophony of machinery of an Empire forge world to ramshackle nests made from the bones and flesh of fallen enemies. Rivalries between the disparate factions within the crew of Heliothis were common and routinely led to violence, which was both condoned and encouraged so long as it compromised neither their shared mission or the vessel itself.

After all, weeding out the weak or undesirable traits was a crucial part of the Dark Empire's internal workings.

Paradoxa currently resided within her own quarters, whose exact location was unknown to the vast majority of her crew; kept dark, sweltering and humid her quarters were decorated with furniture carved from the shattered carapaces of the hive-ship which had once housed the cocoon that had birthed her and whilst Paradoxa had no way to control the swarms she still found use for the smaller parasites, the gloom was lit only by the tails of bioluminescent aliens which a human would compare to a firefly and the walls were thick with a waxy substance which housed nests of many highly poisonous insects that she had used to dispose of those who had either halted her progression through the ranks or sought to usurp her.

"And just how do I respond to you?" Paradoxa mused to herself, voice silky smooth as she studied the footage displayed on one of the many screens integrated into the walls; footage captured from one of her scout vessels that had ventured into enemy territory shortly before it's destruction. In the weeks following her rise to command and the formation of the Alliances' new Power Ranger team Paradoxa had come to realise just how difficult it would be to make any real headway following Yokai's failure. The first problem was a simple matter of dwindling resources, Putties were no longer the expendable resource that they had once been; materials could be mined from almost anywhere but that would require successfully gaining a foothold within the Alliance and more importantly creating a new Dread-Forge, the Shinigami having housed the only such machine available to the Vanguard Fleet; a form of insurance on Yokai's part incase of an attempted coup. The second problem came in the form of the warriors on the screen; whilst there had been no sign of the Power Rangers in any of the skirmishes between her own forces and the far larger Alliance fleets these same five enemies seemed to be present for every conflict, boarding ships and doing tremendous damage, seemingly knowing exactly where her vessels were even whilst they were cloaked, or evacuating civilians and turning her forces landing zones into mine-filled killing fields.

Her many-jointed fingers drummed against the carapace husk that formed her seat as she contemplated her course of action, there would be no foolish or reckless decisions like those that had cost her predecessor.

"And now I see it" she cooed to herself with a soft chuckle as the pieces seemed to fall into place before her eyes. Disregarding the recovered footage from the destroyed scout ship she gathered the luminous creatures hovering around her quarters to herself and brought up a sprawling star-chart which spanned across each of the screens at her disposal; yellow eyes narrowing in concentration as she rose from her seat and paced before finally pointing a single spindly digit at a planet within Empire Space that would suit her purposes perfectly.

Her plan was breathtaking in its' elegance and her enemies would never truly realise how they had eagerly played into her hands until it was far too late.

With a target decided all that remained was for the killing blow to be struck and Paradoxa found herself cackling as she prepared to make her way to the bridge of the Heliothis, the bioluminescent insects around her flickering out and leaving the room in pitch darkness like some terrible omen.

* * *

It had been weeks since the Aegis Rangers had returned from Phaedos and been integrated into Cadet Group One-nine-nine-three for their education and training and although it was obvious that most of the four Rangers recruited from planets other than Earth were making a considerable effort the fact remained that to call said integration a success of any kind would be a lie that bordered on absurdist humour.

Tempestus had been thus far the most successful of the newcomers, though it was painfully clear that the Aquitian found the majority of the education being offered to him simple and frankly boring in comparison to the technology that had been at his disposal on his home-world, this had led to him simply wandering into restricted areas and offering his services on more than one occasion, although despite being officially reprimanded Doctor Justin Stewart had welcomed the boy into his own laboratory to assist with the various projects that the former Blue Turbo Ranger was undertaking at any given time. The only real problem that Tempestus had encountered in his time on Earth was a monumental case of culture shock; Aquitian culture was far more rigid in its' structure if the golden ornamentation denoting station the boy wore were any indication and being surrounded by teenagers who routinely argued with and spoke negatively about those with authority had left him just as confused as the decades worth of references and cultural inside jokes layered on top of one another that seemed to form most human media had. He'd made few, if any friends beyond the Aegis Rangers though he would diligently continue to try.

Aslaug's integration had caused far less trouble than those who were now responsible for her had been fearing; they had been prepared for a violent and imperious young woman who used her status within her own people as a blunt object with which to crush any objections to her actions, what they had instead received from the Yellow Ranger was a hard working and generous addition to their ranks who would throw herself in front of an attack intended for any of her allies and had a bleak and blunt sense of humour that paired perfectly with the soldiers that the cadets would go on to become. There had been confrontations of course, it was inevitable when so many adolescents were forced to live and train together for such extended amounts of time, though they had been ended before Aslaug's notable physical strength could do any lasting damage; the main area of concern that her teachers had for her was her lack of any formal schooling which was already being assuaged by remedial classes.

Rensa was similarly academically stunted, though teaching and integrating the black Ranger into regular society posed an entirely different set of problems all of its' own. Despite his small size and quiet, reserved nature the upbringing or lack thereof that he had received on his prison world home had made him exceptionally volatile when threatened and he had been kept segregated from his fellow cadets for their safety on more than one occasion already; it had also been discovered that the eyes which remained hidden behind filter goggles were not the only notable way in which Rensa differed from baseline humans, there had been an incident in the mess hall of the Aquabase where a fellow cadet had attempted to steal Rensa's lunch which the Black Ranger had responded to by simply biting their hand hard enough to draw blood, the would be thief had been discovered several hours later in a delirious and feverish state at which time the medical staff of the Aquabase had realised that Rensa's bite was in fact highly poisonous.

The Pink Ranger had been by far the most difficult to deal with, not because Panthera was the most notably alien; citizens from all across the Alliance lived and worked on Earth with Mariner Bay being one of North Americas' hubs of alien cultures. Panthera was rebellious and defiant almost habitually and whereas Aslaug and Rensa had needed their breaches of acceptable behaviour on Earth explained to them she knew and understood but simply did not care. Panthera's presence at the Aquabase had the unintended consequence of cutting crime in Mariner Bay as she had made a habit of stealing from thieves and robbers, the problem was that she was often unwilling to give her spoils back to their rightful owners, claiming that she'd won them fairly. In terms of her studies she was intelligent and had years of practical experience that her fellow cadets lacked, unfortunately she was also easily bored and routinely absconded from lessons stating that she simply had other things to do.

Such was the situation that former Wild Force Yellow Ranger Taylor Earhardt had to contend with as she attempted to explain how subjects as seemingly mundane and boring as algebra and physics would be applied to the adrenaline fuelled and lethal realities of aerial or indeed space combat. The cadets were destined to become Silver Guardians, being stationed on one of the many spacefaring colony-ships hanging in orbit around the planet would send them into a variety of situations and they would be expected to be ready for anything. Mercy watched as Taylor's hands moved animatedly as she spoke, becoming the Red Ranger had given her a fresh respect for each of her teachers as she now understood first hand how difficult guiding such contrasting and loud personalities could be; not that Mercy was without fault however as her grades had declined noticeably since she had become a Power Ranger.

Her teachers had all seemed willing to accept that she, along with her team were under immense stress and that their additional training or simply the fact that the five of them were effectively always on call was bound to affect their performance negatively, all of this was true however the reason Mercy had been finding it hard to concentrate was far less dramatic. She was situated between two incredibly pretty girls, Aslaug found Earth too warm for her liking and had shed the grey jacket of her new uniform which left her in a white tank-top that left her powerful arms and broad shoulders bare and clung to her enough to show her sculpted back muscles whilst opposite her Panthera lounged idly, tail swishing behind her as she played with a Yo-Yo; something that she had taken to doing regularly since discovering the toys and had lead to more than one comment about her somewhat cat-like nature.

"But perhaps Miss Cato finds that Yo-Yo to be a more interesting physics lesson than the one I'm trying to teach?" Taylor snapped from the front of the classroom, strict and disciplinarian as always "Please explain to the class the mistake in the equation on the board" there was a spattering of muffled laughter and muttering throughout the classroom which quickly died down and Mercy felt a small pang of pity and guilt directed at herself for not reprimanding the Pink Ranger personally which quickly transformed into pride as Panthera glanced at the series of equations in question for only a moment before answering with a dismissive snort

"You're working on the assumption that gravity would be the same as it is on Earth, if you tried the manoeuvrer in question on say, Aquitar for example you'd rip your ship apart" more quickly silenced muttering passed through the students as many of them looked again at their own notes and realised that the teal-skinned alien was right.

"You are correct" Taylor admitted, almost begrudgingly although before the situation could be pressed any further the bell signalling the end of the lesson rang and the students cleared their desks and hurried out the classroom towards the mess hall.

"Come on I wanna catch up with some people" Mercy urged her team-mates as she slung her backpack over one shoulder and quickly raced after her classmates

"Hey! Hey guys! Izzy, CJ, wait up!" ahead of her a group of cadets came to a halt, Myers, Briggs, CJ and Izzy; a group that Mercy had considered her closest friends yet had spoken to little over the last few weeks. Izzy, a tall and wiry boy made his way over to her

"What's up?"

"Was wondering if you wanna hang out, have lunch together-"

"Haven't got time" Izzy interrupted bluntly "We're clearing our dorms out, gotta finish packing by the end of the day"

"What?" Mercy demanded, stomach plummeting at the news

"We're getting transferred to one of the colony ships" Izzy shrugged "Finishing our training there and being assigned to it, we had to make room for a new class coming in. We got the word a couple weeks ago but y'know….you weren't there" the obvious accusation in her old friends' voice stung and she desperately wanted to tell Izzy and all of the rest of them that she would come with them if she could and exactly why it was that she was no longer a part of their group, she wanted them to be proud of her and moreover she needed them to understand. Seeing her hurt expression Izzy merely shrugged again as he turned away

"Don't worry you'll be fine, you've got your new friends" he trailed off and rejoined his fellow cadets as Mercy stood in shocked silence, only vaguely aware of the other Rangers finally joining her until they spoke

"Are things not radical?" Tempestus asked with a quizzical tilt of his head "is there anything we can do to help?"

"Does that one need to be disposed of?" Rensa asked earnestly, the earnest and almost innocent way he he looked to Mercy for approval at striking odds with the suggestion itself.

"People come and go Red" Panthera assured her "Trust me it won't matter in the long run" as she sidled away Mercy felt a strong hand on her shoulder and smiled despite herself as Aslaug's low and husky voice reassured her

"Our sagas take us both from our people….If they understood then they would cheer for you the loudest"

"I just wish they did" Mercy sighed, swallowing a lump in her throat

"Maybe one day" the taller girl sighed and Mercy realised that for now it was the best she could hope for.

* * *

The planet of Triforia was considered by both its' own inhabitants and the people of many space-faring civilizations to be one the most beautiful in the galaxy, a gleaming jewel of a world set into the darkness of space. When viewed from the outside its' atmosphere appeared to be almost opalescent, a milky white sky tinged various shades of yellow blue and green by wispy cloud formations that veiled entire continents whilst the triumvirate, the three moons of Triforia named Unus, Duo and Tribus orbited the world on an axis that seemed somehow off kilter. Below the multicoloured clouds the planets vast jade coloured oceans were separated by continents which shared a perpetually mild and comfortably warm climate, all plant life of the world was evergreen and animals that had evolved on Triforia had never known hunger, this combined with a planet abundant with resources of all kinds and placed too far from any of the previous empires or dominions that had plagued the stars to be directly attacked had allowed the people of Triforia to evolve and develop in solitude, remaining peaceful even as they industrialised their planet and progressing until their mastery of magic and the sciences as well the interweaving of the two could be said to rival the ancient Eltarians, their art was regarded as some of the finest in the galaxy and their society was one that most races would consider eutopia; a place where conflict was all but unheard of, disease had been vanquished generations ago and war was a concept that was literally alien in origin.

Upon one of these continents was built the city of Pulchra-Pax, the largest of Triforias' city states and the official Capital of the world though it claimed no governance of the other city states; rather the world was ruled by the consensus of its' people. The city was a labyrinthine maze of mosaic tiles streets woven between hundreds of golden pyramids; the tallest of which was the Coetus-Magnificum, the central building of the city which served as both the central government building and an archive of copies of all knowledge gathered on Triforia, flanking this central building were three smaller pyramids symbolising the science, magic and beauty that made the world what it was; with magic being represented by the dormant form of Pyramidas, Zord of the Gold Ranger.

Within the Coetus-Magnificum itself, leading a gaggle of excitable and awestruck Triforian children was Lord Trey himself; still olive skinned and powerfully built the statuesque mans' once raven coloured hair had become a snowy white and whilst he still wore a silky black tunic with intricate golden detailing he no longer sported armoured bracers around his forearms and simple sandals replaced his similarly armoured boots. An unadorned cream coloured robe flowed from his shoulders to the ground as he led the children and explained the purposes of the various artefacts on display in the buildings' museum; coming to a silent and introspective halt as they reached a single fragment of a glass like crystal held suspended in a forcefield

"And this" he murmured in a sombre and resonating voice which hushed the children around him "Is a fragment of the device which allowed Zordon to remain tethered to this reality"

"Was Zordon the first Gold Ranger?" a child asked and Trey felt his duty to impart knowledge unto the future generations take hold; were he alone however he would have remained in silence as he regarded the fragment and wondered if Zordon would judge him for his actions twenty years ago, or his lack of action.

"No child" Trey shook his head "Zordon was….Ah Lord Morsus, perhaps you could enlighten the young ones"

"It would be an honour and a pleasure" Trey's fellow lord of the city assured him, the pair shared an archaic title though Morsus had held it for far longer; his skin papery with age and his silver beard reaching to his waist "Unfortunately Lord Trey your presence is required by the inner council for matters of utmost importance"

"I understand" Trey nodded curtly and left at once, making his way upwards from the publicly accessible museum and archives of the great pyramid towards its' vaunted heights where the debates that shaped Triforian law and culture were held, beyond even those and at the peak of the monumental structure was the inner council; a room furnished entirely in obsidian as a sign of shame that such a place need exist, this was where decisions were made without the consensus of the people in violation of everything Pulchra-Pax stood for and was only utilised in the direst of circumstances; spacefaring plagues or raiders which needed swift and decisive responses.

As Trey entered the dark room he was greeted by the black robed trio which formed the inner council

"Lord Trey, we fear that the unthinkable may have come to pass….Dark Empire ships have appeared in orbit above this very city" the Gold Ranger needed no further explanation

"So then Tommy Oliver spoke the truth when he petitioned us for aid-"

"The truth of his words was never in doubt Lord Trey" another wizened and ancient member of the council wheezed "Only the nature of his response" Trey's fists clenched in a display of anger that was rare amongst his people, indeed it was often noted that Trey's time away from Triforia had changed him somehow, embittered and enraged him

"And would you have us act so cravenly even now?" he demanded, voice level yet forceful as the crux of the matter was reached. Tommy Oliver had sent word to Triforia two decades ago and called for the assistance of his former comrade in the assault on Acheron only for Trey to be forced to refuse, stating that the will of his people was for Triforia to remain removed from any conflict unless threatened directly; now it seemed that the threat had come as Tommy had promised them that it would and Trey cursed himself for not forcing the inner council to see the struggle against the Dark Empire as their duty or simply defying consensus alone.

"We would have you once again take up arms" the head of the inner council produced a pyramid shaped box, ornate and softly lined and within it was the collapsed form of the Golden Power Staff which would serve as his Morpher and conduit to the Power

"However" another of the council added gently "We will not strike first"

"A warrior you may be Lord Trey" the third sighed, the word distasteful among Triforian culture "But you shall meet them as a peacemaker and an emissary first" Trey stepped forwards, shedding his cloak as he took the Morpher and held it reverently for a moment even as his teeth clenched at the sheer insanity of the actions he was forced to take

"As you wish" he growled before rearing up to his full height and extending the staff, crackling arcs of black and golden lightning leaping from the crimson orb sat atop it as he bellowed

"Gold Ranger Power!"

* * *

A trio of axe shaped capital ships stalked the void beyond the atmosphere of Triforia, each of them a machine of utter destruction forged by the Dark Empire to bring worlds and civilisations into its' smothering grasp; yet the Heliothis was not amongst them, Paradoxa had ordered her own vessel and the remainder of her forces to remain cloaked and hidden in order to disguise their true numbers.

The bridge of her vessel, unlike the disparate hellscapes that formed the various living quarters was the model of utilitarianism, gleaming chrome surfaces lit by bloody crimson lights etched into the walls in a honeycomb pattern which gave the space the air of some obscene mechanical hive. The sole concession to vanity within the command bridge was Paradoxa's own ornate throne of twisting spiral blades forged from a shimmering metal which she sat regally upon as she surveyed the target she had chosen for her plan, Triforia was poorly defended, remote and had exactly the resources she needed. It was such an obvious ploy that the Alliance would desperately search and scramble for her true motives, believing this attack to be a feint exactly as she wished them to.

"Are your clutches ready for their role?" Paradoxa demanded calmly of the individual stood at her right hand, a fellow hybrid Acheron by the name of Corax and known by the title of the Reaper. Whilst Paradoxa was the product of Acheron genetics being into a cocoon, Corax had been hatched from an egg and where Paradoxa had been shunned by her hive, Corax had been raised and nurtured by his clutch, slaughtering one enemy after another beneath the indigo skies of the planet Tenga until his status as a minor warlord brought him to the attention of the Dark Empire who quickly found use for the hybrid and his clutch of Tengu Warriors. Corax stood at almost seven feet tall and was distinctly avian, with the long neck and hooked beak of a carrion bird, taloned feet and glossy, well preened black feathers covering his body with a discoloured bone-like material forming light armour which encased his lower legs and his torso, forming a broad collar which rose behind his head. The feathers of Corax's arms were longer and appeared to be serrated like small daggers whilst his arms ended in hands sporting curved talons which held onto the monstrous, yet ornate scythe he carried; the only real decoration he wore was a mask made from the skull of his predecessor whom he had killed with his own two hands and from behind which his beady black eyes peered.

"My clutches will feast on the flesh of those below" Corax assured her with grating and cracking voice

"They're to be kept in reserve until the order is given" Paradoxa informed him, adding with a chuckle "Let our enemies blunt themselves on the Putties first"

"They have no claws to blunt" Corax sneered; as if prompted by the assertion one of the many control terminals aboard the command bridge began to let out several shrill beeps and the individual operating it turned to the throne

"Captain, we're being hailed"

"Let us see if they have claws" Paradoxa murmured with obvious amusement "On screen" as her order was complied with the image of the planet below vanished and was replaced by the image of a Power Ranger, black armoured with a golden shield encasing their chest and carrying an ornate and regal looking staff.

"I am the Gold Power Ranger of Triforia, my people send me to parley with the one leading the Dark Empire ships-"

"I am Captain Paradoxa of the Vanguard Fleet; I did not come to listen to your grovelling"

"Your forces have been halted at every turn thus far" Trey countered delicately "See reason; Triforia will offer medicine to your injured and dying in exchange for your retreat….Or is this intended to be some heroic last stand"

"You mistake me for my predecessor" Paradoxa sneered "My numbers may be depleted, however your planet has but a single Ranger. Your skull will join Lord Zedd's trophies before my ships depart" with a silent wave to her bridge crew the transmission was ended and Paradoxa's yellow eyes shone with cruel delight, her plan was working thus far

"Prepare to engage" she demanded as she rose to her feet "Forward ships are to open fire on any civilian shelters and all thoroughfares out of the city. Putties are to be deployed to target areas immediately, all ground troops from ships in reserve are to be re-routed through the forward ships first; the illusion of our numbers must be maintained" as a chorus of assenting voices answered her Paradoxa prepared herself, the mandibles and raised crown around her face closing with an audible snap and forming her battle-mask whilst her own glowing yellow eyes were shielded by the compound eyes that rapidly grew from the mask. Within the tail-coat like structure formed by her vestigial wing casings her atrophied second pair of arms unfurled, carrying her weapon in its' two halves. Taking the weapon in her hands she connected to two halves of the shaft and the ends of the weapon unfurled until the end result was a double-ended halberd taller than herself with broad and jagged blades as large as her own torso, yet despite its' size she wielded the weapon with fluid grace and twirled it casually as she turned to Corax

"Come, no doubt the Gold Ranger expects to face us in battle….I would so hate to disappoint"

* * *

The air sizzled and crackled with ozone and burning as Mercy slid into cover, a flash of vivid red light cutting through the space she'd occupied a moment ago. She panted and gasped for breath, wiping away sweat as she desperately scanned her surroundings for the others; Tempestus and Rensa were pinned by enemy fire a short way behind her, the Blue Ranger calculating the attack patterns, capacity and reload times of their automated opponents in an attempt to find a clear and safe path to victory whilst beside him the Black Ranger was preparing to overpower the smaller robot sentries that worked in tandem with the larger robotic turrets to force them out into the open. To her right Mercy could see Aslaug similarly forced into cover whilst the Red Ranger was utterly unable to find Panthera

All in all training could be going better.

Following the end of their regular classes the Aegis Rangers had been brought out to one of several remote training areas that Project Lightspeed operated just outside the city limits of Mariner Bay; this one resembling roughly two square miles of urban war-zone complete with shelled buildings and makeshift barricades and populated by robotic enemies whose attacks, whilst not lethal were definitely painful. The objective was simple, this was a capture the flag mission where the target was situated in the centre of the training area; however the mission had been made more difficult for the Rangers. Firstly there were only five of them as opposed to the groups of twenty usually sent into this exercise and secondly they were not armed with the weapons that most participants would be given to stun the robots, instead they had each been given a short sword or bat like implement that would reflect the robots attacks back at them if handled correctly.

They were also naturally forbidden to use their Morphers during this exercise.

"Can you see Panthera anywhere?" Mercy called over to the Yellow Ranger, whilst they were in no real danger their team synergy was one of the things upon which they were being judged and she was painfully aware that the next time the Pink Ranger decided to pursue her own strategy the danger could well be very real.

"No" Aslaug called back "Though they could use some help" she nodded towards Rensa and Tempestus whom Mercy noted were in a bleaker situation than before; small humanoid drones lurched towards them from both sides whilst laser turrets ripped through the air mere millimetres above the broken wall they were using as cover, she realised that there was no way the two of them would be able to deflect all of the attacks that would soon be raining down on them from all angles and made a quick decision

"Aslaug, cover me and then go for the flag! I'm gonna try and draw 'em away!" a moment later she was in motion, crouching low to the ground and sweeping the legs out from a robot before using the weapon she'd been provided to deflect an attack directly into the chest of another and send it toppling backwards, bleeping and chirping pathetically as it's limbs twitched and shuddered

"GO!" she barked  
"MERCY BEHIND YOU!" Tempestus shot back, she turned and time seemed to slow to a crawl; the robot she'd floored had recovered more quickly than she expected and was levelling its' faux laser rifle at her chest.

Then Aslaug collided with the thing with all the force of a moving train and simply lifted it from the ground, carrying it directly into the line of fire of a turret which had turned its' attention towards them

"Quickly, down!" Rensa snapped as he rushed out and pulled both Mercy and Aslaug into cover

"A cunning strategist you are not" Aslaug chuckled darkly, realising that all four of them were now pinned "But at least you're brave enough to make up for it" Mercy blushed at what she decided to take as a compliment and quickly turned to Tempestus, hoping that he had found a weakness in the robots defences.

She never had chance to ask

"Simulation ended, objective achieved" a computerised voice declared as the guns fell silent and the robotic drones came to a halt. The four Rangers taking cover shared confused glances before the answer came in the form of Panthera Cato's smug and smokey voice all but purring as she called out to them

"I've got the flag….you make great distractions I'll give you that" Mercy was incensed and shot to her feet immediately, the others trailing behind her as she marched through the training area towards the Pink Ranger with a thunderous expression. From the corner of her eye she could see her drill instructor, former Red Turbo and Blue Astro Ranger TJ Johnson making his way towards the Rangers to deliver his assessment of their performance and Mercy was determined that before he reached them she would give Panthera a piece of her mind and explain in detail why using ones' allies as live bait without their knowledge was unacceptable.

"Problem?" Panthera grinned as Mercy neared her, throwing the captured flag to the Red Ranger whose eye twitched slightly at the cocky gesture. Before an argument could begin or before their instructor could comment on their lack of team cohesion the space between the Rangers was simply torn open, a crimson portal breaching reality from which Zebidiah Lord emerged wearing his customary black robes

"Johnson" he cocked his head at TJ "You never were one of my Rangers were you….regardless, the Rangers are needed at the Aquabase, we have a situation" he turned to the Aegis Rangers themselves and gestured to the portal

"Come" Mercy nodded to the other for them to follow her and led the way into the portal, a shiver running down her spine as she passed through it and stepped out into the immediately familiar workstation of Doctor Justin Stewart, which had since the formation of the Aegis Rangers been converted to allow for effective briefings and deployment as well. Both Justin and Kimberley were already waiting for them

"What's happening?" Mercy asked, realising that the situation was obviously serious

"We've received word from Triforia" Kim answered, voice filled with worry "Dark Empire ships are attacking their Capital city"

"Lightspeed Moonbase has managed to tap into local feeds and are re-routing them to us for mission control" Justin informed them as he gestured to a series of screens which had been added to the wall of his workshop "On screen now" each of the Rangers visibly recoiled at the sights that greeted them; the city burned. Raging infernos spewed thick pillars of smoke where orbital bombardments had torn towering pyramids apart and civilians ran screaming through the streets, pursued by the unmistakable forms of Putties. The people of Onyx had been criminals of every kind and were armed and ready to fight when the Dark Empire attacked, not so for Triforia; where Onyx had been a skirmish, this was a massacre.

"Disgusting cowardice" Zebidiah snarled, voice becoming a reverberating growl that reminded all who heard it of what he had once been "Never, never in my reign did I allow this"

"That's your takeaway from this?" Kimberley demanded incredulously

"When we did battle Ranger" Zebidiah growled "My forces came to open parks and waited for your arrival, it was honourable combat between champions….your Zords did more damage than my attacks. This, this is barbarism"

"Well it looks like they've sent a couple of monsters of the week for old times' sake" Justin noted disparagingly "Looks like the Gold Ranger is moving to intercept"

"Is that a Tengu?" Kimberley asked, clearly surprised by the presence avian creature

"Of a sort" Zebidiah nodded "I don't know who the other is, but that is Corax the Reaper"

"I'm not calling him that" Justin interrupted "It can have a stupid name like all the other monsters, I'm not acknowledging it as any kind of bad-ass"

"Is now really the time?" Kimberley demanded

"Yes!" Justin shot back "It's bad for morale to call it anything ending in reaper, I'm calling it Crow-to-Hell"

"Corax the reaper has led assaults on entire star systems" Zebidiah retorted, voice conveying equal measures of disgust and begrudging respect for Justin's audacity

"So it's a culture vulture?" Mercy offered, seemingly reminding her superior officers that the Aegis Rangers were in fact still there

"AND THAT'S WHY SHE'S THE RED RANGER!" Justin exclaimed "Culture Vulture it is kid"

"Regardless" Kimberley looked about ready to throttle the former Turbo Ranger and privately wondered if there was something unique to Blue Rangers that made them harder to work with "The Alliance are preparing to evacuate the city and take out those ships. Triforia isn't defended so you'll be the first on the ground"

"The Gold Ranger is gonna have to hold off the monsters for now, dealing the Putties hunting civilians is the priority" Mercy stated flatly, a decision that she was relieved to see that all of her fellow Rangers nodded in agreement with

"Understood" Kimberley nodded "it's a good call, we're going to teleport you in a wider formation so you can clear out a wider area….May the Power protect you Rangers" Mercy looked to her team and pulled back her left sleeve to reveal her Aegis Morpher

"Ready?" seeing each of them nodded she held her left arm over her chest and used her right hand to activate the device "It's Morphin' time!"

"Osore!"

"Sabre-Beast!"

"Plesion!"

"Ursa Titan!"

"Red-Tailed Hawk!" in an instant flashes of light engulfed the workstation and Kimberley, Justin and Zebidiah were treated to the sight of Aegis Rangers in all their glory before the five of them teleported.

* * *

Commander Anubis Cruger, known as Doggie to the majority of those working within the Lightspeed Moonbase ever since the nickname fondly given to him by Bulk and Skull had simply refused to die, was currently situated within his office; a near impenetrable fortress in its' own right located in what had once been Lord Zedd's throne room and fitted with such an extensive array of monitors and displays that it had been likened on more than one occasion to the cockpit of a Megazord with a mahogany desk to its' rear where Doggie sat, his ancestral sword mounted on the wall behind him. The sound of his office door sliding open was followed by the ambient sounds of the base which was, as always a hive of activity; the noise was silenced once again as the door closed and Doggie glance up to see that Strike-Squad Alpha had arrived as requested.

Charlie Morales, the leader of the squad whose face had seemed capable of nothing but scowls in Doggie's direction of late was flanked by Ivan Komarov, a pale man with close cropped wavy and dirty blonde hair and unfortunately prominent ears to her right whilst to her left was a hulking alien with leather blue skin, prominent tusks and four green eyes named B'Vor who was more commonly known as Beaver by his team-mates. Behind them were the dark skinned and spiky haired Cliff Nelson and Rachel Ou-Yang who fiddled absently with the bleached blonde tips of her dark hair.

"Commander Cruger?" Charlie gave a brisk salute though the commander frowned, Strike-Squad Alpha were amongst his finest and had always addressed him by his nickname the fact that this had changed seemed odd yet there were far more important matters at stake.

"Ready your equipment; I need your squad to be mobile within the next hour…..Triforia is under attack"

"And they expect our help when they won't even defend themselves" Cliff muttered with clear disgust

"Understood sir" Charlie interrupted, her tone firm "We'll hold the line long enough for-"

"You're not being deployed to the ground" Doggie shook his head "The Aegis Rangers are already en route; a colony ship and escort fighters are preparing to evacuate civilians"

"I don't understand?"

"We've been carrying out long range scans of the Dark Empire ships involved in the attack" Doggie explained, that sentence alone speaking to the sheer extent of what the Moonbase was capable of in terms of reconnaissance and information gathering "We've deduced that none of them are actively jamming teleportation"

"Saving power due to depleted resources; would explain the attack" Ivan mused in his heavily accented voice "You want us to storm the ships?"

"I want you to destroy them if you can; priority is disabling their teleportation systems" Doggie explained "If we can keep the general leading the attack stranded on the surface than the Rangers can take them as a prisoner"

"And get all the credit" Cliff snorted

"Doing the underhanded jobs because they needed to be done was one thing" Rachel complained "Now we're just doing them to protect the new golden children's squeaky clean image"

"Enough!" Charlie barked sternly "Ivan prep our remote teleporter. Cliff, weapons and charges. Rachel I want all available details on Dark Empire ships before we leave, we're gonna gut 'em. Beaver me and you are gonna talk to some of the staff who aren't from 'round here before we go….see if anyone knows anything useful" with orders being given and Charlie's word being considered law that superseded official tactical doctrine by every member of Strike-Squad Alpha they began filing out of the office, even if none of them looked especially happy with the assignment

"Good luck Alpha" Cruger called after them "And as the Rangers say, may the Power protect you"

"We're not Rangers, the Power couldn't care less about us" Charlie shot back bitterly before adding "But thanks anyway, Doggie"

**Authors Notes:**

This is the start of the second arc of this story and will last from Chapter 05-08  
The first arc was titled "Morphin' time" this arc is titled "Battle-Forged" and all of the chapter titles will refer to forging or manufacturing in some way.  
I already have the bare bones of Arcs 3, 4 and 5 decided but no I'm not going to give you any spoilers for them.  
Also just a fair warning, I'm pretty sure that the next chapter is going to end up being at least little shorter than average.

Let's summarise, shall we:  
Heliothis is a genus of moths and also sounds similar to 'Helios' as in the Sun; it just sounds fitting for an alien spaceship commanded by a bug-lady.  
So yeah I'm just making it official now; Paradoxa will never randomly summon sting-wings or have a ship like the one from Lost Galaxy, although the Heliothis does have some design elements inspired by it.  
I was honestly enjoying cranking up the grim-dark for the description of the ships' interior.  
I wanted Paradoxa's personal quarters to just give you the impression that it would be festering, it's the ideal breeding ground of bugs and larvae.  
The Dread-Forge I mentioned is basically what I'm calling a machine like what Finster had to make Putties and other monsters; Paradoxa needs to manufacture a new one….keep that in mind, it'll be important later.  
So somehow Strike-Squad Alpha are getting onto Dark Empire ships even when they're hidden; keep that in mind as well.  
All the best villains talk to themselves, it cuts down on the need for lackeys.  
Okay I promise I'm going to try and keep the high-school drama to a minimum, but it does serve as a good metric for how the, mostly alien Rangers are integrating into a human society.  
My main reason for writing Aquitian culture as fairly rigid is that honestly none of the alien rangers had distinctive personalities and were pretty much just there to be there.  
Come on the kid's an alien and he's gotta catch up with memes in the 2025.  
You didn't think I'd make Aslaug a total brute right? She's space Viking, not space cavewoman.  
Is it even an American high school setting if someone doesn't try to steal someone's lunch?  
Panthera was never going to fit in at the Aquabase without problems, let's not lie to ourselves.  
Panthera with a Yo-Yo is like a cat with a ball of string.  
And yes Mercy has a big ol' crush.  
Okay I know I made Taylor sound like an utter bitch here but hear me out, she was always one of the most uptight Ranger ever….I mean come she literally wrote a rulebook; but now she's teaching teenagers; she's probably one wrong word away from a freak-out at all times.  
So Mercy is now officially separated from her old cadet group and because none of them know that she's a Power Ranger there's naturally some resentment there.  
Let me know if I'm overusing Tempestus's misuse of slang….or on the contrary, give me more slang to throw in if you want more of it.  
Okay so about the description of Triforia, the opalescent atmosphere is the best way I can describe the image of it that we got in Zeo; as far as the city itself, I know it looks different from what we saw in the comics but that's a decision I'm willing to stand by because the panel I saw in the comics does not fit with the aesthetic that Trey or Pyramidas have.  
Don't ask me how they got a fragment of Zordon's tube.  
A lot of how I'm imagining Triforian society and culture working is coming, once again from the writing of and his Dawn of Primacy series which I cannot recommend enough but with my own spin on it.  
So, that's how Trey survived Acheron….He was never there.  
I describe Dark Empire ships as axe shaped, I read Animorphs as a kid_ (I might give them a re-read at some point, apparently K.A. Applegate has released them all online for free) _and although I can't remember if we ever saw the Blade Ship in the show the image I had of it in my head was pretty iconic.  
In the movie they were called Tengu and in the show they were called Tenga, so I'm compromising and saying that one is the name of the planet and the other is the name of the species…..Also yes I'm calling a group of Tengu warriors a clutch, as in clutch of eggs just so I can make a_ "You'll never escape my clutches" _joke later.  
Corax the Reaper, giant Tengu Warrior carrying a scythe and wearing his dead predecessors' skull as a mask….not bad for the first official 'monster of the week'….the collar I mentioned him having, imagine the one Ivan Ooze has.  
"_You mistake me for my predecessor" _sly shot at Yokai about his last stand.  
Okay two things to note about Paradoxa's orders, firstly the extent she's going to to hide the majority of her ships and secondly the fact she specially wants civilians out in the open, hence the destruction of the shelters….she came to Triforia for resources.  
Lightspeed canonically trained its' rangers with live explosives; my way of doing things is tame by comparison.  
The Rangers only have melee weapons when morphed so why let 'em train with guns.  
So, that's twice Aslaug has saved Mercy and called her out on being too eager to run into enemy fire.  
Is anyone actually surprised that Panthera went and got the flag herself.  
So another Ranger that's confirmed alive, so far the Astro Rangers have the most living members which makes sense considering that they had the Megaship.  
Justin's workshop is going to be one of the regular setting and probably become analogous to the Command Centre.  
Zebidiah said in the prologue that this was gonna be a different kind of fight, he wasn't joking.  
Justin makes a fair and valid point about boosting morale by giving the monsters stupid names to make them seem less threatening; also that's how I'm going to manage to bridge the gap between the aliens being actual threats and paying homage to the source material. Every monster is going to have two names, their given name and then a pun/joke name that Justin or Mercy give it….Basically Justin is acting as Cisco from the Flash in this story just to enable my love of Puns.  
And on that note, _"Culture Vulture"_ is brilliant and you know it.  
Billy, Justin, Ethan, Tempestus….Kim makes a point about Blue Rangers.  
I'm sure that someone reading this noticed that the Rangers morphed: Black, Pink, Blue, Yellow, Red….same as the original order.  
I had honestly forgotten that Doggie's real name is Anubis; obviously Bulk and Skull didn't give him the name in canon but in this timeline it makes sense.  
His office basically being a Megazord cockpit is a slight nod to the SPD Delta Command Megazord.  
Okay so besides Charlie none of the SPD A-Squad/Strike-Squad Alpha characters are ever actually named in canon but according to the wiki the names Ivan, Beevor _(Which I changed to B'Vor) _Cliff and Rachel were given by the Ranger Board user _'Merlin'_ which were intended to be used and made canon in the Hyper-Force RPG although it never happened.  
None of them have ever been given surnames though which is where I had a little fun….the name Komarov means gnat or mosquito; just throwing that out there.  
Also there's a colony ship inbound….I'm sure you can guess who's gonna be on it.  
So, we've got Trey facing Paradoxa and Corax, the Aegis Rangers preparing to deal with an army of Putties, Tengu Warriors in reserve and A-Squad are about to launch raids on the Dark Empire's ships; exciting times.

Thank you to SumoSnipe and Jen425 for their review on the last chapter.  
In his mind he went out like a champ, to everyone else he got played by another Dark Empire officer and turned into a crater.  
Aslaug's axe isn't double bladed unfortunately.  
Oh you're gonna see just how calculating she is by the end of this arc.  
Oh I already have plans for a sixth Ranger.  
I wasn't going to have a Gravezord style mash-up but I might just have to throw that in somewhere now.  
I'm glad you like Mercy

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	7. Hammer Blow

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 06 – Hammer Blow**

Panthera was a Felixian, her people had evolved from predatory animals that had stalked the jungles of the planet Felix and had never lost the brilliant senses of smell or hearing that had allowed them to do so; this meant that as the Pink Ranger materialised on Triforia in a flash of magenta light she was momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden deluge of terrifying sensations that assaulted her senses. The stench of blood and smoke hung thick in the air and the screaming of civilians seemed to come from all sides as the city burned around her until her helmet began to filter the information to tolerable levels and the former smuggler began to regain control of herself

"This is fine, we've been in war-zones before" she chided herself sternly before quietly adding "Just usually looking for a way out" casting her eyes around she took stock of her surroundings and saw that she'd been teleported into what appeared to be a vast market square; stalls had been overturned in the frantic rush to escape and as Panthera looked closer she could see bodies littering the ground though as she searched for any signs of lives that could still be saved an opportunity presented itself, there were dozens of narrow and winding side streets leading away from the market it what she was sure would be an intricate design when viewed from one of the many pyramids but would also be a nightmarishly difficult for an outsider to navigate.

Exactly the sort of place she would use to evade anyone hunting her.

Disengaging the noise filters on her helmet with a mere thought she strained her ears until eventually she heard movement to her left and simply sprinted in that direction; weaving through narrow alleyways until she finally came upon then, a group of roughly a dozen plainly terrified Triforian adults placing themselves between their children and the chattering Putties that stalked towards them with their odd flailing movements, slowly backing them against the wall of the dead end they found themselves in.

There were six in total and as she rushed towards them they turned towards her, the Pink Ranger stopped short and carried her momentum into a dramatic spinning heel kick worthy of Mercy that shattered the chest of one Putty before dropping into a crouch and sweeping the legs from a second and springing backwards to crush its' chest with her elbow as it fell. The remaining four lunged at her wildly and Panthera responded with ruthless efficiency, a double palm strike shattering the lead automaton and as her arms pulled back she gripped the wrist of another attacker in mid-swipe, twisting the Putties arm and forcing its' torso into the path of her knee before leaping into the air and heel kicking another with pinpoint precision in the weak point of its' chest. The sole remaining Putty warbled and thrashed animatedly as Panthera bared down on it, her twin curved blades manifesting in her palms in flashes of solidifying light

"Find somewhere to hide" Panthera instructed the civilians as the broken remains of a quartered Putty fell to the ground

"We-we were heading for the shelters" one of the women who had placed themselves in front of the Putties to spare the children stammered "But…." as she trailed off she gesture to one of the pillars of smoke rising into the air, Panthera bit out a particularly vile curse in her native tongue before putting her years of experience in the art of avoiding capture to good use

"How do you get into the sewers?"

"What are-"

"Waste disposal, storm drains anything like that….there must be some sort of sewer network under this city?" she demanded, snapping more than she intended to before seeing the frightened looks on the children's faces and taking a deep breath "Find a way into the sewers, tell anyone you see to do the same….You'll be harder to find down there" Panthera watched them leave before readying her weapons and preparing to find anyone else she could, hopefully including her fellow Rangers.

* * *

Since teleporting Rensa had been on the move, choosing not to stand and defend individuals or groups of Triforians but instead reacting in the way his home world had taught him, turning the tables on his enemy by hunting the hunters. He had arrived on a rooftop and hurled his daggers into the chests of a pair of Putties below before retrieving them and returning to the roofs of the cities smaller buildings in what was presumably a residential area; whist not quite pyramids they had steeply slanted roofs which the Black Ranger used to conceal himself as he stalked his prey before falling upon them and shattering their stony bodies with lightning fast blows.

"Rensa" a familiar voice crackled in his ear, as if the signal were distorted by the distance but only slightly

"Rensa come in" Doctor Stuart repeated "It's Justin, you're not far from Tempestus and it looks like he could use a hand"

"Understood how do I….Never mind" he murmured in his usual oddly gentle voice, the moment that he had decided to move to assist the Blue Ranger a small map detailing the surrounding areas and highlighting Tempestus's position appeared in a corner of his visor. Wasting no time Rensa followed the directions that his suit had provided him and found himself leaping from roof to roof until he neared a bridge across a small canal cutting through part of the city; civilians fleeing in the distance having clearly crossed the bridge whilst Putties struggled to do the same.

The Blue Ranger fought on the centre of the bridge and a small mound of shattered stone lay at his feet. Tempestus moved like a man possessed, each swing of his quarterstaff either flinging an automaton backwards, over the bridge or shattering them entirely whilst the Putties in contrast seemingly could not touch him as he weaved around their blows with ease.

Rensa however knew that Tempestus would tire eventually and as he saw a pair of Putties, in a rare display of intelligence try to clamber along the outside edge of the bridge he leapt into action; sailing from the roof he had been perched on in a wide arc arc and at its' apex he hurled his daggers into the backs of the Putties, their blades bursting through their chests. He landed by barrelling another Putty to the ground and dispatching it without mercy before leaping to his feet and re-materialising his daggers, Tempestus was yet to acknowledge his arrival but the Black Ranger had fought alongside Andros before and began to mould himself into the gaps of the Blue Ranger's onslaught, wherever Tempestus's staff wasn't Rensa's blades were until not a single Putty remained and the Blue Ranger staggered forward a single step, arms sagging as if suddenly too heavy

"Rensa….it is radical to see you"

"You couldn't see me before?" the Black Ranger asked, an eyebrow raising beneath his helmet.

"I was taught to meditate in even the most challenging situations" Tempestus explained before admitting "When I arrived, I let myself go into a trance-like state and fight the Putties….it was easier than looking at; well all of this….I wasn't taught to deal with this" Rensa nodded in understanding, though truly he had no way to relate to the Aquitians dilemma; he had been taught to deal with similar sights since birth after all.

Instead he simply gestured back towards the way he had come

"We should find the others"

* * *

Aslaug was utterly at peace.

The Yellow Ranger was well aware of how her newfound friends and indeed anyone else at Lightspeed would react to such a statement but it was nevertheless the truth. Her people were warriors and Aslaug, at eighteen years old had already fought alongside them for years now; except this was different, here there were no warriors of the Frost Fang tribe being cut down by equally skilled warriors, nobody she had known since her childhood being trampled into the freezing mud, the other Rangers were just as well armed and armoured as she was and Aslaug had no fear for their safety, here there was just herself and an army of unthinking, unfeeling and bloodless enemies for her to cast down.

She had materialised outside of one of Triforia's many pyramids, its' peak having been simply sheared away by the weapons of a Dark Empire capital ship whilst rockets had torn gaping holes into its' structure; yet those within still took refuge despite the flames and barred the doors as scores of Putties attempted to gain access to the building.

"You'll have to go through me" she roared in challenge as an almost dismissive backhand sent a trio of Putties flying through the air; planting herself directly in front of the sealed doorway and manifesting her axe in a burst of yellow light she looked out at the disorganised mob of would be attackers and privately wished that they were intelligent enough to at least respond.

Then they attacked.

Aslaug fought like a rampaging force of nature and sent fragments of rubble that had once been Putties hurtling in all directions as her axe cleaved stony bodies apart with each ferocious two handed swing. A lone Putty attempted to leap behind her, she drove the base of her weapons' handle into its' chest and crushed it against a wall where it promptly collapsed whilst at the same time her foot lashed out and struck the ribs of another Putty and flung its' crumbling form backwards into more of their rapidly thinning number. Aslaug grit her teeth and swung her axe with all of her might and sent a rippling wave of sheer concussive force through the air, the few remaining Putties not destroyed by her attack kept their distance and warbling amongst themselves before becoming suddenly more animated.

Aslaug let out a snarl of annoyed frustration as she saw the source of their apparent cheer; several dozen more of the automatons were scurrying into view from various nearby streets.

"Do your worst" Aslaug growled as she readied her axe once again.

* * *

"Go, go, go!" Mercy yelled frantically as she shattered the last of the group of Putties she had engaged in combat with a punishing palm strike to the chest.

The Red Ranger had teleported outside of what appeared to be a warehouse or depot of some sort, recognisable even despite the distinctly Triforian architecture due to the amount of vehicles milling outside of it, vehicles that best resembled some kind of advanced or alien freight truck and whose drivers were in the process of emptying them so that they could begin gathering up any civilians that they could find when the Putties had arrived. With the invading automatons destroyed by the Red Ranger the vehicles, which hovered roughly a foot off of the ground began to depart and make their way out into the city, proving that whilst Triforia's people may have been unaccustomed to violence and conflict they were still more than capable of heroism; Mercy leapt gracefully onto the roof of one them and used her helmets' display to locate each of the other Aegis Rangers only for her eyes to widen as she realised just how drastically outnumbered Aslaug was.

Within moments the Red Ranger had plotted out the quickest route to her comrade and leapt from the vehicle she was riding to make her way to the Yellow Ranger's location, sprinting through abandoned streets until she reached what seemed to be a main road; wide and open yet lined with abandoned vehicles the road would provide a clear route straight to Aslaug.

It was also filled with Putties.

At least a hundred of the things nearby, grouped in loose clusters that began to converge on Mercy the second that one of them caught sight of her

"Okay….I can do this" she assured herself, planting her feet, closing her eyes and exhaling slowly as a pulse of scarlet light trailed along her arm and formed her katana, the blade trailing behind her. Mercy's eyes opened and she streaked forwards at impossible speeds whilst her sword flashed out and ripped through Putties as if they were paper; a single crimson blur of motion cutting a swathe through the Dark Empire's footsoldiers until finally the heavily damaged pyramid that Aslaug was defending could be seen; the Yellow Ranger herself wading into a tide of grey, flailing bodies and breaking them apart

"Hang on!" Mercy yelled as she hurled herself into the fray, leaping over Putties and slashing downwards to remove the head from at least one and being mildly surprised when it continued to flail aimlessly; she landed on the blade of Aslaug's axe in a crouch, the Yellow Ranger easily able to support her weight and immediately launched herself back into the constructs as her blade lashed out in a wide arc that left crimson lighting flickering over the crumbling bodies of several Putties.

"Looked like you could use a-" Mercy's self assured and somewhat cocky greeting was vastly undercut by an explosion of shattering stone as well over a dozen Putties were torn asunder by a rapidly spinning projectile which returned, like a boomerang to whence it had come from.

Panthera caught it as she landed in a crouch, revealing it to be the combined form of her curved blades which she separated and flourished

"Looked like you could use a hand" she noted in a bored tone, utterly oblivious to the way Mercy seethed for a moment beneath her helmet before quickly reminding herself that there were more important things at stake.

"There" Aslaug nodded in the direction of a nearby roof, upon which the Black and Blue Rangers were stood, having just arrived

"Okay we're all here" Mercy opened her helmets' internal communicator with a thought "Now what?"

* * *

Within the somewhat makeshift control room that Doctor Justin Stewart's workshop had been repurposed to become he, Kimberley and Zebidiah had been watching the unfolding events with baited breath and hearts thundering in their chests, live feeds from each Ranger's helmet adding to the plethora of angles available to the trio who now had access to the majority of cameras within Triforia's Capital city as part of their role as mission control; Justin's chin rested on his hands as his eyes darted across the multiple screens and took in the countless sources of rapidly updating information whilst behind him Kimberley leaned over him, her grip on the back of his chair and workbench white knuckled and strong enough to make the chair creak under the strain; opposite her Zebidiah levitated in a cross-legged sitting position and whilst under normal circumstances the former Blue Turbo Ranger would have accused the former tyrant of showing off the deep concern etched into every line of Zebidiah's face it abundantly clear that he was giving the situation all of the attention it demanded

"Now what?" Mercy's voice enquired from a nearby speaker

"You're doing great kid" Justin assured her

"We're trying to prioritise targets" Kimberley added "They're everywhere and we need to clear a safe staging area for reinforcements" her eyes mirrored Justin's as she tried to parse the deluge of raw data, the city was effectively sealed off by the guns of the Dark Empire's ships which forced the fleeing civilians into a grotesque game of cat and mouse as they fled from the Putties, seeking any available refuge that hadn't been basted to oblivion.

"No" Zebidiah rumbled darkly "Something's wrong….I feel like we're missing something"

"What?" Kimberley demanded

"Rangers, what were the Putties doing when you engaged them?" he knew the answer but he hoped that having someone else to converse with would stimulate his mind enough for him to see the missing pieces

"Attacking civilians"

"Exactly" Zebidiah growled "My second born is many things but a fool is not one of them and neither are his commanders; so the question is this is….What is it that they want on Triforia?"

"The Culture Vulture and the other one are attacking the Coetus-Magnificum" Justin pointed out "Could they be after a relic-"

"No" Zebidiah murmured "They're not attacking it….they're feinting to draw the Gold Ranger out, so the goal is the people of Triforia themselves….I'VE BEEN A DAMNED FOOL! JUSTIN FIND FOOTAGE OF THE DOMUM-DE'LUNA RIGHT NOW!" seeing that Zebidiah was suddenly frantic and had in fact returned to his feet Justin quickly complied and searched for a feed that would bring the building into view

"Oh my God" Kimberley gasped

"What? What's happening?" Mercy demanded, her team still awaiting instructions on Triforias' surface. The Domum-De'Luna was a huge pyramid structure constructed from silver, marble and stained glass which served as the largest temple and college dedicated to the arcane and mystic arts of Triforia; outside of it were hundreds of Putties who flung themselves at anyone who dared draw close to the building or appear from within and attempt to combat them, yet rather than bludgeon their quarry the Putties instead vanished, acting as a teleportation beacon and allowing the Dark Empire to abduct Triforian mages.

"Justin send the Rangers these coordinates immediately!" Zedd demanded "Mercy, the Aegis Rangers need to head to the Doumum-De'Luna and destroy every Putty there!"

"On it, we won't let you down!" Mercy assured them and as the communication ended Kimberley and Justin both turned to Zebidiah with twin stares of fearful confusion

"What's going on?" Kimberley demanded in a hushed whisper

"The reason the Dark Empire's war with the Eltar was so horrific was that both cultures are masters at blending magic and technology to create more effective weapons of war" Zebidiah physically shuddered and that alone was enough to scare the former Ranger "Triforia has a far larger than average number of mages and technomancers among its' people; those ships aren't an attack fleet….they're a raiding force looking for resources"

"I don't get it" Justin admitted "So they're looking for people who can do magic, for what?"

"Believe me" Zebidiah whispered "It's better you don't know….it would haunt you"

* * *

Paradoxa and Corax materialised between two of the pyramids surrounding the Coetus-Magnificum, the gargantuan effigies dedicated to the principles of science and magic; the larger Pyramid which housed all of Triforia's central government and its' most priceless or powerful relics and artefacts stood some distance before them.

The location had been chosen to send a clear and unequivocal challenge to the Gold Ranger; face them or watch Triforia's past, present and future be crushed under the boot of the Dark Empire.

The distance also allowed Paradoxa time to get her bearings and make several tactical decisions before her confrontation with Triforia's sole defender; pressing two fingers to the point where one of her battle-masks' armoured mandibles met flesh she activated a communicator and spoke to the individual currently Captain one of the trio of ships attacking the city

"Have all designated targets been eliminated?"

"Yes my Lady" a voice replied swiftly "The populace are trapped and their shelters have been razed. Barrages have ceased to avoid any unwanted damage to the targets….though several survivors are still hiding in the ruined buildings"

"Unimportant" Paradoxa answered calmly "They were nothing but table scraps anyway….what of the primary objective?"

"Putties are on site my Lady" Paradoxa frowned behind her mask, sensing a subtle wavering in her subordinates' tone

"But?"

"Power Rangers are moving to intercept, we won't have taken enough Triforians before they arrive….Do we send the Tengu warriors?"

"Not yet" Paradoxa replied simply, her intended rebuke at her lackeys' hastiness which would no doubt cost them valuable resources in the long run fizzling out on the tip of her tongue as she paid closer attention to one of the two towering pyramids she stood between, specifically the monument to science itself. The compound eyes of her mask rippled and shifted almost imperceptibly as she magnified the image they displayed, she quickly forwarded the image to the bridge of the ship whose Captain she was currently speaking to

"All weapons fire on that" she demanded, silky voice replaced with a frantic snapping "That is no mere monument"

"Understood my Lady" without another word Paradoxa ended the communication and readied her weapon as she turned to Corax who hefted his war-scythe whilst his beady eyes glimmered with murderous intent

"To victory?" the two of the strode forth side by side, marching towards the Coetus-Magnificum at a pace deliberately decided to coincide with the opening salvo of her fleets' attack on Pyramidas; ensuring that as the Gold Ranger rushed out of the larger Pyramid to face the architect of this assault on his home he was greeted by the sight of them emerging from the flames unscathed as his Zord was obliterated by the firestorm.

"Gold Ranger of Triforia" Corax greeted the armoured warrior marching out to greet them, every harsh and grating syllable a taunt "Shall we?"

The ground beneath each of the warriors shattered and cratered as both Corax and Trey launched themselves at one another at speeds that rendered them invisible, the Gold Ranger giving no reply other than a primal roar of fury; Corax leapt into the air with his hands above his head and scythe flush along his back before bringing it downwards in an arc intended to tear through his opponents helmet and skull with a single blow.

He missed.

Instead the Gold Range stepped to side and allowed the blade to sail passed him and halt a hairs' breadth above the ground in an impressive display of control before Trey adjusted his grip on his staff, clutching it at its' base with both hands and swinging the head of the weapon into Corax's chest in an explosion of pale golden light and arcing black lighting that crackled and sizzled in the air for several moments as the avian monster was sent back to Paradoxa's side in a crumpled heap residing in a gouge torn into the ground

"Another crack at it?" Paradoxa offered with an amused edge to her voice; Corax lunged back towards the Gold Ranger with a piercing screech and brought his scythe to bear in a wide slash which proved to be a feint as he simply released it from his grip; lashing out with the blade-like feathers of his forearms in a flurry of blows which the Gold Ranger struggled to fend against before catching the falling scythe before it could hit the ground and unleashing a powerful upwards slash that flung the Gold Ranger to the ground.

"I will feed your carcass to my clutches" Corax spat viciously as Trey rose to his feet and prepared himself for another exchange; a single diagonal gouge running from below his left arm, tearing deep into the shield adorning his chest and continuing along the right side of his helmet. Paradoxa watched with interest from the sidelines as the two circled each other before flying towards each other once more, the ground cracking at the point of impact and blows that would have torn a lesser opponent apart being thrown with reckless abandon; one moment Trey was forcing Corax back over a dozen feet with a palm strike to the chest whose impact sounded like gale force winds, the next Corax had used the Gold Rangers' chest as a springboard and was rotating in the air above him whilst launching a crescent shaped burst of indigo light from the blade of their scythe, Trey avoided the attack but was still thrown from his feet by the blast

"You're tiring" Corax noted

"As are you" the Gold Ranger noted, twirling his staff and preparing himself for what needed to be a decisive blow; without warning he shot forwards and held his staff horizontally in front of him as he channelled his power into an attack that his successor on Earth had named the_ 'Gold Rush'_ Trey felt his body become intangible for a moment as passed through Corax, a trail of black and crimson lightning following him as a cerulean glow faded from his body. The Avian monster staggered forwards, scythe slipping from their grasp as they convulsed in clear pain and the Gold Ranger pressed his advantage; he held his staff out and allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction as the head of the weapon opened and streams of golden light swirled and coalesced around it before an orb of glowing gold fired into Corax's back, he charged forwards with his weapon still blowing and made to bring the staff down on the monsters' skull and end this battle with a final mighty swing.

He was halted.

"I think not" Paradoxa sneered with an almost offensively calm demeanour, the insectoid warrior having moved so fast that it would have seemed she simply appeared at Corax's side, using her own weapon to block the golden staff and promptly fling Trey aside with a mere flourish. The Gold Ranger charged again and Paradoxa rushed forth to meet him, parrying his opening attack with one of her double-ended halberds' massive blades before spinning with fluid grace around his counter attack and striking him in the leg before a pulsating and sickly green glow enveloped her weapon and she lashed out with an impossibly fast blow to the chest that sent the Gold Ranger rolling to a stop.

Trey sucked in painful lungfuls of air as he dragged himself from the ground, taking a knee and retrieving his staff whilst surveying the damage to his armour; the golden knee-pad on his right leg had been ripped away almost entirely, his helmet was cracked and his golden shield was all but ruined with Paradoxa's last attack having left a smoking crater on its' surface larger than his open hand. He watched as Corax returned to his taloned feet and took his place at Paradoxa's right hand and realised that he needed to turn the tide of the battle and that he had one last ditch tactic he could use to do so.

Corax and Paradoxa halted their advance as a flickering purple aura enveloped the Gold Ranger which then proceeded to break into red and blue bodies of light at his sides which bled into each other; with a roar of exertion and flash of blinding light the Gold Ranger returned to his feet, flanked on each side by another Gold Ranger.

"Interesting" Paradoxa noted before nodding to Corax and charging.

* * *

Things would appear to the untrained eye to have gone catastrophically wrong.

Strike-Squad Alpha had teleported on to one of the trio of an axe-shaped Dark Empire warships attacking Triforia's capital; appearing almost directly in the centre of the narrow main body which spanned between its' command bridge and prow mounted weapons arrays and the massive assembly comprising its' wings and propulsion system and also housed the reactors which powered it. Currently the five of them were seemingly trapped, caught in a long walkway spanning much of the ships' length they'd managed to seal an airlock which doubled as a blast door on one side behind which a small force of attackers were desperately trying to reach them; on the other side things were progressing more slowly, with Charlie and B'Vor crouched behind opposite sides of the still unsealed blast door and returning fire on the oncoming rabble.

To the untrained eye things were going wrong, however to Strike-Squad Alpha things were going as expected.

"Hurry it up Ivan!" Charlie demanded, punctuating the order by leaning out of cover just long enough to snap half a dozen shots in quick succession from her exceptionally powerful weapon which had been dubbed _'The Enforcer'_ B'Vor swiftly using the opening to roll a grenade along the ground and into their enemies who returned fire even as the explosion tore through their midst. Behind him Ivan worked frantically, his own weapon and the squads' mobile teleporter slung across his back as he peered into the workings of a control panel he had torn open

"Not as simple as that" Ivan's accented voice replied tersely "Empire technology, how to say this….looks like it was made in a chop-shop with a Sega Genesis"

"Well chop faster" Charlie hissed as he continued to shoot, painfully aware that their enemies had more warm bodies to throw at their problems than she had power packs for her weapon. Ivan rolled his eyes and continued rewiring the innards of the control panel until final the blast door slid shut with a resounding clang, though the steady pattering of gunfire thudding against it continued to fill the section of corridor that they'd isolated themselves in

"Won't hold them forever" Ivan noted

"Doesn't have to" Charlie countered "Rachel, do we have a route?"

"We do" Rachel confirmed, tearing away a ventilation shaft cover "Through here we can get directly into the target area"

"Good, Cliff?"

"Charge is good on this side" the final member of the squad informed her from where he'd staying out of view, knowing that a single stray shot hitting any of the demolition charges he carried could spell disaster "If we're using 'em here we might not have enough for the other two ships though"

"We'll improvise, rig this door!" she gestured to the airlock that Ivan had just sealed "Beaver help him" their blue skinned comrade nodded silently and did as instructed, fastening the explosive to the door in such a way that any attempt to open it from the outside would cause an explosion

"Ready Charlie" Cliff informed her

"Okay time to go, Rachel lead the way, Ivan have our next jump coordinates ready; Cliff hand me the charges for the reactor "We're gonna blast thing all the way back to Acheron"

Mere moments later the five of them were crawling on the bellies through ventilation shafts and avoiding any areas where a member of the ships' crew would be able to look up and see them, following Rachel's lead until an eventually an explosion shook the their hiding place as it shuddered through the ship, lights dimming and flickering out below them before backup power brought a dim red glow to the corridors and sirens seemed to blare from all sides; the charges they had left behind had obviously damaged something vital.

"Here" Rachel breathed out, gesturing downwards to where Charlie could see, upon closer inspection the glowing reactor core of the vessel. Taking in a slow, deep but hushed breath she gripped the primed demolition charge in one hand and the trigger of the enforcer in the other; quickly estimating that there were several dozen aliens below but that that they were not soldiers and most would not be able to offer more than a token resistance.

"Ivan?" she whispered

"Coordinates are set" his voice was barely audible from his position behind them

"Fifteen seconds, whether I'm back or not" with nothing left to say she simply flung herself out of the ventilation shaft, landing in a crouch and bolting towards the glowing pillar of light that was the reactor; her weapon sending waves of pain through her arm and shoulder with each discharge as it recoiled and kicked against her. Bodies fell and the moment she was close enough Charlie hurled the explosive towards the reactor before turning and sprinting back towards the hole in the ventilation shaft and leaping into the air; vaguely aware of one of her squad-mates reaching down and grasping at her arm as she pivoted in mid air and fired at the charge she had planted. The resultant explosion was catastrophic and Charlie felt the heat of the blast beginning to wash over her a fraction of a second before the five of them were teleported to their next target.

Charlie realised something wrong the moment they re-materialised, as she staggered forwards she became aware of two things; firstly that it was far darker than it should have been, secondly that whilst it was undoubtedly solid the floor beneath her felt far too soft almost as though there were a layer of earth placed over the floor of the deck.

"This isn't right" she stated, her flat tone tinged with the first traces of panic "Rachel, where the hell are we?"

"I have no idea" the reply was sobering, her squad-mate frantically cast her eyes around their surroundings and saw that it appeared as it the nests or sets of some burrowing mammal had been constructed around them which were mercifully currently empty "This looks like some kind of living quarters but it's not where it should be in the schematics"

"Ivan, recheck the coordinates and get us out if here"

"I can't" Ivan admitted, causing the rest of the squad to stare at him in fear and confusion "I don't know how we got here but the Empire are jamming our teleportation out….I think we're trapped"

"So what's the plan Charlie?" Cliff asked "We can fight our way to a hangar and steal a ride out of here….or we can storm the reactor and go down with the ship" he hefted their remaining charges and squared his shoulders in a way that made it obvious he would follow any order he was given, come what may. Charlie took in the looks of steely determination on each of her comrades' faces and made her decision with a savage smile

"Neither" aiming her weapon she quickly fired on their now useless teleporter; destroying it so that it couldn't fall into enemy hands as procedure dictated before continuing "Lightspeed want us to keep an enemy commander planet-side so the Rangers can capture 'em….I say we go one better; we're gonna storm the bridge and bring Lightspeed the whole damn ship!"

"You'll always be a Red Ranger to us Charlie" Ivan chuckled darkly as he readied his own weapon before taking his customary place at her right hand side and nodding to Cliff, Rachel and B'Vor "You heard her, let's go steal a spaceship"

* * *

The Rangers reached the Domum-De'Luna and collided with the mass of Putties that scrabbled against its' smooth surface as they tried to gain entry with all the force of an impacting meteor; hurling stony automaton bodies aside or simply tearing them asunder and effectively breaking what little formation and organisation the things had before each of them broke off and began singling out smaller clusters of Putties.

Mercy watched, events seemingly happening in slow motion as Panthera ran along the wall of the pyramid utterly unhindered by its' steep incline, her tail trailing behind her as her twin blades carved through any Putties still trying to scale the building before she allowed them to de-materialise into thousands of dispersing luminescent fragments; the Pink Ranger leapt from the wall with he clawed hands outstretched and crushed the chests of another pair of Putties as she landed before rolling into a crouch, muscles coiled as she prepared to launch herself into the flailing grey bodies that had begun to encircle her.

Rensa was as always the epitome of ruthlessness, disguised by the frantic energy with which he fought and flitted from one opponent to the next; the Black Ranger let a Putty catch his leg as he aimed a kick to the side of its' skull only to reveal his ruse by leaping from the ground and using the Putties' chest as a springboard to launch himself at another foe, a double palm strike shattering the automaton whilst he carried the momentum first into a wide arc kick that ploughed through the next putty and then a low leg sweep, allowing him to destroy yet another Putty as it toppled to the ground before returning to his feet and stalking around the Putties that moved to engage him with all the ferocity of a predatory beast.

Tempestus moved with his usual fluid grace, windmill-like movements of his arms catching the limbs of his attackers and hurling them aside with ease and what couldn't be redirected was simply evaded, the Blue Ranger launching to several backflips and cartwheels which culminated in punishing kicks to the chests of the Putties until there were none left in his immediate vicinity, the last of their number being destroyed as he countered its' wild punch in such a way that it was pulled forwards into his elbow, yet the Aquitian wasted no time and immediately began looking for more threats to dispose of.

Aslaug was simply a juggernaut, each punch she threw at a Putty sent its' crumbling form crashing back into more of its' number and in some cases creating a cascade of shattering stone in a brutal parody of falling dominoes. Mercy saw a wave of the automatons surge towards the Yellow Ranger in an obvious attempt to bury her beneath their weight of numbers; the Red Ranger charged forwards and leapt over Aslaug, her somersault carrying her into an axe kick that impacted against the cranium of a Putty with explosive force. As she landed in a crouch she felt the Yellow Ranger's freshly materialised axe pass over her, Mercy wasted no time manifesting her own weapon and lunging forwards to impale the nearest Putty with her Katana

Yet there were still far too many Putties

"We need a better way of clear-" before she could fully give voice to the thought a ball of incandescent flames, shifting through various colours crashed into the midst of the Putties and both Mercy and Aslaug were brought to a stunned halt at the sight of several at those caught in the blast collapsing to the ground in a near molten state

"It came from up there!" Mercy gestured to a high point on the Domum-De'Luna just in time unnatural energies coalescing in the air above her before a bolt of lightning burst from a clear sky to hurl blackened and cracked Putties several feet into the air

"POWER RANGERS!" a booming voice intoned from above "THE MAGES OF THE DOMUM-DE'LUNA WILL NOT STAND IDLY BY AS OUR CITY IS ATTACKED AND OTHERS FIGHT FOR US!" the declaration was followed by a plethora of magical attacks, which Mercy could now see were the work of several Triforians within the vast pyramid and within moments the Putties were all but obliterated, the voice having clearly been one of their number.

"Captain Hart, area secure….we could us this as an evac point or-"

"Mercy, the Gold Ranger needs your help!" Kimberley interrupted frantically "Sending coordinates now"

"On it!" the Red Ranger turned to her team "Come on, let's go!" the five of them tore through the streets of Triforia's capital, running at speeds that no human could ever hope to attain naturally and destroying any Putties they passed without slowing until they finally came skidding to a halt as they reached the massive pyramid which dwarfed the others and acted as the hub of Triforias' government, the remains of Pyramidas spewing smoke and flames into the sky nearby though all their eyes were able to focus on was the sight of the two aliens whom they had seen before being deployed facing off against a trio of identical Gold Rangers.

The Aegis Rangers watched on, paralysed in their horror as Corax the Reaper claimed the first Gold Ranger; their weapons were locked together, the ground cracking beneath them until the avian monster lashed out and jammed the dagger-like feathers' of his left forearm into the cracked and broken section of this Trey's helmet, tearing through his cheek and distracting him for long enough for Corax to bring his scythe down for a fatal blow, it's blade sinking through the Gold Rangers' neck and bursting through his midsection before Trey's now limp body flickered away into shimmering red and blue particles of semi-solid light.

The death, or at least destruction of some kind of one of the Gold Rangers staggered the remaining two who had both been locked in combat with Paradoxa allowing her to eliminate a second with brutal swiftness; a graceful pirouette brought one of her double-ended halberds' massive blades which glowed with arcane energy crashing into the already damaged chest shield of the second Gold Ranger, tearing through their entire body with apparent ease. The sole remaining incarnation of Trey staggered and his staff slipped from his grasp as he clutched at his chest, the severing of whatever link had existed between his various selves a physically painful thing.

Corax, bloodlust now having reached a fever pitch with the red-tinged and euphoric haze of the battles' first kill tinged his vision lunged at the Gold Ranger and Trey let out a single rattling gasp as the blade of a scythe erupted from his chest. The blade was quickly torn free and Mercy watched with tears in her eyes as Trey collapsed forwards, his morphed state flickering around him

"On your knees, as you should be" Paradoxa noted calmly before gathering all of her dreadful might into herself and bringing a glowing and pulsating blade down on the back of the Gold Ranger's skull with earth shattering force

"NO!" the scream of rage and grief tore itself from Mercy's lips without warning and Paradoxa and Corax both turned their attention to the Aegis Rangers, Trey's lifeless and unmoving body laying at their feet, unmorphed.

"Ah the newest Rangers" Paradoxa greeted them with an almost cheery tone as her atrophied second pair of arms crept from beneath her carapace to retrieve her weapon and her battle-mask retracted, allowing the teens to see her satisfied smile "Come, look at your fellow Ranger and see what awaits you" Mercy trembled with rage whilst beside her Aslaug shifted her weight and prepared to charge and Panthera let a snarling and alien curse. The insectoid paid them no more mind and turned to Corax

"I have more pressing matters to attend to, kill them"

"With pleasure Paradoxa" before the Rangers could halt her Paradoxa had teleported, almost certainly leaving the planets' surface entirely whilst Corax hefted his now bloodstained scythe and gestured to the Aegis Rangers, silently challenging them to attack.

They did so without hesitation.

**Authors Notes:**

Okay two chapters into this arc, two left to go and I've still got plenty of fun tricks up my sleeve.  
And I thought this chapter was gonna be a short one, let's just call me boo-boo the fool.  
Side note, I'm toying with the idea of having some cameos from outside of Power Rangers turn up in this story….Since the Ninja Turtles are canon to Power Rangers I'm tempted to just have them in the back of a scene somewhere and I'm also debating repurposing a few Kamen Riders to serve as continuations of the Masked Rider franchise; since the two franchises cross over every season in Japan.  
Also a little bit of promotion, although this project is obviously far bigger than anything I'm doing:  
The Power Hour Discord Server is open, this is run by two of the minds_ (One of whom is also one of the actors)_ behind the web series _**"Power Rangers Unworthy"**_ which I cannot recommend enough and was one of the inspirations for this story; it's a haven for fellow nerds and they have a Twitch stream on Fridays.  
The permanent Discord Server link is /cTP2bbt after the Discord, I'd post it as an actual link but site rule y'know.

Anyway let's summarise:  
I can only imagine what being teleported in an actual war-zone would feel like; it's all the havoc you're expecting except you don't get time to prepare yourself for it.  
Casually sprinkling in little details about Panthera's past, we know she's a smuggler and that she used to have a sister but not much else.  
Also enjoying adding all the little features that explain what a Ranger suit actually does.  
The best defence is a good offence and Rensa knows it.  
Tempestus decided to just find a bottle neck and put himself right in the middle of it so that the civilians could get to safety.  
Okay so since the Rangers can materialise and de-materialise their weapons at will there's no reason for them to not just throw it at someone, they can get it back with no problems.  
Also yeah, Tempestus is a gentle soul and even though he knew he was going to become a Power Ranger before leaving for Earth he was still not prepared for what an actual war looks, sounds and smells like so instead he just meditates and fights in a trance if its' getting a little overwhelming.  
Aslaug is the complete opposite.  
I felt like I had to have the Triforian people do something, even if they're 100% pacifists they can still run interference and help gather up other fleeing survivors.  
I just had the image in my head of Mercy doing some anime samurai shit when she ran through that street full of Putties.  
So decapitating a Putty doesn't work, they don't have a brain.  
I'd like to take a moment to point out just how strong Aslaug is, she can old her axe out straight with Mercy balancing on the flat edge of the blade.  
And she thought she was slick until Panthera showed up.  
Told ya Paradoxa is a more capable leader, when she shows up with her monster of the week it's not because she thinks she's gonna somehow win the whole war in one battle, she's just using it as a misdirection.  
So the Dark Empire Vanguard Fleet needs people capable of magic, Paradoxa noted last chapter that she doesn't have the means to make more Putties right now, Putties are magically animated stone….getting it now?  
Domum-De'Luna = Home of the moon, I just wanted something that a faux mystical ring to it.  
There's a reason she's holding the Tengu back, it's a pretty simple one.  
Not even waiting for Pyramidas to be needed, just took one at it and gave the kill order.  
"_Shall we?" _Corax has swag and you know it.  
"_Another crack at it"_ is an obvious nod to the '95 movie.  
I watched the 'Gold Rush' special move and realised after a couple of watches that it was actually Trey that came up with that, but it sounds like something Jason would call it; so in my head it was Jason's idea.  
Also, the Gold Rangers' moves sound like anime bullshit when you describe them; so it's not really any surprise that I'm writing Triforians as a culture with more mages, Trey mixes magic into his fighting style fluently.  
To anyone reading this story who hasn't followed Power Rangers lore or has just forgotten it all, which I know there's a couple of….Yeah I'm not just making that up, the Gold Ranger can canonically split himself into three.  
Strike-Squad Alpha, casually putting in some work.  
"_Empire technology, how to say this….looks like it was made in a chop-shop with a Sega Genesis"_ I could have been a truly horrible bitch and said Dreamcast.  
Of course they went in through the vents, would it be sci-fi if they didn't?  
And that's the other half of Paradoxa's problems dealt with, I'm sure you guess which ship they're on….the question is what happened to their coordinates?  
"_You'll always be a Red Ranger to us Charlie"_ right in the feels.  
Mercy's getting into something of a habit of backing up Aslaug and setting up impromptu combos.  
I'm sorry but it's alien Hogwarts, they better be fighting back I don't care how peaceful they are the rest of the time.  
Corax is a dirty mother-fucker for that first kill.  
Yeah Paradoxa is definitely the stronger of the two of them, she's not the harmless armchair villain type.  
I'm sure you can all guess where Paradoxa is going  
Anyway next chapter has Strike-Squad Alphas' continuing misadventures, reinforcements from Earth arriving in the form of one of the colony ships and its' escorts but most importantly; the Aegis Rangers against the first official monster of the week.

Thank you to Jen452 and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Well I'm glad someone likes the High-School drama aspect.  
I mean it's A-Squad, canonically you should have been worried the second they showed up.  
More puns for monster names and outdating slang coming right up, it's gonna be tubular my dude.  
The only post SPD series I've seen is RPM which canonically takes place in its' own universe so no….But SPD characters could have ended up in Lightspeed/Silver Guardian training program, I mean all wards of the state are conscripted and there are two SPD Rangers that lived on the street as kids….  
Let Mercy drool.  
Yeah but "The friends they made in boot camp" are basically their friends since birth/early childhood.  
Of course…..Wait, does that mean the Green Ranger is a Bard considering that the Dragon Dagger has a flute?

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	8. Forged In Fire

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 07 – Forged in Fire**

They had been through hell.

Strike-Squad Alpha's self imposed mission to locate and storm the bridge of the vessel they had found themselves on had been far more treacherous than even the elite covert unit could have prepared for; firstly the ship was simply far too large and it's layout failed to align with that of any Dark Empire vessel that they had boarded before, secondly not only were it's corridors heavily defended they were guarded by at least a dozen different species of alien who all seemed to be in their natural element as the ships' interior was divided into segments which were designed to emulate the nightmarish environments that these species came from.

"Exit's right there! Push through 'em!" Charlie demanded as her weapon spat bolts of destructive light into the oncoming attackers, bipedal reptilian creatures with scaly, brick red hides and whose skulls each sported a bony crest; they were clad in bright red armour and each of them carried a cruel looking two handed bladed weapon, Charlie noted grimly that if they had been carrying ranged weapons her squad would most likely already be dead. The lizard creatures fell one by one as Strike-Squad Alpha used every available piece of cover and gunned them down with impunity until only one remained; it charged at Charlie with a roar, preparing to make what it no doubt considered to be a heroic last stand only to be laid low by a blast from Ivan's weapon

"Not today" her gaunt comrade noted coldly before turning to Charlie "Rachel thinks that the command bridge is dead ahead….out of here, down a corridor and there it is"

"So it's gonna be heavily defended" Charlie muttered before taking a moment to inspect the condition of her squad mates; Ivan seemed to have made it through their ordeal relatively unscathed which Charlie noted was an impressive feat, Cliff sported a cut across the bridge of his nose and a sizeable gash in his left shoulder where a weapon had managed to pierce his armour courtesy of the reptilians, though he could still move his arm so Charlie was less concerned than she might have been, Rachel's face had been hit by the corrosive spray of some scuttling monster several chambers back and though she was gritting her teeth and baring it Charlie could see that the skin had been eaten away from the left side of her face and it was questionable how much she could actually still see out of her left eye; B'Vor was only still standing because of his species' more robust anatomy; having been impaled several times as he held the line and allowed his squad-mates to fall back early on in their mission, pale blue blood ran in rivers down the grooves and creases in his armour to pool at his feet and Charlie was beginning to grow concerned that even his exceptional toughness was reaching its' limits. Charlie herself was bleeding profusely from a head wound which dripped into her eyes and partially obscured her vision, a predicament made all the worse by the sweat cascading down her body due to the sweltering heat in this particular segment of the ship which had been decorated to resemble the volcanic world the reptilian attackers had come from.

"Everyone ready?" Charlie asked, catching her breath as she cautiously made her way to the blast door, Ivan and B'Vor taking up positions opposite her with her blue skinned comrade providing cover to the human as he began trying to open the door which had been sealed

"You okay?" she asked B'Vor as she saw his four eyes seemingly loose focus, though it was hard to tell as they lacked pupils "Hang in there, we're gonna make it" she added as he nodded silently.

"Time to go" Ivan announced a moment before the doors opened with a hiss

"Clear!" Cliff called out as he and Rachel snapped off a quick salvo of shots into the corridor beyond only for them to travel through empty space

"What the hell?" Charlie muttered "Mines? Poison gas?"

"This close to bridge, unlikely" Ivan countered

"Then what's their game?" she growled, wiping blood from her face before making a snap decision "We didn't come this far to stand here debating, come on!" with that the five of them charged through an empty corridor whose minimalist design was a vast departure from what they had encountered thus far, it was lined with view-ports and Charlie noticed with a start that there were Dark Empire ships locked in combat with Alliance forces above Triforia, far more than the mere trio they had been sent to destroy; she forced herself to focus on what was directly ahead as they made it to the other end of the corridor unharmed and Ivan swiftly began the process of opening the door

"How're we doing this?" Cliff asked "Guns blazing?"

"No" Charlie shook her head "We destroy any consoles and this could've all been for nothing" the conversation was cut short by Ivan completing his task and as the door hissed open Charlie surged onto the command bridge of the ship and levelled the enforcer at the nearest member of the crew, her comrades doing the same

"Put that down" a silky smooth voice demanded softly, each syllable oozing confidence; the throne like seat in the centre of the bridge turned allowing Strike-Squad Alpha to see its' occupant, pale green skin, a black carapace covering most of her body which shimmered under the lights and a helmet which featured splayed open mandibles; the Dark Empire officer that they had intended to leave stranded on Triforia

"As you can see" Paradoxa beamed at them as she rose to her feet "You are exactly where I want you. Put your weapons down"

"FALL BACK!" Charlie bellowed, firing into Paradoxa's face until her weapons' power pack ran empty in an effort to allow her squad-mates a few more seconds to flee only to watch in horror as the onslaught which should have been fatal did nothing more than stagger her. Charlie Ran, reloading whilst quickly catching up with her comrades and giving them new orders

"Looks like we're going down with the ship!"

"What?" Rachel demanded, a hint of fear in her voice

"We can't get off….we're already dead, it's just a matter of how many of them we take with us. Cliff, you still got those charges?"

"Right here" he assured her

"Find some vents and go for their power supply, we'll try and buy you some time" Charlie ordered "Everyone else split up, find anything that looks vital and shut it down….Ivan, see if you can turn their life support off remotely" she was greeted by nothing but silent nods of understanding before they split up and went their separate ways. Charlie doubled back on herself and began making her way down onto the lower decks whilst keeping out of sight, she'd realised that whatever deviations from the norm this ship had it was still shared the same loose design as most Dark Empire warships which meant that there was a main weapons battery mounted on the prow, almost directly beneath the command bridge.

She intended to set it alight and tear the head from the snake in a single blow.

She passed through several decks of the massive ship almost without incident, only needing to silence a few individuals with well placed shots before they could give away her position. Eventually she reached a gargantuan loading bay and maintenance area of sorts, the entire operation of keeping the ships' mains weapons fed and operational being contained within a single, sprawling area though as she ran out and opened fire on anyone within range she became aware of another, far more important fact.

Paradoxa was already here waiting for her

"Heroes….so predictable" she sighed in an almost disappointed tone before drawing her halberd and flinging Charlie back over a dozen feet with a casual wave of the weapon, the arc of light that struck her leaving her body shuddering uncontrollably and halting her attempt to stand. Through blurry vision she saw her weapon be kicked aside before she was dragged to her feet by unseen hand as Paradoxa drew close, even in her dazed and battered state she managed to make out the aliens' words

"Corax has the Rangers distracted, it's time to deploy the Tengu Warriors" Paradoxa then turned to Charlie "Keep this one separate from the others for now" Charlie's last conscious thought was that she wished she'd taken the time to say a more meaningful goodbye to her squad, then a fist to the back of her head knocked her unconscious.

* * *

Mercy's katana tore through the ground as she stabbed downwards and used its' blade to bring herself to a stop in a crouch after being flung backwards by Corax. It seemed that whatever injuries the avian monster had sustained and whatever fatigue he had been feeling after his battle with the Gold Ranger had been overshadowed and forgotten entirely in the wake of the berserk bloodlust that now powered him. She looked on as her team continued to try and fend off Corax's rampage, Tempestus held his staff overhead to block a downward swing of Corax's scythe yet was unable to use his signature sweeping redirections and parries as his enemy simply overpowered him; ground cracking beneath his feet before his legs buckled and the Aquitian was forced to his knees with the tip of his enemies' blade drawing ever closer.

Rensa rushed in from the side with a punishing knee to Corax's head before preparing to stab downwards with his daggers yet the monster reacted with lighting speed, breaking away from Tempestus and forcing the Black Ranger back with a blow to the gut with the shaft of his scythe whilst kicking the Blue Ranger away before he could rise; yet his advantage was short lived as Aslaug rushed towards him, forcing the monster deflect an over-handed swing of her axe only for the Yellow Ranger to punch him clean in the face at the same moment Panthera appeared behind him and swept his legs out from under him, Corax toppled to the ground and the Pink Ranger dragged her curved blades along his back

"GUYS!" Mercy called out "Power Blaster!" seeing that their opponent was momentarily downed the Aegis Rangers gathered around their leader and swiftly combined their weapons

"FIRE!" the beam of brilliant white, wreathed in multicoloured lighting gathered at the barrel of the weapon before ripping through the space between the Rangers and Corax the Reaper.

Then Corax moved.

The avian horror rolled aside and sprung to his feet, bringing his scythe about in a wide twirling flourish to avoid it being caught in the destructive energy that the Power Blaster had unleashed; the blast continued towards the already destroyed form of Pyramidas and tore another wound into its' already ravaged and broken form. Then, the component parts of the Power Blaster began to flicker

"Rangers your weapons are losing power, you can only sustain them for so long, that last attack drained them….they need recharge time" Justin's voice informed each of the Rangers over their helmets' comms; Corax watched the Power Blaster give one final flicker before vanishing entirely and didn't need to see their faces to imagine the looks that were being exchanged beneath their helmets

"Out of toys Rangers?" he taunted, voice a grating screech.

"I can buy you time, I've got an idea" Aslaug murmured quietly to Mercy

"What're you-" the Yellow Ranger was already striding forwards, alone and with her arms spread wide as she addressed Corax

"You pre-date the current Lord Zedd yes?" Corax cocked his head and Mercy saw that the skull he wore as a mask had been cracked around the right eye "I was told that the Dark Empire fought with some honour once; I challenge you to single combat!"

"Accepted" Corax cooed with obvious delight and shot forwards as the Yellow Ranger rushed out to meet him despite being unarmed

"Is she insane?" Panthera demanded

"We're going to help her right?" Rensa added, Mercy watched as Aslaug proceeded to kick the leg Corax was supporting his weight on aside whilst grabbing his Scythe to use the monsters' own momentum against him and hurl him to the ground

"I think she knows what she's doing" she answered, though she was clearly deeply worried. Corax returned to his feet, his scythe becoming a blurred maelstrom as he swung and slashed faster than the eye could see, the Yellow Ranger simply flung herself back to avoid the onslaught only to leap back into close quarters the moment Corax's berserk attacks came to a halt; the monster swung at the same moment as Aslaug reached out and seized both ends of the weapon whilst also kicking it firmly in the centre of the shaft; the result was that Corax's scythe was broken in two but he still managed to slash Aslaug across the chest before discarding the remains of the weapon. The Yellow Ranger staggered back with vibrant yellow sparks issuing from her armour and Corax pounced without hesitation, if he had been agile before it was nothing compared to the speed he moved at now that he wasn't burdened by the weight of his weapon; Aslaug tried to defend herself as best she could from the rain of slashes from clawed hands and feet and vicious backhanded blows which dragged his bladed feathers along her armour until its' golden yellow surface was torn away in several places to reveal the alien inner workings below

"You never had a chance" he declared as he kicked Aslaug to the ground, taloned claws pinning her down "And now you-" he was silenced as a crimson blur collided with him, Mercy following her flying kick up with a spinning heel kick that shattered Corax's skull-mask entirely to reveal to bald and vulture like face beneath, making his curved beak seem somewhat oversized

"A cunning strategist you are not, but at least you're brave enough to make up for it" Mercy noted as she pulled Aslaug to her feet, repeating words that Aslaug had said to her earlier that day with far more confidence than she truly felt.

She never saw Corax move until it was too late.

The raven coloured streak collided with her in an explosion of force and a murderous shriek of rage, Corax didn't use his claws or bladed arms to attack the Red Ranger instead he simply launched himself forwards with all his might and drove his beak into her helmet; Mercy was send hurtling backwards and as she rolled to a stop she realised that she was bleeding from a small cut above her eyebrow but far more importantly roughly a third of her helmet had been ripped away in the attack, a chunk which reached from just below her nose around to just behind her left ear and all the way to the top of the helmet was simply gone. The other Rangers quickly surrounded her and pulled her to her feet

"Are you okay?" Aslaug demanded

"No but I'll live" Mercy replied, trying to overcome her dizziness by sheer force of will

"I think the most tubular option would be to stall for time" Tempestus offered

"Hope he can't keep this speed up and hit him with the blaster when we can use it again?" Panthera shrugged "Makes sense"

"Agreed" Mercy nodded "Let's do this" the five of them braced themselves as Corax, beady eyes glinting menacingly prepared to charge at them with insane fury yet again.

* * *

They had not been prepared.

There was no other way to describe the state of cadet group one-nine-nine-three; following their final day of classes at the Lightspeed Aquabase the group of teens had, as Izzy had explained to Mercy earlier that day been transferred to one of the various colony ships designed by Grace Sterling which hung in orbit around Earth, the colony named _'New Angel Grove' _in honour of the home town of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers to be exact; Izzy had noted glumly to his friends among the cadet group that Mercy would have liked it.

Then they had been told that the colony was being mobilised; they had been transferred to this particular vessel as it was currently one of the most prepared and had a crew with the requisite experience to ensure the cadets completed their training and became fully qualified Silver Guardians, which had naturally meant that when Triforia was attacked it would be the first colony ship sent to evacuate refugees from the battlefield.

Before they had even had a chance to find their new accommodations or see if their belongings had arrived on the colony without incident the cadet group had been given new weapons and fresh armour and fatigues displaying the insignia of the regiment they would be joining and assigned to a company leader who had barked their orders at them; when they arrived in Triforian space they would be sent down along with the more experienced soldiers, the cadets role would be to assist the Triforian mages in ensuring that the Domum-De'Luna remained secure as a staging area.

Things had gone wrong almost immediately, Izzy had never experienced teleportation before and the power involved in instantly transporting something the size of New Angel Grove had the side effect of making anyone within the colony feel as though their body were being forced through a small tube, he was not the only one to vomit. When they appeared in Triforian space the trio of Dark Empire ships attacking the planet were revealed by half a dozen more, revealing that they had been led into a trap and though the Alliance escort ships defending New Angel Grove were simply of a higher calibre than the vessels attacking them it was still a hard fought battle.

Things had been no better on the surface.

The more experienced Silver Guardian squads and soldiers had moved out, deploying a series of automated turrets around the Pyramid that the cadets would be defending with muttered warnings about not relying on the Triforians to watch their backs; almost as soon as the troops had moved out to begin clearing out the last clusters of Putties a new threat appeared, teleporting directly in front of the automated turrets and dismantling them before they could be put to any real use, black-feathered things with pale purple, bony and ridged armour covering their vital areas; Izzy had recognised them as Tengu Warriors and ordered the mages to fall back into the Domum-De'Luna, the Triforians wore no armour and would be torn apart in seconds; yet before they could escape several of their number were simply grabbed by the Tengu which quickly teleported away.

"SPLIT UP! DRAW 'EM AWAY!" Izzy barked to his fellow cadets who began to scatter away from the pyramid in smaller groups; their weapons firing high calibre solid slugs intended to break through the weak points of a Putty and managing to do horrific damage to any Tengu they struck as the Triforian mages launched a magical assault from above.

"They're not chasing us!" CJ, a freckled redhead boy exclaimed; Izzy had found himself alongside CJ, Myers a waif of a girl who seemed incapable of packing on any amount of muscle despite the rigorous training they were subjected to but was also something of a demolitions expert and finally Briggs a short and stocky girl, a solid slab of muscle who had been training to become a medic; something which was greatly aided by the fact that she discovered her latent arcane powers at age twelve and had subsequently studied under Zebidiah Lord.

"Damn it, they're not falling for it! They want the mages!" Myers barked only for Briggs to double back and rush passed Izzy faster than her could stop her and stretch out her palm

"HEY ASS-HOLES! SOMETHING SOMETHING DARK SIDE!" lightning arced from her fingertips and struck the nearest Tengu, reducing its' body to a smouldering husk but clearly draining her in the process

"Think that got their attention" CJ noted as the flock of avian terror troops turned and began stampeding towards them

"Great now run!" Izzy bellowed grabbing Briggs and dragging her along after him, desperately trying to formulate a plan more tactically sound than simply running for their lives only for his mind to fail to produce anything other than _'What would Mercy do?' _

"They're gaining on us Izzy!" CJ pointed out frantically

"I know, just keep running!" he continued leading his friends through the deserted streets, zigzagging around corners with his lungs feeling as though they were on fire

"There!" he pointed ahead to a large hovering vehicle which seemed to be the Triforian equivalent to a freight truck, hovering roughly a foot above the ground and notably empty

"The trucks were picking up civvies, our guys must've gotten 'em out!" Briggs declared and Izzy hoped that that was the case

"We're going straight under it!" he yelled "Myers, get a grenade ready….I don't know what they fill the tanks with out here but I'm guessing it'll burn!"

"You got it!" Myers flashed him a grin that was entirely too predatory as she shouldered her weapon and readied several explosives without breaking her stride. With the Tengu Warriors close behind the dived and slid beneath the hovering truck and emerged on the other side with the grenades left behind them

"Wait for it!" Izzy ordered as they put some distance between themselves and the vehicle, waiting until the moment he heard talons scrabbling against metal "NOW!" CJ, being the best shot of the group crouched and fired at the grenades which detonated and ignited the trucks' fuel cells in an explosion that flung them all to the ground; Izzy felt a burning pain in his left shoulder and struggled to breath as he dragged himself to his feet

"I'm hit!" Briggs quickly rushed to his side only to laugh hysterically at the sight of a severed Tengu claw protruding from a tear in his armour

"You should definitely keep that" she laughed before promptly ripping the talon free and beginning to use her arcane abilities to heal her friend, hands glowing white as she applied pressure to the wound whilst Izzy merely grunted in displeasure at the sensation of his flesh being stitched back together at an accelerated rate.

"We got all of 'em" Myers breathed out, the adrenaline leaving her system "We should fall back to the pyramid"

"Good idea" Izzy nodded

"Wait" CJ held out a hand to stop them whilst peering through the scope of his weapon at something in the distance "The Power Rangers are here, it looks like they need help!"

"Let me see" Izzy brought his own scope to his eye and followed his friends' gaze, just in time to see the Red Ranger be knocked sideways by a blow from what appeared to be a larger and far more capable Tengu.

Then he saw her face through the break in her helmet

"Holy shit we've gotta help her" he breathed out "Mercy's the Red Power Ranger"

* * *

Panthera and Tempestus were thrown aside with contemptuous ease as Corax fought the Rangers to a standstill, the Pink Ranger bringing herself to her feet with a particularly acrobatic motion and charging the monster once again, pouncing into the air to driver her knee into the avian monsters' beak only to be grabbed by the leg and tail and promptly thrown into Tempestus as he made to assist her. Rensa's attempt to attack from behind was countered by a bladed spinning backhanded, Corax's sharpened feathers tearing into the Black Rangers' armour before being followed by a palm strike to the face which cracked Rensa's helmet and lifted him from his feet as Corax's talons slowly gouged through its' surface until he managed to wrap his legs around the monster's arm and use his own weight as leverage to throw Corax to the ground with a sickening crack as the hollow bones of the monsters' forearm snapped.

"Keep the pressure on!" Mercy yelled as she rushed in to deliver a spinning kick to Corax's midsection as he rose to his feet followed by Aslaug weaving around her to punch him in the beak with a thunderous impact, it seemed that Corax's madness induced strength was beginning to wane and that the Aegis Rangers were beginning to make some progress.

Then Corax braced himself and opened his beak wide before unleashing an ear-splitting screech that warped the air around him, a concussive pulse throwing the Rangers back several feet whilst the sound itself left their ears ringing within their helmets as their noise filters failed to protect them, those Rangers' whose visors remained undamaged and still functioned began to flicker and distort for the duration of the sonic attack. Panthera with her more sensitive hearing and Mercy with her compromised helmet were the worst affected and both staggered disoriented.

Corax took full advantage and the Pink Ranger was the first to fall. The avian knocking her several feet into the air with an uppercut as he crossed the distance between them in a flash and slamming her into the ground with enough force to crack it with the impact; seemingly unhindered by his broken arm in his berserk state.

Mercy, vision still spinning shot forwards and delivered a heavy handed right cross to his beak which made him stagger back several steps; she gave a tired but cocky grin before planting herself between her fellow Ranger and the birdlike monster

"Guess I'm the featherweight champ"

"I WILL PEEL THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" Corax shrieked

"We can't keep hitting him one at a time" Panthera noted as she rose to her feet with catlike grace "We're gonna have to rush him" Corax wasted no time in rushing towards the Rangers as they gathered together, closing the distance with talons outstretched

Then he was brought to a halt as part of his skull seemed to explode; Mercy whipped around and caught a glimpse of a Silver Guardian uniform and the smoking barrel of a weapon. Where a laser weapon would have simply burned a hole through Corax's flesh the solid slug weapon had instead ripped the Acheron hybrid's left eye from its' socket in an explosion of bone and viscous purple blood.

Yet Corax remained standing

"NOW!" Mercy yelled and the Aegis Rangers charged as one, Tempestus reached Corax first and parried his wild and half blind slash by seizing his wrist and driving his fist into the monsters' elbow, buckling Corax's arm and flinging him into the path of Panthera who pounced and buried her own clawed digits in his chest before planting her feet onto Corax's chest and using his body as a springboard to back flip away. Rensa gave the monster no respite and ploughed his fist into Corax's gut before sweeping his legs out from beneath him and sending toppling forwards into Aslaug's oncoming haymaker.

Seeing her opening Mercy rushed forwards, arm outstretched as Corax; heavily injured dragged himself slowly to his feet; the Red Ranger saw the monster take a single lurching step forwards and chose to take a calculated risk and attempted to manifest her katana, hoping that enough time had passed.

Corax took another pair of steps as Mercy charged with a primal roar of triumph and then the avian monster came to a halt; body suddenly stiff and heavy as he looked down with his remaining eye and saw the still glowing crimson blade buried in his chest and felt it piercing through his back. Mercy's body sagged with exhaustion as she pulled the blade free, allowing Corax to collapse to the floor motionless

"You did it" Aslaug noted, letting the Red Ranger use her to steady herself

"Yeah" Mercy noted, still somewhat dazed by the suddenness of what had happened she attempted to use her helmet's comm "Justin, Captain Hart? Can anyone read me?"

"We read you" Justin answered here "But we've lost your helmet feed"

"My helmet was broken" Mercy informed them "Corax, the Culture Vulture; it's dead….But the Gold Ranger, I'm sorry we couldn't-"

"We know, you did what you could" Kimberley told her gently, Mercy swallowed a lump in her throat and took a deep breath

"There's some Silver Guardians here who gave us an assist, we're gonna help them clear out the last of the enemies' ground troops" Mercy closed her comm channel with a thought and turned towards the wall that the Silver Guardians had ducked behind just in time to be stunned into silence when her friends emerged.

* * *

Charlie was in agony with dull pulsing waves of pain nausea coursing through the inside of her skull.

"You" a silky and terrifyingly familiar voice intoned "And your little friends have made something of a nuisance of yourself of late" as Paradoxa spoke lights began to flicker into life, revealing that Charlie was in a cavernous chamber whose walls seemed to have luminescent minerals embedded within them and various screens and displays fitted into their surfaces at various points, giving the place the appearance of the Dark Empire's equivalent to a briefing or conference room; though it was hard for Charlie to imagine her enemies implementing bureaucracy in any form. Charlie was secured to the seat she had been placed in whilst Paradoxa lounged comfortably opposite her with a large table made of some dark metal stood between between them

"Where's my team?" Charlie demanded, straining against her restraints

"Captured but alive….though how long far is debatable, the Odobenus is in a sorry state and the one with the burned face; well you can imagine how easily that could become infected….not at all a fitting ending" Paradoxa's vivid yellow eyes seemed to shine as she regarded her captive "But you should worry more about yourself"

"Really, that's the cliché you're going with?" Charlie sneered, refusing to display any of the fear she felt "If you're gonna torture me for information just get on with it, I'm not gonna crack"

"You've mistaken me for some petty tyrant or pirate….I have much more important things to do than sit here flaying you alive" Paradoxa's voice had the merest hint of laughter to it as she shook her head in disdain "And what precisely makes you think you have any information that I don't already know? Your masters in the Alliance send you on suicide missions, they're fully expecting you to be captured and mostly likely tortured for information; why would you ever be told anything valuable….You're expendable" Charlie remained silent, eyes narrowing as she tried to hide just how close to home the barb had struck; then she gave a laugh that was entirely without humour as she realised Paradoxa's intentions

"Oh you're really doing this, you're really giving me the_ 'We're not so different you and I'_ speech?" she snorted "This is how I die, listening to clichés"

"Well you made that path when you chose to scuttle about in ventilation shafts" Paradoxa noted in a bored tone which silenced Charlie with ease "And truthfully it only seemed right and fair to make the offer, after all you're strong, resourceful and cunning; the Dark Empire will always appreciate those traits…..besides, the captain of the ship I let you destroy was far too ambitious; you've done me a favour even if you didn't intend to" the insectoid Acheron hybrid gave an evil smile as she rose to her feet and made her way around the table at a leisurely pace, exuding control the entire time

"But the main reason you're here is to watch" she hissed in Charlie's ear as she brought one of the screens online "I want to know that the Alliance are watching when their Rangers bleed to death, broken and alone" a chill travelled down Charlie's spine as much as she tried to ignore it, instead she kept her eyes firmly on the screen and tried to remain impassive as the Aegis Rangers struggled to defend themselves against their avian opponent until, seemingly from nowhere a gunshot to the face provided them the opening they needed and in a blur of motion the Rangers pressed their advantage in a maelstrom of attacks that culminated in the monster meeting its' demise on the end of the Red Ranger's sword

Charlie was absolutely hysterical as she cackled

"I'm watching!" she mocked "Really I am, but all I can see is your ground troops getting swept up, your ships getting scrapped all around us and your right hand down there just got turned into Christmas Dinner! Is there anything I'm miss-" she was silenced by Paradoxa grabbing the back of her head and smashing her face into the table with a rattling thud that both broke Charlie's nose and reopened the wound on her head, she felt her mouth filling with blood as her teeth ripped into her lips and as her head was dragged back up she promptly spat a mouthful in Paradoxa's face, only for her head to be slammed against the table again

"I can see you're not in a state of mind conducive to listening right now, far too much excitement" Paradoxa breathed out, regaining her calm after the violent outburst "So I'm going to have you taken to your cell, but I'll leave you with a very important question to answer….You were lured here by ships with their shields lowered, this is not one of those ships and yet you were brought here, you teleported at the precise moment I lowered my ships' shields and were then trapped. How exactly do you think I managed to achieve that?" she gave her battered and bleeding prisoner one last, truly evil smile before marching out of the meeting room and nodding to the dozen armed guards at the door, indicating for them to remove Charlie and take her to the brig. As she stalked through the corridors of the Heliothis she was silently thankful that she and her crew had not taken part in Yokai's asinine hunting parties and opened a comm channel to the command bridge of one of the pair of vessels still in orbit above Triforia

"This is Captain Paradoxa, Corax is in need of assistance….fire mutagenic grenade"

* * *

"You're….You're a Power Ranger" Izzy breathed out, struggling to believe what was in front of his eyes; Mercy in the armour of the Red Ranger with her damaged helmet removed whilst the other Rangers flanked her and though they had remained silent and helmeted thus far Izzy, or indeed any member of their cadet group could make an educated guess as to their identities.

"I wanted to tell you but I couldn't" Mercy admitted, a broad smile forming on her face "But yeah, yeah I am"

"That is so awesome!" Izzy exclaimed, Mercy made to respond but was halted by Aslaug tapping her shoulder and gesturing to where Trey's body still lay

"I don't know his peoples' funeral rites….I'm going to leave him close to his Zord" the Yellow Ranger nodded to Pyramidas, feeling that it was fitting somehow

"Yeah, do that….thank you" Mercy nodded, watching her effortlessly lift the mans' body and carry reverently away; the mood suddenly becoming far more sombre

"Who was that?" Izzy asked, Myers, Briggs and CJ were stood around him still processing the fact that their old friend had become the leader of Earths' newest defenders

"Another Ranger" Mercy answered sadly and the true gravity of her new life seemed to sink in for Izzy, he and his friends realising in unison that they had been unfairly cold towards her lately and were rapidly running out of time to make things right.

Justin's voice in each of the Ranger's comms served as the harbinger of a far more serious problem, Mercy heard it through the broken remains of her own helmet

"RANGERS! RANGERS COME IN, YOU HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM!"

"What's going on?" Tempestus asked

"They just fired a mutagenic grenade, we couldn't intercept it!" before Tempestus could ask for clarification Rensa pointed at something in the sky

"There!" Mercy watched a small projectile, barely larger than her own fist streak downwards; it was a dull gunmetal coloured sphere wreathed in light and ethereal flames that were clearly the product of some arcane sorcery.

It struck Corax's corpse and Mercy knew instinctively what was about to happen

"RUN!" she screamed at her old friends as the deceased monster rose to his feet, his body rippling and expanding outwards at a terrifying rate until he had become a truly titanic threat who rivalled even the largest of the cities' pyramids in height, his eye was still missing and the bones in his arm and skull were still clearly cracked and broken yet Corax the Reaper no longer seemed capable of caring; as if the change wrought upon his body had robbed him of some vital sense of self.

Then the reanimated behemoth shrieked, the cacophony increased in scale along with the horror itself and windows for miles around were shattered by the shock wave. Mercy donned what was left of her helmet and turned to her fellow Aegis Rangers

"Back to action I guess"

**Authors Notes:**

Three quarters of the way though this second arc  
And yes I am a bastard who loves abusing cliffhangers, you'll learn to love it or learn to hate me.  
Nothing like cranking out a full chapter in one sitting like I did in this one, to quote Ivan Ooze after fusing with his Ectomorphic Titan _"I feel big again"_

But anyway let's summarise:  
The footsoldiers that they were dealing with were basically the Lava Lizards from Operation Overdrive….which I haven't seen and honestly have no real desire to.  
"_If they were carrying ranged weapons"_ yeah this is more bullshit that I'm gonna chalk up in universe to the culture of the Dark Empire; obviously we get why they don't just wipe the Rangers out with massed fire or orbital bombardments from a show standpoint.  
Yeah Strike-Squad Alpha might be the elite, they're just not Rangers though and they were always gonna get pretty scuffed up against those odds.  
Turn their life support off remotely...Just to be clear of exactly what kind of tactics Charlie is willing use.  
To be honest they should have known it was a trap the second they saw the empty corridor, that is a case of what my Mum would call _"Having eyes bigger than your belly"_.  
And there's another stage of Paradoxa's multi-layered Keikaku happening in the background, she knew reinforcements would come so she had some of her ship drop their cloak for an ambush; which makes it look like that was her play all along….but bear with me here, that's just more smoke and mirrors, you'll see what she's really working on next chapter.  
Whatever Charlie is in canon, she's not stupid….she knew that her plan had gone out the window the second she saw that Paradoxa was back on the bridge.  
And that's why she held the Tengu in reserve, their claws and beaks will do a lot to exposed flesh but not so much to Rangers; they're scary looking and vicious shock troops designed to rip infantry apart.  
So basically Corax just got stronger and stronger the longer the fight went on because, rage fuelled murder bird.  
And that's why the Rangers only use the Power Blaster as a finishing move; their weapons are constructed from the Power the same way their suits are, overuse drains the battery.  
Hats off too Aslaug for having the smartest dumb idea of the day.  
Mercy repeating Aslaug's line from the training session back to her was a moment and you know it.  
Also is _"When a helmet gets smashes you know its' serious"_ an official trope in this fandom? 'cos it should be.  
So that's the major advantage that Alliance tech has over the Dark Empire, both sides ships can move faster than light but it still takes some time to get from one system to another; the Alliance has long range teleportation for colonies the size of a city, the Dark Empire has to use the gates which Tommy and his Ranger army dealt with in the prologue.  
So the cadets just got thrown right into it on the first day, I'm sure they're the protagonist of someone's story.  
This story is set in the year 2025, tell me with a straight face that these teens wouldn't make a reference like that? And I did mention in the previous volume that Zebidiah trains cadets who've got some magical potential….in my head she definitely found hers by playing with an Ouija board.  
In Chapter 01 I said Mercy was the one who too charge in training missions, so it's kinda bittersweet that the guy left filling in has a go to response of _"What would Mercy do?"_.  
I was originally gonna have Izzy get carried off by a Tengu, 'cos they can't fly outside of the movie but they can glide, the stray talon hitting him is me making an inside joke with myself about that scrapped idea.  
Come on you knew what they were here to see as soon as you saw they were here.  
She named Corax the Culture Vulture, she had to get one more pun in.  
Okay so everyone who's reading this that's also part of the RWBY fandom, the way the Rangers rushed him and leapfrogged around him was actually kinda based on the Vol.6 opening, the bit on the train.  
Odobenus is the genus Walrus belong to so I used that for the name of the species B'Vor belongs to since there's nothing in canon.  
I feel like Paradoxa got some great lines this chapter, she just oozes charisma and control even as I'm writing her.  
And the calling out of each others' clichés was great.  
And there's the bomb drop that we all saw coming, Yokai said to lord Zedd that he had a spy and now they'll be answering to Paradoxa; the only question is who it is.  
You all knew that this was coming….Also, I'm imagining the monsters coming back bigger as actual reanimation, so they're straight up zombies instead of just bigger; but also more berserk and violent like the 28 days later infected.  
Back to action indeed.  
So, we'll be starting off the next chapter with a Zord fight and doing a little set up as well as showing off what Paradoxa's endgame on Triforia was…..because right now she's winning and the Alliance doesn't even know it.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Jen425 and Gazelle for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Yeah Mercy tries so hard to be cool….but she's a dork and should just make piece with it.  
I mean Tempestus is actually the only Ranger who knew he was going to be a Ranger, but yeah he was still more sheltered than the literal child soldier, space Viking warrior princess, orc/cat-girl smuggler and prison world inmate since birth that he's working with.  
So judging by the feedback it looks like a Kamen/Masked Rider cameo will have to be worked in at some point in the future….Though it won't be until at least the sixth arc.  
No comment on A-Squad other than I really do enjoy breaking hearts.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	9. Cooling

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 08 – Cooling**

"Captain Hart, what do we do?" Mercy asked, fear creeping into her words as the reanimated and monstrously enlarged form of Corax the Reaper turned its' attentions on the most prominent building in sight, its' footsteps sending tremors through the ground as it drew close to the Coetus-Magnificum and drove a taloned claw through the wall of the vast pyramid.

"Captain Hart?" Mercy repeated, hearing only the muffled sound of a hushed and urgent conversation which did nothing but add to the tension

"Mercy" it was Justin's voice that finally answered "We think you should be able to call the Aegis Zords"

"You think?" Mercy demanded

"This sounds crazy but listen, they're not finished right now but I don't think they need to be" Justin sounded incredulous as he added "This is one of those things that happens when your science is powered by magic….If you summon the Zords Billy and Zebidiah both think that the Power will manifest what you need"

"Okay it's worth a shot" the Red Ranger turned to her friends "You hear that?"

"We did" Aslaug nodded "We'll follow your lead" Mercy took a deep breath and the Power, as it had done before seemed to insert the knowledge that she required directly into her mind; raising a hand directly upwards she called out

"WE NEED AEGIS ZORD POWER!"

The effect was immediate.

The tingling skin and the feeling of sudden and brief compression that came with teleportation combined with something else entirely, an indescribable rush and a feeling of incredible, exhilarating power before she felt the air leave her lungs as her consciousness seemed to expand outwards. Knowledge and control came all at once and Mercy both understood that she was now in the cockpit of the Hawk Zord and knew, without seeing the machine that it was a streamlined machine made of some pale silver and alien alloy and designed to resemble a bird of prey with a hooked golden beak, glowing red eyes to the sides of her cockpits and stylized, aerodynamic crimson feathers adorning its' broad and curved wings and its' fanned tail. Looking around the cockpit as the rush left her Mercy saw that its' dark interior was lit predominantly from below by a pale crimson light was devoid of any conventional controls and instead her forearms were secured to the arms of her seat, with her fingers seemingly integrated with some truly alien and advanced technology, with a start she also realised that something had connected with the back of her broken helmet

"Justin what's going on, how do I fly this thing?" she panicked, regardless of the fact that the Hawk Zord seemed to be circling high above Pulchra-Pax in something akin to a standby mode

"Speed of thought controls, buttons and switches aren't fast enough to deal with a scaled up monster" Justin answered, sensing the Red Ranger's confusion he quickly explained further "It's like how you control the functions of your Ranger suit just by thinking about it, just relax and you'll be able to almost feel your Zord….You pilot it on willpower"

"So like those two old movies with giant robots?"

"We don't talk about the sequel but yeah….Now go cancel the apocalypse" Mercy found a grin forming on her face as she relaxed herself the way she had been told and felt her consciousness flowing outwards and into the entirety of her Zord. At her whim the machine changed course and swooped low and close to the tips of the cities' many pyramids with a contrail of crimson light behind it and as she tore through the air she caught sight of the gleaming silver hulls of the other Zords

"This is the most bodacious thing ever!" Tempestus exclaimed over the Rangers' shared comm. The Plesion Zord was a massive thing, fully twice the size of Mercy's own Zord and defying gravity as it hovered several feet above the ground. It was a sleek thing with royal blue eyes glowing from the sides of its' arrowhead shaped head, detailing of the same colour adorned its' long and slender neck and the row of spiny fins that trailed along the back of its' streamlined and rounded body; a long and narrow tail and three pairs of flippers moved as though propelling the Zord through water as it moved.

"Everyone else okay?" Mercy asked

"This is far more than okay" Aslaug answered her, almost giddy with the feeling of power coursing through her as she controlled the Ursa-Titan Zord; it was a slightly more angular Zord with a powerful build, it's bear like body was reared onto its' hind legs with its' stylised golden yellow mane splayed around around its' tusked skull to give it a more imposing appearance. Ahead of the Yellow Ranger were the Sabre Zord and the Osore Zord, both of similar size and design though the Black Ranger piloted a machine with a more canine structure, black optics peered from a mottled snout and with a crest of spines that trailed from its' skull along its' hackles and spine whilst a long serpentine tail lashed behind it; the Pink Rangers' Zord however sported longer forelimbs tipped with oversized claws to support its' slightly wider and more gorilla-like frame, its' own tail sported pink stripes and despite being metallic was designed to appear bushy; its' feline skull featured long, curved and blade like canines and eyes that glowed fuchsia.

"Let's end this quickly!" Panthera exclaimed before sending the Sabre Zord bounding through the streets to leap at Corax's reanimated form and begin scaling the monster as its' claws sunk into the monsters' hide.

"Okay….what weapons do I even-" Mercy fell silent as some combination of her Zord and the Power itself answered her question and with a mere though panels along the Hawk Zords' wings peeled away to reveal a series of missiles which were sent streaking towards her target, peppering Corax's body with blossoming explosions. The monster responded by seizing the Sabre Zord as its tore and gouged its' way upwards towards the jugular and hurling the machine through the air, Tempestus managed to move the Plesion Zord out its' path yet the Pink Ranger still tore the ground up and ploughed through the sides of several buildings before coming to a stop and righting her Zord; then the reanimated terror screamed and Mercy had to fight to keep control of her Zord as the air was warped around her by the force of the sonic attack. As she managed to bring the airborne machine around in a wide, soaring arc the Red Ranger saw Corax lunging at the Ursa Titan Zord; talons slashing through the ground as Aslaug managed to evade the blow. Mercy let another Salvo of missiles fly into the monsters' back before an idea came to her in a flash of hope and inspiration

"Hey guys" she opened a comm channel to all of the other Rangers "I think we're all gonna have to hit him at once again"

"You have a plan?" Rensa asked, years of being trained and to a large extent raised by Andros having made him accustomed to following the lead of a Red Ranger.

"Yeah" Mercy's smile became wide and childlike as she prepared to give a command that she had wanted to be able give since she was a child but had never imagined she would be in a position to do so

"We need Megazord power!"

* * *

Pain coursed through Charlie's body as she was flung to the ground, limbs twitching and eyes rolling back as energy crackled and coursed over her body.

"Charlie! Charlie stop, you're not helping you're just hurting yourself" Rachel's words were sobering and as Cliff helped her into a sitting position the sight of the other woman's face was even more so; whatever acid had been sprayed at her as they had made their way through the gauntlet of Paradoxa's ship had eaten away much of the skin of the left side of her face, leaving it bloody and nearly skeletal with a sightless milky white orb for an eye that must have been excruciating for her; B'Vor sat slumped against the rear wall of the cell they had been placed in and had been listless for some time now, conscious but breathing in ragged, shallow gasps which sent pangs of terror through Charlie at the thought of losing her friend

"You're hurt Charlie, just stay down and we'll figure out a plan" Cliff added.

Charlie had awoken here after being beaten unconscious again by Paradoxa's guards when she attempted to resist, finding herself alongside most of her squad mates in a dingy cell that was clearly intended to house more than one occupant but was also clearly too small for the four of them; it was dark and dank with some slimy black moss like substance sprouting from cracks in the walls which were made of something that could have been metal or stone, Charlie couldn't tell and had been unable to prise a panel away to see what lay beneath. The primary light source was the sickly yellow glow cast by the forcefield sealing them in, the same forcefield that flung her backwards several times now in her attempts to find a weakness she could exploit.

"We need to get out of here" Charlie hissed through clenched teeth, finally admitting the source of her urgency and unease "We need to find Ivan"

"Charlie" Cliff's voice was gentle, as though he were afraid she might shatter under the weight of his next words "None of us saw Ivan after we split up, if he's not here then it probably means he died fighting"

"I don't think he's dead" Charlie swallowed a lump in her throat as she came to terms with a conclusion that as seeming ever more likely "I hope he is but I don't think so"

"Now that's just unkind" a heavily accented and immediately familiar voice observed, a voice tinged with the ghost of a laugh

"Ivan?" Rachel demanded in a whisper, even B'Vor took notice and dragged himself to his feet with great effort; showing just how bloodstained his uniform was in the process as Ivan himself stepped into view on the other side of the forcefield

"How the hell did you avoid the crew?" Cliff demanded, impressed and suddenly filled with excitable energy.

Charlie say the way Ivan's smile faltered and felt her heart break and the cold, hateful fury of betrayal rise up inside her in its' place

"He didn't need to, did you?" B'Vor, Rachel and Cliff stared at her in confusion and then back to Ivan; the hope leaving their faces as comprehension dawned them

"You bastard" Charlie spat "How long have you been a spy for the Dark Empire exactly?"

"Since I saw they were the winning side" Ivan shrugged without any trace of shame or regret "Well for us anyway….do you know how hard it was to convince Paradoxa to honour Yokai's agreement and keep you all alive?"

"HOW THE HELL IS THIS THE BEST FOR US!" Charlie's fist slammed into the forcefield only for her to be flung back once more

"I'm sorry about that, I really am" the traitor sighed, head hanging low for the first time as he looked at their wounds "We'll get you patched up as soon you tell me you're onboard with this"

"You've actually lost your mind" Charlie mouthed, barely above a whisper as she struggled to believe that this was Ivan Komarov, her friend and right hand ever since they were deployed together on an ill fated mission fresh out of boot camp.

"No Charlie, listen to me we can actually be something here! The Dark Empire actually values and has some respect for people like us!"

"There is no us you son of a bitch and when I get out of here I'm gonna-"

"Be realistic Charlie"

"So you're siding with tyrants because we didn't get a promotion, is that what this is?" Charlie demanded coldly

"We already worked for tyrants American" Ivan's tone was suddenly uncommonly hostile "You forget that not every country wanted to fall in line and be part of the new world order Project Lightspeed built; my country is still half ruined after you used alien weapons to silence an uprising….But this, this isn't about that. It's war Charlie there are no good guys and bad guys, there's just what's good for us"

"And you think that's selling Earth out to Empire"

"Empire is coming either way" Ivan shrugged again "But one question, what are Empire ground troops?"

"What?" Rachel was baffled "Putties, what do you-"

"Exactly" Ivan treated her to a smug grin "They use automatons for ground missions, we send orphans and idiots to die all over the galaxy….and then Alliance treats the ones that survive, the ones like us as though we don't matter"

"You're wrong"

"I've been spying Charlie, I know things about their new Rangers" Ivan sighed "If not the rest of us then you, at the very least you should have been one of their new team….we were never even considered; after everything we were never even considered. We're just a tool they use to keep their hands clean" Charlie's stomach plummeted and she felt hollow as her rage left her, she could see the truth in Ivan's eyes and it felt as though she had been betrayed a second time. Her former squad mate looked passed her

"What about the rest of you?" he held out a hand, his skin passing through the forcefield without resistance "Don't die here in a cell….not when you can be heroes for people who would actually appreciate it" time slowed to a crawl as Charlie watched Rachel step forwards and take Ivan's hand in hers; for a moment she was convinced that her scarred and half blinded friend would drag the deserter through the forcefield to face justice.

Then she allowed Ivan to pull her to freedom and made her choice clear.

"Charlie, Cliff, Beaver" Ivan sighed, seeming genuinely distraught at this point and offering one last morsel of truth before he left "You know that nobody is coming, they won't send a rescue party, they won't send the Rangers….the only person trying to save you is me"

* * *

"Megazord activation has been initiated" the heavily synthesized voice declared throughout the cockpits of each of the Aegis Zords in tandem and Mercy watched things unfold from above whilst the reanimated Corax watched the proceedings from a distance, single remaining eye wary as the mechanical beasts began to gather and reshape themselves.

The Osore and Sabre Zords took up positions parallel to each other and stopped low to the ground before their entire bodies began to rotate vertically, whilst the fangs of the Sabre Zord folded back to lay flat along the jawline of the mech, the Zords bent unnaturally at the neck so that their heads, necks and collarbone regions supported their weight whilst their bodies rose into the air like pillars. The legs and tails began to fold in on themselves before being retracted into the bodies of the Zords, their tails revealing what could only be gigantic connection points as they did so, finally the raised hackles of the Osore Zord and the wider shoulders of the Sabre Zord were shifted upwards until they obscured the connection points and formed the armoured knees of what would become the Megazords' lower legs.

The Ursa-Titan Zord had dropped to all fours and bounded through the streets towards the Black and Pink Ranger before leaping into the air where some unseen force carried it forwards in a graceful arc that its' massive should not have been able to manage. The entire body of the Zord began to reconfigure itself, rotating downwards at the shoulders whilst its' hindquarters were split along the centre and shifted downward to reveal a waist joint before its' rear legs swung around to the back of the construct and collapsed which allowed the hip joints to connect with the waiting Osore and Sabre Zords and form the knees; the shoulders of the Zord slid outwards to become wider and allow the forelimbs of the Ursa-Titan Zord to rotate and fold themselves until the filled in the gaps this created with the paws protruding just below the edges of the Zords' mane, finally the head and neck slid back into the body whilst the face rotated inwards to be hidden from view and replaced with additional armour that followed the lines of the mane with exception of a streamlined groove along its' upper surface, creating the main body of the Megazord and its' armoured chest plate.

The Plesion Zord, which was already levitating moved into position behind the still forming Megazord and began to rise higher into the air until the bulk of its' mass was level with where the towering mechas' shoulder-blades would be. Then it split horizontally down the centre and the two halves of its' body shifted to the sides to reveal a central construct running between the halves of its' forequarters and to which the neck and tail were attached. The flippers of the Zord retracted inwards as its' fins lay flat and the separated halves of the Zord began to rotate downwards at a point behind the first and second pair of flippers with hands unfurling from the rear of the Zord to form arms with the forequarters retaining their orientation and forming streamlined and swept back shoulder armour. The neck slid to the left whilst the tail slid right, both rotating to face upwards as the Plesion Zord combined with its' fellow mecha to give the Megazord arms; its' tail separating and collapsing backwards on itself whilst angling sideways to give the impression of a sheath for a yet unrevealed sword which would rise above the Megazords' right shoulder.

The Hawk Zord swooped into place to complete the sequence and as it descended downwards onto the waiting Megazord the head extended forwards to fill the groove in the chest armour, the stylised mane of the Ursa-Titan Zord creating the vague impression of angular wings around it whilst the Zords' own wings rotated backwards vertically and outwards slightly to accommodate the neck and tail of the Plesion between them as they slid onto the back of the Megazord; the legs of the Hawk Zord rotated upwards and folded themselves so that their talons pointed downwards and sat just inside of the shoulders at which point the neck Plesion Zord dropped down into position over the left shoulder, its' mouth opening wide and sliding back along the neck to rest on the Hawk Zords' leg and reveal the barrel of a cannon. The sequence was completed as the wings folded forwards in perfect to tandem, wrapping themselves around the shoulders of the Megazord to form an additional layer of armour and at the same time the tail section rotated upwards and around to form the head with various armour panels moving aside to reveal a face that appeared as a stylised and ornamental interpretation of a Rangers' helmet with its' visor removed and glowing fiery red eyes visible beneath it, wearing the tail feathers of the Hawk Zord as a crown.

"Megazord activated" the same synthesized voice announced.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Mercy exclaimed as she and her fellow Rangers were transported into their places within a darkened cockpit, the battlefield displayed before them with unnatural clarity; a moment later she realised that she had not spoken out loud yet had heard her own thoughts as if she had. Justin's voice, sounding detuned as though it were somehow playing at the wrong speed echoed throughout the cockpit and answered the question that was in Mercy's mind, or on her lips, it had suddenly become difficult to tell.

"Okay so your Megazord is officially cooler than mine was" he noted with a touch of both annoyance and envy before adding "Megazord control works similarly to your individual Zords, except because there's five of you you're minds are networked together to some extent; and the Megazord acts on the most dominant mind….so I hope you're all on the same page"

"Look out!" Rensa warned, ending the explanation as Corax's reanimated from charged, the monster having clearly decided that it had the measure of its' adversary; a taloned claw swiped at the face of the Megazord and Mercy felt a strange and unfamiliar weight in her own limbs and realised that the Megazord was now moving; catching Corax's arm at the wrist and kicking the monsters' leading leg away whilst pivoting at the waist to redirect the momentum of the attack and hurl Corax aside in one of Tempestus's signature counter-attacks, sending Corax flying through the air to land with an earth shattering crash some distance away

"Sorry, instinct" the Blue Ranger explained meekly as he felt the eyes and consciousnesses of his fellow Rangers suddenly on him

"Don't apologise, that was impressive" Panthera replied and each of them knew that the Pink Ranger wore a fierce smile as she turned the Megazord to fully face a rising Corax which was already rushing towards them once more

"Okay, I've got this!" Mercy stated, hoping to sound in control and yet as she made to halt the monsters' advance she felt and odd shuddering resistance in her limbs and a moment later the Megazord was knocked to the ground as Corax rammed into it, creating an explosion of sparks in the process

"We both had it and neither of us did" Panthera noted with some irritation, Mercy winced to herself and tried to relax herself the way she had whilst piloting the Hawk Zord; a more difficult feat with Corax baring down on them

"Allow me" Panthera offered, taking the reigns and bringing the towering mecha into a crouch and as Corax drew close she kicked out at the monsters' ankle, enlarged bones breaking with a sickeningly loud crunch before the Megazord sprung upwards and brought its' left elbow into Corax's beak as he toppled forwards

"He's mine" Aslaug growled as she commanded the Megazord to deliver a devastating right cross whose impacted could be felt throughout the city before planting a foot on Corax's chest and kicking the monster away. Corax staggered but refused to fall and promptly opened its' beak wide

"Sonic attack!" Rensa warned before taking control "I've got it!" at his behest the Megazord rushed forwards to grab the monsters' beak and simply force it shut; the concussive force of the attack burst outwards and flung the Megazord back several titan sized paces yet in the process Corax's own beak was reduced to shattered fragments of bone

"LET'S FINISH THIS!" Mercy called out as she seized control of the Megazord, hand reaching over its' right shoulder where a gigantic sword began to manifest, in contrast to her own katana this was a broad bladed and double edged claymore comprised of the same pale silver metal that made up most of the Zords' themselves. Aslaug, Rensa, Tempestus and Panthera each followed Mercy's lead and as one the five of them brought the Megazords' sword down in a mighty swing which sent a wave of blinding light through the street and tore through Corax's body with lethal results; whatever cocktail of twisted science and dark magic powered the Dark Empire's grenades had rendered the reanimated monster unstable and Corax's severed form exploded outwards, a ball of fire being all that remained.

"We did it" Mercy breathed out, angling the mechas' head upwards and seeing the flashes of light that indicated the Dark Empire's remaining ships were falling back and abandoning Triforia whilst the Megazord stood, victorious upon the planets' surface.

* * *

Earth and most likely the alliance as a whole were celebrating their victory over the Dark Empire and the fact that Triforia had been saved.

Dana Mitchell however would not be able to relax or enjoy the respite that had been bought until the Dark Empire's next inevitable attack, however brief a peace it was.

"Triforia is most grateful for your aid Vice Admiral" the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger was currently stood almost to attention within conference room one of the Lightspeed Aquabase, receiving an interstellar transmission from a representative of the Triforian government, an ageing man named Lord Morsus

"Earth is always ready to defend its' allies" Dana forced herself to keep the accusation from her tone, it was an open secret that if the situation were reversed Triforia would send no such aid but this was neither the time not the place to discuss such things "And we wish to extend our condolences to Triforia for its' losses; particularly the Gold Ranger….Lord Trey was a hero on both of our worlds"

"As wise as the best of us and with a rare spirit amongst my people; something altogether more human" Lord Morsus nodded sagely "If only we had many more like him" the loss of a Ranger was something that any other Ranger felt keenly, especially after so many had fallen already and Dana quickly pushed onto matters she could easy pursue with detached professionalism

"Will Triforia give any more thought to joining the Alliances' efforts more substantially?"

"It will be decided by the consensus of the people" Morsus answered simply "It will take time for a course of action to be deliberated on, you understand I'm sure"

"Of course" Dana nodded, answering truthfully. To her Triforias' political system was a wonderful thing, the will of the people enacted directly in a way that human societies had failed to deliver despite their claims even before the world had been unified in ways that many former Power Rangers had taken objection to.

"New Angel Grove will remain in orbit above Pulchra-Pax until such time as your refugees are able to return" she added

"And if I cannot convince my people to aid you in your struggle against evil directly I will argue for Triforia to at least supply you with materials and knowledge...though perhaps the abduction of so many of our most promising will serve as a warning that striving for peace is not always an academic endeavour"

"Earth appreciates your efforts, rest assured that we will do everything in our power to locate those who were abducted" Dana nodded, remembering some old hearsay that Lord Morsus had, in his youth been a candidate for the Gold Ranger powers she added "And may the Power protect you"

"Peace be with you Vice Admiral, as unlikely as it seems in these times" with that the screen faded into blank darkness and Dana allowed herself to sink into one of the conference rooms' many seats and rub her eyes in exhaustion.

The Rangers had returned from Triforia and she was sure that Kimberley's report would be thorough and expansive, to say nothing on the mountain of paperwork that Doctor Stewart would produce in light of the new Aegis Zords and the plethora of experiments that he would no doubt request permission to perform. Dana had other matters to oversee however, one of which being monitoring the formation of a new cadet group formed from various volunteers and wards of the state to replace the outbound group one-nine-nine-three; another matter which required her attention presented itself as the screen flickered into life once more to reveal the weary and drained face of Commander Anubis Cruger

"Doggie" Dana breathed as she rose to her feet to greet him "How bad?"

"Bad" his dark eyes looked away and it became immediately clear that he blamed himself for some failure

"All in all over a hundred Triforians were taken from the city, as far as we can tell Zebidiah was right….they were all magic users"

"Damn it" Dana muttered harshly, the fact that Zebidiah was uncertain of what exactly the enemy could be using their hostages for but was clearly unsettled by the possibilities presented several terrifying prospects for the Alliance and conjured some nightmarish mental images

"Do we have any leads?"

"Nothing" Doggie snarled "They ships we didn't destroy left the system at faster than light and in different directions" the answer was regrettable but Dana heard the underlying hate in her fellow officers' voice and was taken aback

"That's not all is it?" she added quietly "What's happened Doggie?"

"We've lost contact with Strike-Squad Alpha"

"No" Dana mouthed

"They were infiltrating the enemy ships and managed to destroy one before New Angel Grove and its' escorts arrived in system. We lost contact shortly after"

"The Dark Empire ships raised their shields when we arrived" Kim realised "They were trapped"

"We're not even certain of which ship the arrived on" Cruger added "We might have killed them ourselves when we took one of those ships out" Dana collapsed into her seat once again, new news was heartbreaking; the five had dedicated their lives to the Alliance only to have lost them in what may have been a case of friendly fire was unacceptable

"They served with distinction" Dana whispered "They saved hundreds of thousands of lives over their careers….and the people of the Alliance will never know about any of it" Doggie growled at this, a truly primal sound at odds with the way the alien normally carried himself and Dana found her eyes drawn to the ancestral sword at his hip, a reminder of his peoples' beliefs on death and remembrance

"Give them statues at least" he grunted out in a tone that would brook no argument "Even if the people can't know why they should be grateful, they should at least know that they should be"

"They'll be sculpted wearing their helmets" Dana assured him, knowing that Strike-Squad Alpha would want to be depicted as the Power Rangers they had styled themselves after.

* * *

Mercy felt as though her head could explode at any moment, such was the racing, buzzing and swirling mess of confused and jumbled thoughts within it as she wandered through the Aquabase. They had returned from Triforia several hours ago, their new Zords docked securely in preparation for thorough inspections from both Justin and Zebidiah who wished to understand the mechanical and magical elements that the Power had added to the previously unfinished machines; the Rangers themselves had been given an extensive medical exam courtesy of Doctor Kat Manx followed by a debriefing from Kimberley; Mercy had been the last to leave as her role as the leader of the team came with additional responsibilities and the former Pink Power Ranger had gone to great length to compliment her and the other Aegis Rangers' performance whilst also highlighting areas that could be improved in future engagements.

Eventually Mercy had been able to leave and was currently making her way towards the Aegis Rangers' shared living area where Aslaug, Tempestus, Rensa and Panthera already were; the five of them had agreed that as comfortable as their new quarters were they should celebrate their victory in Mariner Bay above them and were currently either showering or changing out of the grey fatigues they had been wearing since the training session which seemed like a lifetime ago rather than the mere hours it had been

"Hey, Captain Tyranno" the familiar joke of a nickname made Mercy look up and she came to a sudden shocked halt, stood in front of her was Izzy, the tall and dark skinned young man carrying several bags and suitcases; they had not seen each other since Corax the Reaper had been reanimated and the Red Ranger had ordered her childhood friends to flee and now that the rush of battle was truly behind them both their was an air of awkwardness

"We took a shuttle to New Angel Grove and our bags were on another flight, it ended up getting turned around 'cos of, well y'know….I managed to talk my company leader into letting me teleport back to pick 'em up. I wanted to say-" Izzy was silenced as Mercy collided with the boy and pulled him into a crushing hug, suddenly overcome by a mix of emotions as she buried her face in his shoulder

"I don't want this to be goodbye" she admitted tearfully

"It doesn't have to be" Izzy croaked out "Just a see ya later y'know….you've gotta visit the colony ship sometime"

"You better come home when you get some leave, all of you guys"

"Aye Captain" he gave her a joking salute as the broke apart

"I just" Mercy gestured lamely as she tried to find the words "Keep 'em safe for me Izzy, promise?"

"Promise" he looked around as if to ensure that there were no officers who could still court marshal him present "So what's it like, being a Ranger I mean?"

"It's amazing" Mercy beamed, smiling broadly as she wiped her eyes "It feels like you can move a mountain, heck you probably could actually move a mountain….I just wonder if I'm the best choice for it 'know? I mean out of everyone why pick me?"

"Because you were a Red Ranger way before you were a Red Ranger" Izzy answered simply with a shrug before giving his old friend a cheeky grin and adding "Besides, you'll be fine….you've got your new friends" Mercy chuckled at the reminder of his words from earlier that day

"You take care of yourself Izzy"

"You too Mercy" he sighed, gathering up the various bags and cases once again "And I'm sorry that we were all-"

"It's fine" she assured him, waving her old friend off as he departed in the direction of the long range teleportation chamber. After a few moments alone with her thoughts she began moving again only to come to a halt as Klo, the gigantic alien canine bounded over to her and began to leave trails of saliva all over her hoots as Mercy scratched behind his ears in a display that Aslaug had promised would cost most people their hand; the Yellow Ranger herself close behind

"He needs to be walked before we go anywhere" she explained, her dusty blonde hair was in its' familiar wolf tail style and she wore heavy tan coloured combat boots with ripped jeans, an unbuttoned yellow plaid shirt with a tank-top beneath it and a leather jacket thrown over the top; apparently someone had told her that wearing the pelts of her home worlds' apex predators was something that garnered her the wrong kind of attention on Earth.

"I just saw Izzy, he's heading back to the colony ship and I had to say goodbye. He's my best friend, like a brother….well what I imagine having a brother's like anyway" Mercy found herself rambling and wasn't sure exactly why it seemed to be imperative that Aslaug know that she and Izzy had only ever been friends

"I was coming this way to make sure you're okay" Aslaug told her in her gruff and husky voice before her eyes darted to the band-aid adorned with brightly coloured cartoon characters placed above Mercy's eyebrow, where Corax's beak had pierced her helmet "You took a powerful blow to the head"

"Yeah, thanks for getting me out of there" Mercy shuffled awkwardly, still petting Klo "Hey can I ask you a question?"

"Always"

"Why do you take orders from me?"

"I-"

"I'm glad you do, I mean I'm glad that you're part of the team!" Mercy exclaimed trying to backtrack and explain herself all at once "But Tempestus knew he was gonna be a Ranger for years and he doesn't like arguing with anyone, Rensa follows me because I'm a Red Ranger like Andros and Panthera pretty much does whatever she wants. I just-"

"You're my Jarl now, my leader" Aslaug's tone was hushed

"Aren't you a…." Mercy trailed off as she tried to find a word other than Princess, knowing that the taller girl disliked it

"I've lead armies for my Father, Jarl of my people" she nodded "But I just enforce his will, I'm not a leader myself. You're the one that I follow now"

"I'm just me" Mercy mumbled "I'm not the great leader you want me to be, Captain Hart or Vice Admiral Mitchell-"

"They both send you!" Aslaug countered hotly "They send you to save cities and worlds Mercy! Nobody can't follow people who lead from the rear, the army marches backwards….You're the one willing to lead, so you're the one I'm willing to follow" Mercy was silent, heart suddenly hammering in her chest and she noticed, albeit not for the first time that the pitch black band tattooed across Aslaug's eyes served to make the icy blue pools even more striking; she desperately tried to think of a response so that she wasn't simply stood staring and blushing profusely like an idiot, it was a futile effort however and she likely wouldn't have been able to speak anyway with how dry her mouth had become.

Then relief came in the form of a piercing whistle to get their attention

"Are you gonna walk that monster or what?" Panthera demanded before turning her attention to Mercy "Come on, we're waiting for our fearless leader"

With a request like that, how could Mercy refuse.

* * *

"It's done Lady Paradoxa" Paradoxa looked down at the speaker, a small and wretched thing with singed and matted ash grey fur covering its' body, a vaguely canine skull adorned with comically oversized and drooping ears; the aliens' eyes were frantic things that darted around rapidly and possessed a certain cruel and sinister intelligence that was almost as incongruous to their harmless appearance as the garment they wore, some hybrid of a tunic and overalls which was currently liberally splattered with blood and oil. This was Gibil, a creature born on the planet Hephaestus, one of the Dark Empire's most prominent Forge Worlds and of the same species as Rita Repulsa's infamous henchman Finster. It was said throughout the empire that wherever chaos and artifice met a member of their species would be found admiring and sculpting the calamity into their own demented vision

"Show me" Paradoxa demanded calmly and allowed herself to be lead, the Heliothis had never revealed itself to the Alliance Forces and had, just as she had always planned used the chaos of the raging space battle and the misdirection caused by her attack on Triforia to land on Unus, the first of the planets' moons and a desolate rock which, in true Triforian fashion had never been colonised. Gibil led his mistress from the Heliothis itself and out onto the crater ridden surface of the moon and towards a site where countless slaves of countless species were toiling under the watchful eye of her crew, Paradoxa paid them no mind and instead focused her sights on what lay beyond; a truly gargantuan machine of brass chambers the size of her command bridge woven with tubes and pipes whilst its' every surface was etched with diabolical runes which gave the whole thing an arcane gore coloured glow, the machine was belching smoke out into the weak atmosphere as flames within its' many chambers curled and twisted unnaturally, as though they were alive and in constant torment. Beyond the machine Paradoxa saw the Triforian mages, or more accurately their remains which had been thrown unceremoniously into a heap

"I give you, your new Dread Forge!" Gibil's voice was that of a master of ceremonies, grand and imperious before giving way to unhinged giggling in his more common brittle and reedy tones.

Triforia had been a success

Despite her losses and the death of Corax she had achieved everything she had set out to do by attacking the world and the Alliance had no inkling of their own failures. Strike-Squad Alpha had been captured which had brought into face to face contact with Yokai's double agent, she had managed to land her ship on a moon as rich in mineral resources as the planet it orbited and was establishing a base of operations within Alliance space and most importantly of all she had seized the mages whose souls had been brutally ripped from their bodies to power a new Dread Forge and breath life into the horrific device; meaning that she was now capable of producing as many Putties as she needed as her slaves were forced to mine the desolate moon for raw materials.

"Begin production as soon as you can" Paradoxa ordered, voice never rising "I want a legion ready within a week" Gibil's chattering genuflections went unheard as a squirming, tearing pain burrowed into her skull with tendrils of burning agony that seemed to spread from the point where her flesh met the mandible of her helmet, the point where her communicator was inserted. Knowing that it would be unwise to make her master wait by seeking a more private area in which to speak Paradoxa dropped to one knee and answered the summons of Lord Zedd who proved his might once again by inflicting his sadistic will on his servant through the device even from such a vast distance.

"Explain" the tyrant demanded as his towering and armoured form came into view "How it is that you came to lose so many of my ships"

"A strategic gambit my Lord" she managed to answer, keeping the trembling in her voice to a minimum as she knew that no amount of grovelling would spare her from Lord Zedd's wrath, only results

"The gambit has paid off my Lord" she added quickly "And the Gold Ranger of Triforia is dead, I killed him myself"

"As much as it pleases me that another Ranger has been scourged from the galaxy, the ends do not justify the cost" Zedd snarled, clawed fingers tightening around the grip of his monstrous sword as he spoke though the pain in Paradoxa's skull began to subside

"That was not the goal my Lord, only a boon" she managed to raise her head from the pliant bow it had been in and speak more calmly as she recounted her victories "The Zord Pyramidas is utterly destroyed, even if they field another Ranger the Triforians will be limited; the remains of the vanguard fleet will rendezvous with me at the base I've established and I've secured the means to replenish my depleted forces; the attack on Triforia also allowed me to take several high priority prisoners"

"It seems I underestimated your abilities Captain Paradoxa" Lord Zedd rumbled with no trace of humility in his snarling voice, only vague amusement "Continue your campaign against the alliance as you see fit"

"You honour me-"

"But do not forget that glory is not solely your to take" he added harshly, voice cracking and roaring like a furnace "You are merely the tip of the spear. You are to begin construction of a teleportation gate at a suitable location. I have my own agenda at play"

"Your will be done my Lord"

"Indeed it shall Paradoxa, indeed it shall"

**Authors Notes:**

And that, is the end of the second arc.  
I've got the rough idea of how Arcs three, four and five are gonna go (I could move Arc Five back one but I'm not sure yet) but I still need to put some meat on those bones so bare with me for a few days while I plan.  
Did I not promise you that Paradoxa was a smarter opponent than we're used to seeing the Rangers facing? Multi-layered plans with misdirections and actual tactical objectives….canon villains, step your game up.  
So a little spoiler/update, Arc 05 was going to introduce the sixth Ranger but I'm now pushing it back to Arc 06 to make things flow properly and give it build up.

Anyway, let's summarise:  
The fact that in a lot of seasons the Zords seem to be preprepared before the Ranger team are even formed and there's no real explanation for it kind bothers me, there's only so much belief that can be suspended, so I used the "Technology powered by magic" angle to bullshit it; basically Project Lightspeed built rough frames and the Power itself did the rest when the Rangers called them….it make more sense than the Astro Megazord situation.  
The fact that they're mostly silver is just a stylistic choice on my part because it gives the Megazord a less ramshackle look.  
Okay look, I know I'm diverting from canon a little here but do we ever actually see the Rangers manually controlling the Zords? Besides, there's no way they can react fast enough to fight a giant monster effectively without some kind of mental/psychic interface like the drift in Pacific Rim….hence the joke, and no we don't acknowledge the sequel.  
You know damn well she's wanted to say _"Megazord Power!" _since she could talk.  
I was initially have the Megazord fight all be one scene but looking at the way it flows I'm glad I split it the way I did, iconic lines at the end of the first scene and start of the second.  
I'm sure you figured out how the scene in the cell was gonna go as soon as you saw who was missing.  
Ivan was the one holding the teleporter, Ivan was the one dealing with all the Dark Empire blast doors and security systems, Ivan was the only one not bleeding last chapter. I wanted it to be someone other than Charlie because her turning the whole team rogue just felt to obvious….and after the_ "You'll always be a Ranger to us"_ line as well.  
Don't you hate it when the villain almost makes a good point and kinda makes sense in a really twisted way….Putties are a better option than sending actual people to die and the only innocent people in war are the ones caught in the middle.  
But beyond that he's just a backstabbing bastard who feels as though he's the one who's been abandoned.  
Dark Empire ships and troops can pass through their forcefields remember, that's how Ivan pulled Rachel out.  
If you read _"Megazord activation has been initiated"_ in 'The voice' then good, you're valid because that's the voice I wrote it in.  
The Aegis Megazord design takes inspiration from the Original Megazord, the Wild Force Megazord and the Isis Megazord…..whose name is now very unfortunate.  
It's cooler than the Turbo Megazord, I said what I said.  
The fact that the monsters are basically zombies is a great explanation for why they never just attack the Megazord as its' forming and bite off a vital part to ruin the transformation.  
The control system felt like a logical next step, a five way drift; and I know that they didn't use the shoulder cannon in this fight; they've already missed with one big gun in this fight and it's their first mech battle.  
Rensa just closing Corax's beak was great and you know it.  
I'm making it a thing that Mercy can manifest the Mega Sword on her own but can't use the finishing attack without a concentrated effort from all of the Rangers.  
And the Monsters explode because of the reanimation/growing process…..rather than just because.  
So business as usual in the Aquabase, I wanted to show the fallout of the attack on Triforia but mainly the scene was there to show that Ivan was right, A-Squad are on their own.  
So Kat Manx is here, but she's a medical doctor rather than tech support. We've already got Justin, Billy, Grace and Doctor Rawlings on standby if we need their expertise but somebody needs to stitch these Rangers back together.  
And that's the generic high-school bullshit handled _"You'll be fine, you've got your new friends"  
_Somebody call the circus, 'cos Aslaug is a big top….  
Mercy's crush is adorable and I'm having fun writing it.  
Aslaug basically giving her the "I'd follow you anywhere" speech.  
Yes Paradoxa's got her own Finster, he's probably gonna be the closest thing to comic relief on the villains side and I can't wait to write more interactions between them.  
Gibil's named after the Sumerian God of fire and the sharp points of weapons, lord of the forge and has a wisdom so deep that the Gods cannot fathom it. The planet Hephaestus is obviously named for the Roman God.  
So yeah, that's what she needed the Triforian mages for….they were parts. Zebidiah did say it would be horrific.  
I've gotta stress again just how well her plan worked, she's got everything she wanted.  
Lord Zedd is an evil dictator, but he isn't completely unreasonable….he'll give you a chance to explain or correct your mistake before he rips you apart.  
And of course he has his own plan.  
Anyway the only spoiler that I'm gonna give you for the next arc is that it's called _"Lightspeed Rescue"_

No reviews on the last chapter

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	10. The Usual Suspects (Arc 03)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 09 – The Usual Suspects**

In the weeks following the Aegis Rangers' first official mission and the successful defence of Triforias' capital city state the teens had found life settling into something of a routine. They continued to train and study relentlessly under the watchful eyes of their many teachers and instructors whose number included several former Power Rangers and all of whom reported back to Captain Kimberley Hart; now that the cadet group that Mercy had been a part of for as long as she could remember had departed and been stationed on the colony of New Angel Grove a new justification had to be found for the presence of the team and their existence outside of any normal command structure, what had been settled on was remarkably close to the truth and the Rangers had been described as a model team of Silver Guardians being retained for additional specialist training; a consequence of this had been that many of the younger cadets had flocked to the Rangers in search of guidance and support from their older peers. Mercy and Tempestus had been eager and happy to tutor and mentor the children in any way they could whilst Aslaug and Rensa, as a product of their upbringings had developed an almost immediate protective bond with hem, even Panthera had agreed to help and it was clear that she took some enjoyment from the experience despite the disinterest she attempted to convey.

The regularity of life had been interrupted several times however by the Dark Empire; Paradoxa having dispatched small scouting forces in all directions, both lurking along the edges of Alliance space and appearing deep within the territory the Rangers sought to protect with seemingly no aim other than to cause destruction, which Zebidiah Lord had noted dispassionately was unlikely to be a sign of desperation on Paradoxa's part, simply that she was getting the measure of her adversaries' defences and ability to react effectively.

The first attack had been led by a truly grotesque monster that appeared to have descended from some sort of alien slug whilst also having an ogreish and hulking form with disproportionately large upper limbs which Doctor Stewart had, much to the annoyance of his colleagues called the _'Trollusc'_, the second had appeared to some form of sentient and mobile plant life which had fired hardened seeds capable of piercing the armour of a tank and Justin had therefore chosen to name _'Calamity Grain' _whilst another had been led by a creature that roughly resembled a land-dwelling hammerhead shark and had been destroying buildings by sheer blunt force Mercy had, in her mind at least outdone herself when she'd dubbed the thing _'Fish'n'Tackle'_.

Currently however there was no looming threat and the Aegis Rangers had chosen to take advantage of the fact that it was a Saturday and that they were free to enjoy themselves, choosing to meet up after pursuing their own interests in what had become their usual hangout.

Ernie's Juice Bar.

Not the original Ernie's Juice Bar of course, following the events known as the 'Countdown to Destruction' and the unmasking of several former Power Rangers the proprietor of the business, Ernie had wrote a bestselling book detailing his experiences with the Power Rangers and had used the profits to expand his business in a chain franchise. The Ernie's in Mariner Bay was run by an individual whose dull, burned orange hide had a rough, almost coral like texture and whose face was dominated by a flattened beak like mouth; he was named Piggy and had been one of the first extraterrestrials to see the opportunity that Earths' new Alliance presented, as aliens flocked to the city for work Piggy had set himself up as the premier supplier of fast food from several dozen planets and become the hub of the cities' non-human community.

This, along with Piggy's extensive knowledge of the petty crime within the city and his frequent buying and selling of stolen goods was what had initially attracted Panthera to the establishment and currently she and Tempestus shared a table, the teal-skinned girl watching Rensa chatter unusually animated with a group of four individuals who appeared to be bipedal turtles wearing marital artists' belts and masks over their eyes and who spoke with thick New York accents and shared a large pizza topped with anchovies. Tempestus sat opposite her enjoying an Aquitian dish made from various deep sea plants whilst casting mistrustful glances at the still bloody meat on Panthera's plate before being distracted by the glistening of the various items of heavy and gaudy golden jewellery she had taken to wearing, which were made all the more noticeable by their contrast with the low cut and form fitting black tank-top which depicted a cat-like cartoon logo and a slogan emblazoned in pink letters which she wore with tight black pants. Tempestus could hardly comment on the outfit though as he had taken to wearing what had been described to him as a Hawaiian shirt which was various shades of blue.

"So can you do it?" Panthera asked, pupils becoming narrow slits as she returned her focus to the Blue Ranger "Use the Putties to trick their sensors the way you did with my ship?"

"Possibly" Tempestus nodded after some deliberation, rubbing the ridged mask around his eyes as he added "But I won't….Not until this plan of yours has been approved by someone"

"I've never asked for approval in my life" Panthera muttered

"I can sense that, but you're on a team now" Tempestus countered gently "We work together, that's not possible if you keep acting alone. At least talk to Mercy, here she comes" he nodded towards the entrance where Aslaug's massive form clad in a leather jacket and unbuttoned yellow shirt paired with ripped and faded jeans and heavy tan coloured boots; Mercy was trailing along beside her wearing a grey sweatpants tucked into white hi-top sneakers with red laces and a dark red hoodie and a matching beanie hat which covered her curly hair whose tips were still dyed a fiery shade red, overall she looked less like the capable leader they knew her to be and more like a lovesick puppy with the way her large brown eyes followed Aslaug's every movement in a display that was seemingly obvious to everyone but the Yellow Ranger herself.

"If neither of them get smarter soon I'm going to go insane" Panthera noted with a huff.

"It's bodacious to watch and you know it" Tempestus countered simply as he watched Mercy make her way over to the counter, both to order and pass on messages to Piggy from a pair of teens who'd spent much of their lives on the streets prior to being inducted into the Silver Guardian cadets named Jack Landors and Elizabeth Delgado, though she preferred to be called simply 'Z'

"Hey guys!" Mercy greeted her friends happily with a wave as she and Aslaug finally made their way over, hearing the Red Ranger's voice Rensa, who was clad in a black hoodie which had been pulled low over his face and a pair of black jeans with several heavy chains dangling from his hips broke away from the group of mutant turtles he had been speaking with and joined them

"Some of Andros's old friends are visiting from New York, they do what we do….just more locally" he offered as an explanation.

"Cool" Mercy grinned "You'll have to introduce us"

"But first, there's something we need to talk about" Tempestus interjected, averting his pale coral coloured eyes from Panthera's baleful glare "Panthera?"

"What's up?" Mercy asked as she watched the Pink Ranger cast her amber eyes around and draw in on herself, suddenly tense and cagey "Pan-"

"Fine" she hissed out through clenched fangs "I want to find a way onto a Dark Empire ship"

"Why on Earth would you want to do that?" Mercy gasped

"Because they took prisoners on Triforia" Panthera answered simply before sagging forwards and hiding her face from view as she added "I've been a prisoner on one of their ships before, only for a few days….the Triforians, they won't last"

"Wait, when were you their prisoner?" Aslaug asked, openly surprised "Is that how you knew Yokai?"

"Yes" Panthera nodded, still keep her face hidden as her low and smokey voice grew strained "The chest plates of Putties, that trigger their shattering….anyone that can bring an unbroken one to most smuggler trading ports will find themselves making better deals, they're a badge of honour-"

"So nobody likes the Empire then" Mercy observed

"No" Panthera shook her head "Acinonyx and I tried to subdue a unit of Putties in contested space as the Vanguard Fleet moved forward; I was captured….Acinonyx managed to sneak onto the Shinigami and give me her teleport beacon before the ship could leave the system it was attacking"

"You think she might-"

"No" Panthera cut the question short, knowing what it would be and Mercy saw her face; amber eyes filled with tears "Yokai was not known for mercy and even if Acinonyx had survived a fight with them….she would have been kept aboard the Shinigami when it was destroyed"

"Oh" Mercy breathed out, the apparent certainty of the situation setting in

"I think we should do it" Rensa whispered, even behind his filter goggles the other Rangers could tell that his bottomless obsidian eyes were hard "The best the Dark Empire's prisoners can hope for is to be sent to a prison world….never again"

"I agree with them, take the fight to the enemy" Aslaug grunted "But I follow your lead Mercy" the Red Ranger paused and considered her options for a few moments before finally making a decision.

"I think you're right, I think we need to do this" she held up a hand "But we can't do it alone….So I want to mention it to someone at Lightspeed first"

"Fine" Panthera relented, sensing that it was the largest concession she would get. There was an awkward silence around their table for several moments as their plans for a mundane weekend were left seeming small and inconsequential in the face of the threats that faced them.

Then one of the Mutant Turtles hurled an entire pizza across the room like a shuriken and the normal pandemonium reinforced itself.

* * *

Paradoxa's footsteps echoed ominously and she marched through the bowels of the Heliothis, the belly of the monstrous vessel the domain of captured slaves and the countless tasks that they were put to and as she passed the overseers of her crew bowed, saluted or otherwise genuflected at the sight of their Captain whilst ensuring that those whose the Dark Empire had deemed the spoils of their conquest showed proper supplication. Paradoxa herself paid them no mind, simply continuing through the smog choked factories and crowded warehouses that the gargantuan ship housed by necessity, making her way across perilously rickety walkways before finally entering a new chamber whose doors were fully four times as thick as those of any other within the ship; a testament to what lay beyond.

Paradoxa opened the multilayered blast door and entered a vast chamber whose walls were lined with countless cylindrical containers large enough to house an adult of most of the galaxy's sapient species, the sickly green glow from each tube being the primary light source within the chamber and casting long shadows on the walls and floor in the shape of the tubes' inhabitants; half made creatures of living clay interspersed with vivisected specimens and misshapen hunks of bloody meat whose origins were likely best left unknown. In the distance a vast array of computer terminals covered the majority of the rear wall and connected to the various machines placed haphazardly around the chamber and whose functions could be nothing other than the horrific and obscene perversion of the natural order; whilst the sole occupant of the place ignored all of the bleak and macabre décor in favour of an easel which they stood at, giggling uncontrollably as they committed their blasphemous ideas to paper before suddenly finding them displeasing and starting again. Whilst the Dread Forge could produce Putties in frightening volumes when combined with the mining operation Paradoxa had ordered on Triforia's moon, Gibil's personal sanctum was where true horrors and atrocities were conceived

"Gibil" Paradoxa spoke calmly as she drew close to the demented creature, feet splashing in something that she could only assume was blood as she did so; her minion stabbed the handle of his paintbrush through the canvas with an exaggerated motion before clambering up onto one of the many computer terminals so that he could speak with his commander face to face

"Yes Lady Paradoxa" Gibil flourished and stooped into a bow so deep that his muzzle threatened to brush against the console he stood on "How may I be of service"

"I have need of your talents. One of my ships, the Atramentous will be departing once its' resupply is complete; I suspect that it's mission will bring it into contact with the Power Rangers" Gibil looked both elated and enraged all at once, floppy ears suddenly pricked whilst his lips peeled back and bared his fangs

"It would be my pleasure my liege, anything I can do to feed them into the abyss on a platter with condiments of your choice and you need but ask Lady Paradoxa" Paradoxa raised an eyebrow at the phrasing but otherwise made no effort to acknowledge her minions' idiosyncrasies and instead simply elaborated

"The teleportation gate that Lord Zedd has ordered us to construct requires Horusite crystals, to that end the Atramentous will be rendezvousing with an independent contractor who has managed to source some and will be obtaining them on our behalf, which he assures me will be no small feat"

"A fellow artisan" Gibil grinned, understanding the amount of power that a sizeable amount of Horusite crystals represented and the corresponding value that they would have

"A petty thief" Paradoxa corrected with clear distaste "Though their skills are invaluable in this task"

"And yet you still expect resistance?" Gibil noted, the tone of the question bordering on insubordination as he bounced eagerly from one foot to the other with giddy delight. In truth the monsters that the Aegis Rangers had faced of late were not true aliens or even truly alive and were merely the results of Gibil's tampering with both genetics and dark magic and he was ecstatic at the opportunity to test the might of his creations against the Rangers directly rather than merely have them spoiling the carnage they sowed.

"There will certainly be resistance" Paradoxa chuckled darkly "I told them that I would trade one of our ships in return for the Horusite, a fair arrangement but one I hardly intend to keep" Gibil burst out laughing at this, a high pitched and demented cackling

"The task I have for you" Paradoxa cut through the cacophony with ease "Is to create a creature capable of disposing of my unfortunate business partner and hold the Power Rangers at bay for long enough for us to retrieve the crystals. You'll find all relevant information regarding the rendezvous point has been added to your computer"

"At once Lady Paradoxa!" Gibil chattered, leaping from the console and saluting in the same motion before bringing it to life and dragging his easel closer to the screen "I will make you a creature of such magnificent hideousness, such singular and remarkable quality of artistic savagery that…." Paradoxa had ceased listening and was instead walking away from her loyal disciple with a slight shake of the head. She had razed worlds, ordered space stations torn asunder by her ships' weapons and their inhabitants sucked into the void of space, she had slain Rangers and clawed her way through the terror filled darkness of the hive ship she had been born upon yet Gibil disturbed her in a way few things ever could.

* * *

Within his spacious office, which was functionally a command centre in its' own right Commander Anubis Cruger was aware of seemingly everything that happened within the Alliances' space yet was afforded the distance to remain emotionally detached and removed from the situation that was becoming more necessary with each of the Dark Empire's incursions yet was cruelly becoming harder to maintain with each passing day. The blue scaled, yet distinctly canine alien pored over reports of the latest attacks in a desperate but ultimately futile attempt to make sense of them, searching for any clues that would point towards Paradoxa's location or the true size of her forces, or better still her and by extension Lord Zedd's objectives.

There were no answers to be found, as far as Cruger could tell the locations of her attacks had been chosen almost at random and had been conducted with no greater purpose than to kill civilians and demoralise the Alliances' population through terror; none of the attacks had culminated in the use of what Zebidiah Lord had called a mutagenic grenade and so the Rangers had not been forced to deploy their Zords inside of another city, yet it was unlikely that this was indicative of a lack of resources, merely another ploy to make the Alliance underestimate them.

Cruger was distracted from the reports by the sound of someone outside of his office requesting entry, a high pitched buzzing sound that human ears would have struggled to detect alerting him to their presence

"Who is is?" he enquired gruffly into a small microphone situated at his desk

"Bulk and Skull sir" the voice of the larger of the two men replied, ranks a foreign concept to them entirely

"Enter" Cruger said simply, pressing a button that would open the door and allow them to do so; Bulk's hair was beginning to thin on top yet was still long enough to be tied back into a ponytail whilst Skull's hair was hidden, as always beneath a beret that Anubis was almost certain had never been worn correctly in all the time the man had owned it

"Doggie" Skull greeted him by waving a hand that carried a manilla folder with the word classified stamped upon it "We've got something you should take a look at"

"Let me see" Doggie opened the folder and quickly scanned several transcripts of intercepted transmissions between an asteroid based mining facility in the Horus system and several ships belonging to the local defence force in regard to a recent attack on the mining operation and the theft of several Horusite crystals; also included in the folder were several still images which had been taken from several security cameras displaying the vessel involved in the attack, a relatively small thing built for speed, agility and difficulty of detection rather than raw power with a frame that could be said to loosely resemble one of Earths' ocean predators.

"Pirates?" Doggie noted with an arched eyebrow "A single ship of this size should be a routine operation, why am I being brought this Skull?"

"Because the attackers made off with ten unprocessed Horusite crystals" the admission changed everything in Doggie's eyes, he understood the sheer monetary value of the things and immediately his suspicions were raised

"None of the pirate cartels or raiding fleets have the resources for a score this big" Skull continued, confirming those suspicions "I can only think of one group outside of the Alliance that does"

"The Dark Empire" Cruger growled

"And besides" Bulk added, glaring at the image of the vessel with a hatred in his eyes that suggested some great personal wrong had been done to him "We've seen a ship like that one before….We thought she was dead, they told us she was dead" Doggie contemplated asking who Bulk was referring to for a moment before deciding against it but making a mental note to reread the mans' personal files and service record again at some point, he and Skull were from Angel Grove and had present for several failed invasions of their planet after all. There were currently more pressing matters at stake however

"Do we have a location on the target?"

"Not currently" Skull admitted "But we do have a potential destination"

"A lot of the pirate cartels have been looking for new bases to operate from since the Empire attacked Onyx" Bulk noted with a grimace before gesturing at the pictures of the ship "Makes me wonder if we can have these guys dealt with by their own people for breaking ranks"

"Unlikely" Doggie dismissed the idea with a shake of the head, however despicable the pirates that plagued the systems that were yet to join the Alliance were they had something of a code of honour among thieves which precluded collaborating with the law against one another.

"We'll intercept them as they land" he sighed "Send word to…."

"Doggie….sir?" Bulk asked, more than a little confused by the way his commanding officer had simply trailed off although the suddenly haunted expression he wore went some way to explain it and both Bulk and Skull could make an educated guess as to who he had intended them to send for

"Sir" Skull breathed out, eyes downcast "They're gone"

"I know Skullovitch" Cruger growled as he rose to his feet, every part of his body language stern and commanding "You have the Moonbase until I return

"Sir...Doggie, where are you going?" Skull stammered after Cruger as he stalked towards the door of his office

"The Aquabase, to inform the Power Rangers" Cruger said simply "The Dark Empire will send a representative to meet with the pirates….it's high time someone paid for what happened to Strike-Squad Alpha"

* * *

Manic, high pitched laughter and unhinged, barely coherent gibbering was what greeted Paradoxa as she returned to Gibil's morbid and mercifully dimly lit lair, which was in all honesty what the insectoid warlord had both expected and hoped for as it was a clear sign that his sickening experiments had resulted in exactly the kind of horrific spawn that Paradoxa wished for.

"Gibil!" she barked, bringing an end to the incessant chattering to no one in particular that her minion was prone to

"Yes Lady Paradoxa!" Gibil replied, stooping into another of his low bows and smearing the ash grey fur of his muzzle with the congealed blood, grime and other filth that had accumulated on the floor though he didn't seem to care or even notice.

"The Atramentous is preparing for departure. The task I gave you-"

"Has been completed Lady Paradoxa" Gibil treated her to a particularly animated jig as his eyes gleamed evilly "Oh it has indeed, with flair and panache if I do say so myself, which I do"

"Show me" she demanded, forcing her expression to remain neutral. Gibil immediately scurried over to the largest of his many computer terminals and began rapidly entering commands and rubbing his grubby paws together with anticipation whilst Paradoxa merely took in the sight of the latest concept he had painted onto the canvas currently on his easel.

The hiss of rushing air filled the chamber as one of the many cylindrical containers was unsealed and a moment later the viscous fluid that filled it was spilled across the metallics floor, running into slanted channels that fed the liquid through a filter and back into storage for further use whilst the creature that had held within the tube remained suspended a few inches above the base of the containment unit by a dozen cables embedded into its' flesh, Gibil entered another series of commands and the cables were first lowered and then retracted in order to deposit the creature on the raised base of the containment unit before being pulled free which in turn triggered some sort of chemical reaction that began to slowly rouse the creation from its' dormant state.

"I call it the Lepiota" Gibil tittered; beside him Paradoxa studied the monstrosity that Gibil had wrought as it slid to the ground and rose to its' feet.

It was simply disgusting.

Whilst it was tall and roughly humanoid in shape this greatly outweighed by the vast deviations from most of the galaxy's sapient life; indeed the Lepiota, as Gibil had called it didn't seem to be of the animal Kingdom at all as was, as far as Paradoxa could tell some sort of sentient fungus.

A white mushroom head seemed to form a wide brimmed hat that was titled forward to partially obscure the face from view whilst simultaneously being part of the head; the flesh of its' head was the same pallid colour and its' face lacked any symmetry, the left side having half a dozen yellowish eyes the colour of pus which seemed to vanish entirely when they closed and reform somewhere else in the vicinity whilst its' right eye was a cybernetic implement with a red lens which constantly adjusted as the Lepiota studied Paradoxa in turn, all of which was underlined by the absence of a nose and a too-wide mouth filled with jagged, broken and rotten teeth. Below the neck its' flesh was the same shade of dulled white, yet its' body became still more disturbing as small toadstool like growths sprouted from its' flesh before decaying and then mutating, growing fangs as they proceeded to cannibalise themselves in a never ending cycle of consumption; the only small mercy to be found was that a large portion of the creatures' flesh was hidden from view. The Lepiota wore pants and suspenders the colour of soil and from them thick, gnarled roots grew and twisted into the shape of spiked boots complete with spurs at their heels which the monster supported itself on and over its' torso it wore a long duster coat which somehow managed to appear dapper despite being the greenish black of rot and decay and from the sleeves of which hands made of corpse-white and twisted roots wearing corroded silver rings protruded. At the monsters' hips were a pair of oversized handguns whose exteriors appeared rusted and contaminated in some way.

"Can it speak?" Paradoxa enquired

"I surely can ma'am" the Lepiota answered in a drawling twang which prompted her to silently ponder exactly Gibil had harvested the component parts of his creatures' composite psyche from before putting the question aside and focusing on the matter at hand.

"Good" she paced around the monster, surveying from all angles and watching the display of his body eating itself with morbid fascination "You understand your purpose?"

"You've got business with a certain varmint that you'd like me to intrude on" he drawled in a way that conveyed the fact that he would very much enjoy this

"Precisely and I do believe that you'll be perfectly suited to the task" Paradoxa smiled before turning her attention to Gibil again "Status of the Dread Forge?"

"Active as per your commands Lady Paradoxa, five medium sized tactical units of Putties made using this moon as a base material are ready and waiting"

"Good" Paradoxa's smile widened "Lepiota, you're to take four units of Putties and board the Atramentous, you will deploy first to secure the rendezvous point whilst the final unit will be sent with whomever the captain of the ship sends as an emissary….the captain assures me that they're expendable but it would raise suspicions' on everyone's part if they were sent obviously alone and unprotected after all"

"And when they take the bait, I step in and help them to….shall we say, feed the daisies?"

"Indeed" Paradoxa nodded "But remember, It's possible that the Power Rangers may try to intervene. Your priority is above all else to secure the Horusite crystals. Now go, leave us" Paradoxa watched as the Lepiota made its' way out of the chamber with footsteps that both crunched and squelched like wet mud, Paradoxa noting that as he stepped in one of the many pools of blood that were spattered across the floor it was partially absorbed by his body. Once the monster was out of both sight and earshot Paradoxa turned to her ever loyal inventor

"I would greatly prefer it if your next creation were incapable of speaking"

* * *

From Ernie's Juice Bar the Aegis Rangers had progressed to a bowling alley that Mercy had frequented with her former cadet group in an effort to introduce her new friends to the game; it had been enjoyable although Tempestus's attempts to overanalyse the minutiae of every new aspect of human culture he was exposed to continued to lead to awkward moments, Aslaug and Panthera had found themselves competing with one another which Mercy was forced to admit to herself she should expected, the bowling alley falling silent as Panthera's pinpoint accuracy was pitted against Aslaug's pure physical strength, the Yellow Ranger being more than capable of hurling the bowling ball halfway down the alley before it ever touched the floor.

They had been forced to abandon their game and any other plans for the evening that they may have had when they were contacted by Doctor Stewart who informed them that he was waiting outside and that there was an urgent situation at the Aquabase which required them to return at once. Heading outside the Rangers had found Justin waiting for them in his personal vehicle rather than one of the many unmarked cars Project Lightspeed owned, the vehicle in question being a large and powerful looking pickup truck with a heavy after market roll-cage added and a royal blue paint-job that evoked the appearance of his former Zord, the Mountain Blaster. After leaning out of the drivers' side window with a yell of _'Get in losers we're going shopping'_ Justin had brought them to his workstation within the Aquabase.

Which had led to their current situation.

Captain Kimberley Hart and Zebidiah Hart had already been present and waiting for the Rangers' arrival and alongside them was a tall alien with a scaly blue, yet distinctly canine face who wore a long black coat which reached almost to the floor and was liberally decorated with medals worn over his uniform. At a discreet nod Kimberley the newcomer who was, as yet unknown to the Rangers stepped forward and introduced himself

"My name is Commander Anubis Cruger, I am the commanding officer in charge of the Lightspeed Moonbase and I have come into possession of information that I believe merits your involvement"

"We're listening sir" Mercy visibly straightened up as she addressed the officer, eager to help and to please as always.

"Excellent" Cruger nodded, beginning to pace with his hands clasped behind his back as he continued "A mining facility in the Horus system was attacked by a known pirate we believe to be colluding with the Dark Empire, several unprocessed Horusite Crystals were stolen" the only Rangers' to not stare at Cruger utterly nonplussed were Tempestus who visibly winced and Panthera who merely let out a low whistle

"Processed Horusite crystals are a key component in the teleportation systems of Alliance spacecraft" Justin explained, Zebidiah quickly following up

"And whilst the Dark Empire lacks the ability to Teleport its' vessels with the range or reliability of the Alliance; in its' unprocessed state Horusite is highly volatile….I believe that Paradoxa wishes to have the abducted Triforian mages weaponise the crystals in some way, their mastery of technomancy is well documented"

"You want us to stop the crystals from getting to Paradoxa?" Mercy squared her shoulders and tried to appear as resolute as possible "You can count on us Commander"

"Of that I'm certain" Cruger beamed, these Rangers had already earned the faith and pride that Project Lightspeed had placed in them, unfair as it was that they had to be subjected to the horrors of war whilst still so young

"This is where we believe the rendezvous between the pirates and the Dark Empire will be held" Kimberley explained, using a remote to bring an image onto one of the screens mounted on the wall of Justin's work area. The image showed a planet with greenish grey skies, with several smaller pictures appearing beside it showing the surface of the planet which was comprised largely of bogs and marshlands scattered with fauna that created a thin canopy overhead

"Grendel four, makes sense" Panthera noted, causing all eyes to fall up on her "It's uninhabited and there's nothing of any real value there to mine so nobody has any kind of standing fleet there. Plenty of pirates and smugglers use it to lay low or settle business; the Dark Empire can't exactly do business on Onyx after what they did there….those bogs are also a good place to get rid of a body, allegedly" an awkward silence in the air at the Pink Rangers' last casual aside before Tempestus offered a question that Mercy noted she should have asked herself

"Do we have any idea who the pirate we're looking for is?"

"We do" Doggie nodded "Captain Hart, if you would" with the push of a button Kimberly brought the image of an individual onto the screen, male and inhuman with an elongated, almost conical head featuring a prominent chin and pointed, swept back ears; the pale and rubbery skin seemed to be stretched too tight and countless veins seemed to be straining against it, though ones' attention would naturally be drawn instead to the yellow eyes and leering, predatory smile. The figure wore a lightly armoured, deep blue and cream coloured body suit with additional armour in a burnished gold colour fitted over it in addition to a scarlet coloured and sleeveless tailcoat with a high collar and golden trimming and ornamentation including an ornate pocket-watch fitted to his breast; a pair of black boots with a finish so glossy they appeared reflective reached to his knees and a curved cutlass hung in an ornate black and gold sheathe at his hip completing the look of an interstellar swashbuckler. The reaction that the image of their target caused an immediate yet varied reaction from several of those present.

Kimberley merely frowned, eyes darkening as she remembered when she and Jason had been at the mercy of this pirates' predecessor; Panthera bit out a foul curse under her breath in her native tongue whilst Justin had a response that focused all attention onto him

He began laughing like a loon

"ELGAR! This joker seriously?" he doubled over, gasping for breath as he continued to laugh "Oh come on, this can't be who you're worried about? This guy is the bottom of the barrel as far as lackey's go! He wasn't even scary when I was twelve!"

"Then how is he still alive?" Zebidiah demanded, plainly confused "He was destroyed by Zordon's sacrifice, I saw it happen"

"I saw him fall into a pool of lava" Kimberley added, almost predictably considering it was a matter of galactic piracy the answer came from Panthera

"It's not the same Elgar" the Pink Ranger's expression was grim "I've heard that when Divatox ran her clan of pirates she had several clones of her nephew made so that she'd always have a loyal right hand; she also had him sedated and….modified. Without Divatox in charge Elgar has taken over and now he's in full control of his faculties. He's a legend in the underworld"

"Can we beat him?" Aslaug asked simply

"I've met four different people who claimed to have killed him" Panthera answered "All of them were found dead within a week"

"But Divatox's clan were never official allies of the Dark Empire" Zebidiah "We had a temporary alliance of convenience due to our mutual hatred for the Machine Empire, nothing more"

"You think that the two parties would double cross each other?" Cruger asked

"Almost certainly"

"That's perfect" Mercy exclaimed, stepping forward and giving Panthera a smile as she prepared to fulfil the promise she had made "Commander Cruger, Captain Hart; we….the Rangers and I have been discussing the possibility of a rescue mission for the abducted Triforians. This might be our best shot"

"The risks are-"

"Less than the risks of letting Paradoxa force the Triforians to make weapons for her" Mercy interrupted, succinctly countering Cruger's argument before it could be made. Kimberley took several moment to weigh up her options before turning to Zebidiah, sensing that the input of the former Lord Zedd would be of great value

"Thoughts?"

"Doggie is right that it will be extremely dangerous" he stroked his beard before adding "But Mercy is correct that the risks are justified and that this is our best chance….I vote in favour" Kimberley nodded in understanding

"Rangers, your first priority is to stop the Dark Empire from obtaining the Horusite crystals. Anything beyond that is secondary; Justin do you have teleport co-ordinates ready"

"I've got 'em" he confirmed. Mercy sensed that this meeting was coming to a close and that the time for action was upon them

"We won't let you down" she promised before turning to her fellow Rangers and readying her Morpher

"IT'S MORPHING TIME!"

**Authors Notes:**

Welcome to the third arc of the story, titled "Lightspeed Rescue"  
All four chapters in the arc share the theme of being titled after heist movies.  
I've been having some job interviews that went pretty well lately so if updates slow down that's why; I update my RWBY story FADE: Legacy once a week and I'll endeavour to do the same with Aegis.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
So that's what the Rangers are up to now, train, be trained, save a planet or two rinse and repeat….And of course Panthera pretends to be too cool for it but low-key enjoys it.  
_Trollusc, Calamity Grain and Fish'n'Tackle_….I want you to know that I'm not sorry, not at all.  
So I might make Ernie's Juice Bar the Rangers regular spot outside of the Aquabase, so far it's been a great way to work cameos in and it was a fun bit of world building.  
I told you Piggy would show up, this story is around the same time as SPD, I'd be slacking if he wasn't.  
And there's the Ninja Turtles, they knew the Astro Rangers. It's canon.  
Tempestus being introduced to human fashion as well as the culture and slang was always gonna be and excuse for me to be dumb.  
Jack and Z are officially somewhere in the Aquabase, though I might have them be a little younger than they were in SPD.  
So there's some backstory for Panthera and the thing about bringing the chest plates of Putties to black market trading posts just felt like it made sense.  
_Apparent _certainty…._(Laughs in Arc 05)_.  
So the question is who is gonna quote the Ninja Turtles first Rensa or Tempestus?  
I wanted the monster factory to just be over the top grim-dark because it fits the purpose but also mainly because I wanted to contrast Gibil himself against it.  
In my head Gibil has the voice and delivery of Bartok the magnificent from Anastasia and honestly I'm enjoying myself far too much writing him.  
Horusite crystals….I'm gonna be honest I was tempted to just call 'em MacGuffin rocks.  
Paradoxa is trying to out-pirate the pirates….let's see how that goes.  
No point wasting the giant monster bombs on missions that aren't actually important.  
I wonder how many people managed to guess who the pirate was gonna be based on the description of the ship and Bulk and Skull's reaction….they spent an entire season turned into monkeys, that's gonna leave some mental scarring.  
You know Cruger was gonna have Charlie and her Squad deal with it.  
Okay so I knew that I wanted a mushroom based monster that played up the living decay angle by having its body constantly eating and reforming itself but I originally had an entirely different design in mind, the entire idea started to change when I was looking for a name for it and we ended up with the fungus gunslinger.  
Lepiota is his official name but don't worry we'll end up with a pun name for him as well.  
In my head Lepiota sounds like Doc Holiday in Tombstone, played by Val Kilmer.  
I suppose if I wanted to really reach I could say the bowling alley was an homage to the original pilot episode but I'm not going to.  
Of course Justin drives a pickup that's basically his old Zord and of course he quotes Mean Girls.  
Zebidiah's guess as to what the crystals are for is wrong but not exactly a bad guess if one were to assume the abductions and the thefts are connected….it's just that they weren't.  
Yep, Elgar….that Elgar_ (But also not that Elgar, because cloning)_ I decided to give myself a challenge, if I can make Justin a semi-enjoyable character then who else from the travesty that was Turbo can I redeem.  
Justin's reaction is fair and you know it.  
Honestly re-imagining Elgar as capable without having to retcon canon was easier than I thought it'd be, mainly because of the fact that he was canonically cloned; basically imagine the Elgar we saw in Turbo as a particularly dim Clone Trooper whilst this Elgar is full Jango Fett.  
So, we're gonna have a Mexican stand-off between Ranger, Elgar and The Dark Empire emissary and Lepiota; followed up by the Rangers trying to rescue the Triforians that they don't know are already dead….this is gonna be fun.

Thank you to Jen425 and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Glad people like the Megazord.  
The villains need more plans like this, it makes them an actual threat.  
Don't worry you'll be getting more A-Squad.  
Of course, what are friends for if not cock-blocking and ruining your moment.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	11. Quick Change

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 10 – Quick Change**

The greenish grey sky of Grendel Four was a drab and dreary sight, visible above the clearing that had been prepared in the planets' swampland whilst the twisted and broad leaved trees formed a largely opaque canopy for miles around with only thin beams of weak sunlight filtering down. On the ground the air was frosty and biting, misting in front of ones' face with each breath and the ground was deeply waterlogged, festering and turgid water reaching almost to the knees of the group of Putties before their feet touched the soft soil below which was churned underfoot as they moved animatedly and chattered to one another in their distinctive unintelligible warbling.

In the midst of the group of Putties stood Thespiasaur, the officer aboard the Dark Empire ship 'Atramentous' who had been sent to rendezvous with the pirate contracted by Paradoxa. Thespiasaur was humanoid in form with the exception of a long thin tail which swished irritably behind them. They were a tall, lithe and slender thing whose hide was covered with smooth green scales which were in turn hidden beneath lightweight black armour which covered their torso and abdomen and thigh-high boots and fingerless gloves which reached back to the elbows in the same colour. They had a thin face face with large, pointed ears and a mass of faintly greenish yellow sensory fibres atop their head which reached to below their shoulders and were often mistaken for hair. Their eyes were vibrant yellow with slitted pupils and horizontal eyelids which were black and leathery and their mouth was a wide and thin lipped, usually set in a smirk which displayed a single pointed fang.

Thespiasaur was currently not smiling.

"I'll have her head for this….the audacity of using me as bait" they grumbled in a voice that couldn't truthfully be described as either masculine or feminine, using the senseless automatons that surrounded them as a captive audience as they raged and ranted against the perceived slight committed against them. Thespiasaur was certain that being assigned as the emissary to the pirate was a punishment for failing to complete some task or other and that the captain of the Atramentous was fully expecting them to perish in the encounter

"Well we'll see about that" they finished their tirade to the Putties, hands on their hips as they resolved to not only survive, but retrieve the Horusite crystals and begin to sow doubt in the Captains' judgement and sow the seeds of their own rise to power.

They were dragged from their thoughts by the sound of a ship approaching from above and their yellow eyes turned skywards; whilst the rapidly nearing vessel was small when compared to those used by the Dark Empire or the Alliance it was still a massive thing, almost as tall as the trees and perhaps three hundred feet in length. Despite its' size it was agile and Thespiasaur watched with begrudging respect for the skills of the pilot as the thing was brought to a landing in the clearing which it filled almost entirely, its' hull sinking into the mud as its' propulsion systems powered down.

This was the Megalodon; sleek and shaped to resemble something akin to a shark with a matte black exterior which was capable of deflecting most sensors and remote scans aimed at it in addition to the vessels' stealth capabilities. It was not the first ship to bare the name, indeed Divatox's own vessel had been the first Megalodon with the title being passed to each subsequent vessel and lending the ship a certain mystique, that of a ghost ship to be feared by both other pirates and the security forces of remote outposts and Thespiasaur let out an audible gulp, forcing themselves to stand their ground instead of backing away as a hatch slid open at the extreme tip of the ships' prow.

Elgar himself stepped out into the swamplands, surrounded by automatons of his own; hunched things made of a dull brass and gunmetal coloured alloys with bulky, armoured chests, shoulders and outer extremities and a streamlined, fishlike face with a pronounced overbite stylised to resemble a fang-filled maw golden optics comprised of countless lenses focused on the Putties as each of machines, dubbed Piranhatrons seemed to single out one of the sculpted automatons.

"Lovely day for business isn't it?" Elgar noted conversationally, where once he had been bumbling and dim and spoke with a voice that conveyed those attributes his voice was now clipped and his fierce yellow eyes held a clear focus that promised precision and ruthlessness.

"You have the Horusite crystals?" Thespiasaur asked, dismissing the Piranhatrons and focusing on Elgar, ignoring the attempt at small talk

"Why so uptight, I've gone to great lengths and expense of your boss's behalf and it's a long journey from the Horus system to this backwater nowhere….you can't even offer a business partner a drink?"

"Travelling light, I didn't bring much in the way of refreshments" Thespiasaur noted with a smirk "The crystals?"

"On my ship, I'll have them brought out when our business is concluded" Elgar waved their concerns aside, seemingly unperturbed by the insistence

"It's funny you should mention travelling light though" Elgar noted "Because you see Lady Paradoxa, your boss promised me a ship in return for the Horusite and the only one my sensors could find is the one I'm guessing you came here in….seems to me you weren't travelling very light at all; which makes me wonder where all of your friends who're still on there are planning on going when I take my payment?"

"I, um well-" Thespiasaur stammered, entirely unsure how to proceed and swiftly being spared the trouble of forming a response as Elgar spoke again

"Now, call this my understanding nature because I've been the fall guy more than once before but I'm willing to renegotiate with you personally" Elgar gave a toothy leering grin "You can tell me where Paradoxa is hiding herself and walk away from this whole mess….Because I really do not take kindly to being double-crossed" Thespiasaur was numb with fear and time slowed to a crawl, in an instant they seemed to realise that their was only one course of action and Elgar seemed to sense what their response would be. The pirate's right hand flew towards the cutlass at his hip and Thespiasaur made to lunge forwards to grab it.

Then everything ceased.

Elgar waited for his opponent to fall for his ruse and raised his left hand, index and middle fingers extended and fired a beam of pale yellow light from them; the beam pierced through Thespiasaur's skull mere inches above their right eye and burst from the back of their head, spattering the trees with sizzling greenish black blood

"Should of offered me that drink" Elgar noted "You would have had better luck just poisoning me" Thespiasaur made no response, simply dropping to their knees before collapsing to lay face down and dead in the swamp water

The Putties and Piranhatrons launched themselves at one another and Elgar watched with only the faintest interest, certain that the Dark Empire's admittedly durable footsoldiers were little match for his own machines until, from the corner of his eye he saw movement. More Putties were emerging from the trees and Elgar realised that he had been ambushed by dozens, if not hundreds of the things.

"Playing for blood? That's just my game" a drawling voice announced and Elgar watched what he thought to be a mount of fungus and plant life at the base of one of the trees rise up and take a roughly humanoid shape, the figure tipping a wide brimmed hat as they sauntered calmly into the clearing.

"I'm your huckleberry"

* * *

Five streams of light, each in the respective colour of a Power Ranger streaked downwards from an indeterminate point in the air before dissipating with a rush of displaced air, revealing the Aegis Rangers themselves, morphed and ready.

"This is the place?" Mercy asked in a hushed whisper, relying on Panthera's knowledge of the area

"Not quite" the Pink Ranger replied whilst pointing up at the canopy "Elgar doesn't teleport, he brings his ship down as a show of force….I can climb the trees and look for a clearing, he'll have landed somewhere with no trees"

"Good idea" the Red Ranger answered, though Panthera was spared the trouble of scouting ahead as an unmistakable clue came in the form of rustling in the trees which upon inspection was revealed to be the local wildlife

"The wildlife here is certainly….interesting" Tempestus noted with obvious interest as he watched a creature leap from one tree to the next; a drab mossy green coloured thing that could roughly be described as a cross between an amphibian and an arachnid, a compact bulbous body with large forward facing eyes and eight many jointed legs with ended in strong fingers tipped with suction cups and a prehensile tail at its' rear. The creature was soon joined by others including a swarm of things with a caterpillar-like body and three pairs of bat like-wings and several twisting forms which made their way through knee-deep swamp water.

"That way" Aslaug murmured, pointing in the direction that the creatures had fled from "Something spooked them"

"Come on, spread out and be ready for anything" Mercy whispered, crouching low and beginning the process of slipping from behind one tree to the next "Captain Hart, Justin….do you read me?"

"We read you" Justin's voice in her ear confirmed "But there's no cameras here, no orbital satellites either so we can't say any more than you" the news was not unexpected but it was still a little disconcerting. The five of them fanned out and slipped between the trees whilst trying to make as little noise as possible, something which Rensa managed to excel at

"There's something ahead" Panthera warned

"Sounds like fighting" the Black Ranger added

"Let's get closer, but don't interfere directly yet" Mercy instructed and as the Aegis Rangers followed her lead the eventually neared the edge of the clearing and saw the streamlined vessel that had taken up much of it

"That's the Megalodon, Elgar's ship" Panthera confirmed

"Look!" Aslaug pointed to something beyond the ship; a sizeable group of Putties were trying to gain access to the ship, battering against where Mercy assumed there was an access hatch whilst several more of their number lay broken and motionless in the swamp, equally damaged machines scattered between them; most importantly however was the sight of Elgar locked in battle with a truly grotesque creature that appeared to be some kind of humanoid fungus whose body was perpetually devouring itself

"Justin, what am I looking at?" Mercy breathed out, careful to avoid attracting the attention of either combatant

"No known species from anywhere in the galaxy, some kind of gunslinger toadstool by the looks of it" Justin replied, deep in thought before adding "I feel like I should have something for this….all I've got is _'Shiitarget Mushroom' _and that's just bad"

"Are we really doing this now?" Kimberley's exasperated voice interjected

"Death Cap?" Mercy offered, her voice barely above a whisper

"No, it sounds too cool it defeats the object….I feel like their should be a Val Kilmer pun here somewhere but I can't find it" the former Turbo Ranger paused for a moment "Got it, Deadly Dapperling"

"Works for me" Mercy shrugged before turning her attention to her fellow Rangers "Okay, it looks like the Dapperling is gonna finish off Elgar; as soon as that happens we rush it and stop it from finding the Horusite"

The Rangers watched as Mercy's prediction came to pass, the Dapperling firing an explosive round from one of its' pistols into the blade of Elgar's cutlass and shattering the weapon; fragments flying in all directions with several of them scoring deep cuts in the pirates' face. Throwing the destroyed weapon aside Elgar braced himself and extended two fingers on each hand, a pale yellow light gathering at their tips as the pirate took heavy, laboured breaths and continued to bleed from a score of wounds that his opponent had inflicted despite his light armour; the Deadly Dapperling for his part seemed unharmed and unaffected, merely reloading his oversized pistols as the two began to circle each other for one last showdown

"Say when" the monster offered, voice laced with contempt. With a wordless growl of animal fury Elgar raised his hands and fired twin beams of light which his opponent avoided easily with a flourish, rot-coloured coat billowing around him as he raised his pistols. The right was levelled at Elgar's chest and the pirate leapt aside.

Only to be shot in the face as he fell for the feint in a cruel reversal of his earlier position.

Mercy watched in horror and disgust as Elgar's skull decayed at an accelerated rate, whatever the Dapperling's ammunition was filled with eating away at the dead pirates' flesh in seconds. Then she gathered herself and gave the order

"NOW!" the Power Rangers charged as one and the Dapperling wasted no time, merely opening fire the moment they left the treeline. Mercy span and was nearly thrown to the ground by the force of a round impacting with her shoulder, though upon inspection whatever corrosive agents the Dapperling used were thankfully incapable of breaching her armour, merely discolouring and scorching the outer layer.

"Well now that's just not sporting" the Dapperling weaved around Aslaug's opening salvo of blows whilst simultaneously reloading his pistols. In a fluid motion he kicked the yellow Ranger aside and turned to face Rensa who had been about to attack him from behind, the gun in the Dapperling's right hand fired and struck the Black Ranger in the chest with thick ropey binds bursting from the point of impact. He raised his left hand

And suddenly the hand wasn't there any more

Panthera had thrown herself into the fray and manifested her curved blades, severing the monsters' hand at the wrist and sending his gun crashing to the waterlogged ground. With a snarl of pain and annoyance the Dapperling began to regrow the severed appendage, green roots growing before dying and twisting into a new rotten and diseased hand, larger and tipped with cruel claws which he proceeded to knock the Pink Ranger aside with, sparks spraying from the impact as Panthera's armour was damaged. Rensa manifested his daggers and managed to free himself of the bindings that had ensnared him only to be kicked aside by the Dapperling's spurred feet, the fungal monster reloading his remaining weapon once again.

"We can't let him fight us one at a time!" Mercy yelled, her katana forming in her hand

"We should attack him as he reloads" Tempestus noted as he pulled Panthera to her feet, Aslaug and Rensa regrouped alongside them

"Hardly honourable" the Yellow Ranger noted

"It's five on one, it never was" the Pink Ranger countered "Besides, we've got more important things to worry about"

"Okay" Mercy grit her teeth and steadied herself; the Dapperling seemed content to wait for them to make the first move "NOW!" the Rangers rushed towards their opponent and the monster reacted with blinding speed, aiming his remaining pistol and rapidly firing, his latest variety of ammunition being highly explosive and the Rangers were soon flung to the ground, swamp water being flung into the air whilst trees were broken apart by the blasts.

Then the pistol clicked empty and Mercy dragged herself into a crouch

"POWER BLASTER!" the other Rangers quickly began combining their weapons and taking firing positions as the barrel of the weapon was aimed at the chest of the Dapperling who was still trying to reload his remaining pistol.

As the beam of white light, wreathed in rainbow coloured arc of lightning surged towards the monster each of the Rangers had the distinct impression of the Dapperling tipping its' hat to them a moment before its' destruction; as if congratulating them before it collapsed forwards with a hole torn through its' chest.

"That was….far more chill than I expected" Tempestus noted

"Which means we're not done yet" Mercy noted before turning her attention to the Putties which had been temporarily overlooked "In the meantime let's deal with them and find the Horusite"

* * *

With the Heliothis currently docked, or more accurately simply grounded upon the first of Triforia's moons there was no need for the ships' bridge crew to be at their stations beyond routine systems' checks and Paradoxa had found tasks to reassign each of them to which had resulted in the pristine and utilitarian command bridge being empty with the exception of Paradoxa herself; the commander of the Dark Empire's vanguard fleet lounging comfortably in her platinum coloured throne of twisted edges; lording over the silence and solitude as she waited for a status report from the Atramentous, the ship and its' crew were counted amongst those she would miss the least should events proceed as expected; the vessel was not a powerful one and its' captain was almost remarkable in how unremarkable she was, lacking any of the ruthlessness or overwhelming power that defined so many of her contemporaries. Yet it was still of utmost importance to Paradoxa that the Atramentous was successful in its' mission, even if it cost the life of every member of its' crew.

Eventually Paradoxa became aware that she was being contacted by the ship in question and brought the main viewing screen of the bridge into life; the sight of the officer she had been considering greeting, stood aboard the command bridge of her own smaller vessel greeting her.

"Captain Dokufugu of the Atramentous reporting" the alien woman was small and stockily built, any femininity that her form may have had was hidden beneath unflattering attire that could be loosely interpreted as a military dress uniform crossed with a diving suit; a large and bulky thing in shades of grey with countless decorations. There was no helmet, merely an armoured respirator system affixed to the chest of the suit and fastened directly over her mouth, giving her speech a muffled and distorted quality. Any appearance of solidness or strength that her form may have conveyed was undercut by the translucence of her rubbery azure skin which left veins and even her skull on display; her head was a round thing with pronounced jowls and was covered in poisonous spines several inches long, her cheeks expanded and contracted like the body of a pufferfish with each mechanically assisted breath and she regarded Paradoxa with large watery eyes.

"How goes the….exchange?" Paradoxa asked delicately, Dokufugu's breathing became a noticeably more rapid and her watery eyes fearful; indicating that the Acheron hybrid was correct in her assessments

"As suggested we sent an individual who wouldn't be missed to collect the Horusite crystals. The Megalodon arrived and we've had no contact with our crew member"

"As expected" Paradoxa noted "What of Gibil's creation"

"Nothing" Dokufugu answered, gesticulating with an air of apology as she continued "We also recorded five inbound teleport streams….colourful ones"

"I see" Paradoxa ground out, privately deciding to feed the captain to one of Gibil's horrors for her sheer incompetence in simply passively watching the situation unfold "And the alliance?"

"No ships have arrived in system….but we do have the insurance policy that you provided us with ready to use if they do" Paradoxa merely nodded, the insurance policy was anything but and the insectoid warlord had far greater plans at work than anything Dokufugu had been made aware of

"Show me the situation on the surface"

"At once Lady Para-" Dokufugu trailed off, eyes filling with terror

"Show me. Now" Paradoxa demanded again, far more forcefully and the captain of the Atramentous did so, visibly trembling as the image of her own underling, the pirate Elgar and the Lepiota all laying face down in the swamp was displayed; with the Power Rangers making steady progress as they fought to break apart the Putties which were both trying futilely to defend themselves and also gain access to the Megalodon.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOU FOOL!" Paradoxa roared "FIRE MUTAGENIC GRENADE!"

"But Lady Paradoxa, the Horusite is still on the ship-"

"Then engage tractor beam and have it retrieved whilst the Rangers are occupied….Know this, Captain, if you fail in this task I will make it the sole purpose of the time I have left before facing Lord Zedd's wrath to find you and punish you accordingly" Dokufugu visibly shuddered, cheeks deflating as she seemed too terrified to even breathe before finally managing to answer

"At once Lady Paradoxa"

* * *

A Putty was flung back and struck the hull of the Megalodon with a dull thud before shattering; Mercy carried her spinning heel kick into an elbow strike the collided with the face of another Putty before she lashed out with her left palm and collapsed the chest of the automaton with ease. Looking around quickly she saw that the other Aegis Rangers were similarly engaged; each of them disabling Putties with their own blend of agility technique and raw power yet some of the Putties continued to fight for access to the Megalodon, scaling the ships' hull in search of entry points or in some cases merely wandering to the rear of the vessel and away from the combat so that they could try and climb through its' dormant propulsion systems. Another trio of Putties lunged at the Red Ranger and Mercy sprung into action once again, blocking the wild swing of the first and knocking it back with a flurry of punches before shattering the weak point of its' chest with a knee-strike before a spinning back kick disabled the second, which had attempted to position itself behind her.

The third was reduced to falling fragments as Aslaug intercepted its' attempt to lunge, the Yellow Rangers' fist bursting through its' sternum in a single blow

"Thanks" Mercy breathed out only for Aslaug to direct her attention upwards, a sphere of dull gunmetal was rapidly streaking towards their location whilst wreathed in ethereal fire.

"Damn it" Mercy hissed before contacting the Rangers' mission control on Earth "Captain Hart, Justin….they fired a mutagenic grenade"

"Be careful Rangers" Justin warned "Anything happens to Elgar's ship and it could damage the Horusite crystals….the explosion would be catastrophic" Mercy didn't reply, instead she watched in mesmerised silence as the body of the Deadly Dapperling dragged itself too its' feet whilst growing into a towering monstrosity. Unlike the reanimated form of Corax the Reaper this creature began to heal itself to some extent; the fanged mushroom heads that devoured themselves and each other grew at an alarming rate and sealed the hole in its' chest cavity by forming a tumour like mass of rapidly growing and decaying mass which continued to eat at itself even in death

"At least this isn't a populated world, though this will be bad for the wildlife here" Tempestus noted "Because that thing is definitely a biological weapon" Mercy nodded in agreement before taking charge of the situation and bracing herself for the imminent teleportation as she exclaimed

"WE NEED AEGIS ZORD POWER!"

The transition was instant and just as jarring as it had been the first time, yet now the Red Ranger was ready for it and allowed her mind to relax and her consciousness to flow out into the psychic controls of her Hawk Zord which was streaking towards the clearing which both the giant monster and the space ship were. The giant Dapperling began to track the Hawk Zord and let out a phlegm-laced roar as it lashed out with the larger, mutated hand that it had grown; the monsters' previous finesse having been lost in the reanimation process

"I'm gonna draw it off!" Mercy warned the other Rangers, bringing the Hawk Zord around in a wide arc she could see that each of them had created another clearing with their arrival, the displaced air that came with teleportation being pushed outwards with such force due to the size of the machines that dozens of trees had been uprooted entirely.

"Be careful" Aslaug warned and Mercy smiled to herself as she launched a barrage of rockets into the gargantuan terror that they faced; the explosions rocked the Dapperling back and its' spurred heels ripped trenches into the soft earth as flames began to spread across its' body as the biomass that made it was ignited by the explosions and with a pained howl the thing lumbered after the airborne machine, tearing its' way through the trees as Mercy led it from the Megalodon.

"Okay now let's bring it down!" she ordered with sudden confidence

"On it" Tempestus assured her, the head of the Plesion Zord rising into view and spitting forth a ball of glowing blue plasma which ripped into the back of their opponent, staggering the monster and began to spread more flames blossoming across its' surface even as its' body tried to snuff them out by simply consuming the burning tissue. Mercy watched as the Osore Zord stalked around the periphery and Rensa spoke, his soft and gentle voice filled with rare cockiness

"As Michaelangelo said….Cowabunga" the Zord leapt with its' claws outstretched only for the Dapperling to regain its' balance and snatch it out of the air in an impressive display of strength before hurling the machine through the air  
"RENSA!" Mercy exclaimed as she watched the Zord vanish beneath the treeline some distance away with a thunderous impact

"I'm okay" the Black Ranger assured her and the Zord could be seen rising to its' feet in the gouge it had torn in to the ground

"Everyone fall back to Rensa's position and form up!" Mercy ordered, firing several more missiles into the monster as the ground based Zords made their way to the Black Rangers' mission; Panthera's voice was filled with an eagerness that promised aggression as Mercy's Zord finally soared overhead

"I think you're thinking what I'm thinking"

"I am" the Red Ranger confirmed "We need Megazord Power"

"Megazord activation has been initiated" the synthetic voice filled the cockpit of each machine and the Zords began to move into position whilst the clearly weakened Dapperling thrashed and shrieked as it tried to put out the flames that had begun to envelop much of its' torso. In a matter of moments the Hawk Zord was lowering itself on to the forming Megazord to complete the docking sequence and the Rangers were teleported into the cockpit, their consciousnesses becoming linked to one another

"Megazord activated"

"Here it comes" Aslaug noted as the Dapperling rushed towards them with earthshaking footsteps and flames still trailing from its' body; the Megazord adjusting its' weight as each of the Rangers braced themselves. Both Tempestus and Rensa's minds rose to the fore as the monster reached them, the Blue Ranger causing the Megazord to sidestep out of its' path whilst the Black Ranger brought the left elbow of the mecha into their adversaries' face

"Allow me" Panthera growled, the Pink Ranger used their current position to wrap the left arm of the Megazord around the left shoulder of the Dapperling, whilst the mechas' right hand gripped the monsters' forearm and forced against the joints, breaking whatever bones the monster had whilst keeping the arm intact so that it couldn't regenerate the way it would if the limb had been simply ripped away. The Dapperling thrashed dangerously and Mercy brought the Megazord out of harms' way before it could escape and do any damage with its' wild swing, following up by kicking the monster away; Aslaug then seized the controls and lunged forwards to deliver a devastating punch to the chest of the thing and send it toppling backwards

"It's not going down" Panthera noted as the Dapperling rose to its' feet and charged again, screaming with incoherent fury as it did so; an idea came unbidden to Mercy's mind and she was acutely aware that the other Rangers had realised it as well

"Mega cannon!" at her order the giant ranged weapon mounted over the Megazords' left shoulder discharged with a flash of blinding white which sent a shock wave rippling through the air for miles. Easily a hundred trees had been ripped from the ground by the sheer concussive force and the Dapperling was heavily damaged, fungal roots regrowing the entire right side of its' chest and arm as the things' body sagged at an unnatural angle

"Now is our chance!" Mercy exclaimed and all five Rangers directed the Megazord in unison, its' right hand reached over its' back and took hold of the gigantic claymore that had materialized there, the Dapperling let out one last shriek of defiance before the blade was brought down in a vertical slash that ripped the monster apart and the structure of its' body finally became to unstable to sustain, the cocktail of drugs and dark magic pumped into it by the mutagenic grenade detonating.

The victory was short lived.

"We've got a problem" Rensa pointed out

"I believe that the Dark Empire is….trifling'" Tempestus noted in a flat dead pan, Mercy merely watched in silence as the Megalodon rose into the air in the centre of a beam of dim light and was immediately certain that this was not the work of any crew remaining on the vessel.

"Captain Hart" Mercy began "They're using a tractor beam to take the Megalodon, the Megazord won't reach it in time. I think we can use this to our advantage….We're gonna board the Megalodon" there was a moment of tense silence as the Red Ranger watched their opportunity slip further away with each passing second then the former Pink Ranger replied

"We don't have any schematics for the interior of the ship so Justin has had to improvise….may the Power protect you" Mercy turned to her fellow Rangers and nodded in silence, sensing that each of them were ready to her follow her, come what may. From the outside no observer would be able to see the teleport streams as the Rangers vanished from cockpit of the Megazord.

* * *

Cullis was a member of a race of creatures that could best be said to resemble a bipedal silkworm of some description, a round and muscular tube of a body with a hardened off-white exterior carapace covering their soft and fleshy, blue grey interior. From small holes in the woven and hardened carapace sprouted weak and atrophied limbs with quick, nimble fingers; Cullis had no discernable neck and his skull was hidden behind a translucent layer of thin and breathable yet surprisingly robust material, what was visible of his head was broad a flattened resembling the body of a stingray or perhaps if one were feeling less generous, a blubbery shovel. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick lensed black goggles which seemed to be ever adjusting and surgically attached to his skull.

Cullis was the sole other living occupant of the Megalodon besides its' captain; serving as a right hand and master of all things pertaining to dozens of fields of science as well as being someone with whom Elgar could plot and scheme, a confidant a first mate and the closest thing that the pirate had to a genuine friendship.

He was also under attack.

The Megalodon, despite being roughly three hundred feet in length and having several decks required little in the way of crew, Elgar and Cullis regularly sufficed with the aid of a few purpose built robots and on the rare occasions some form of assistance was required one of the Piranhatrons stored in the ships cargo hold would be modified for the task; Elgar believed that keeping the crew as small as possible was of utmost importance as it gave each remaining member of the crew a larger share of the spoils, it reduced opportunities for treason and most importantly it added to the ghostly mystique of the vessel which seemed to return, with its' captain at its' head no matter how many times it was destroyed. Unfortunately most of those Piranhatrons had been sent out as an overwhelming display of force intended to humble the Dark Empire's emissary only to be left face down in the swamp when their business partners' treachery had been revealed and the few that remained aboard had quickly been overwhelmed by those Putties that had managed to find ways onto the Megalodon and now Cullis was alone and outnumbered by adversaries that could not be reasoned with and who were far more physically capable than he, the Megalodon was being dragged slowly but surely out of the atmosphere of Grendel Four and its' controls were not responding to any command; in short the situation looked bleak.

"Back, back I say!" Cullis sputtered as he swung a length of pipe with what limited strength he possessed whilst retreating away from a mob of flailing and warbling stony bodies; the feeble blow did nothing to halt the Putties advance, leaving them more confused than anything and his short and spindly limbs combined with his low slung and trailing body were utterly incapable of a hasty retreat, he tried to close a hatch as her reversed through it only for the lead Putty to fling it open and send Cullis toppling to the ground and his improvised weapon rolling away. Struggling to rise he realised that he was almost certainly about to be bludgeoned to death by rocky fists and considering that he did not have Elgar's luxury of being cloned his messy and painful demise would be fatal; whimpering he curled his tubular and feeble mass in on itself and waited for the blows to come.

They didn't

Instead flashes of colour filled the room, a small workshop which he had hoped the Putties would overlook and when Cullis opened his eyes hope and terror filled him in equal measure as he learned the identity of his rescuers. The Power Rangers had teleported onto the Megalodon and were fighting their way through the Putties with laughable ease.

The Red Ranger was a scarlet coloured typhoon of destruction, delivering spinning kicks and legs sweeps that sent the automatons crashing to the ground and peppering them liberally with punishing fists and elbows. The Blue Ranger was simply untouchable, any Putty that neared him found its' attacks redirected and its' body crumpled and shattered in short order by a deluge of chops, palm strikes and graceful movements that smashed the attackers against nearby walls and workbenches. The Yellow Ranger was simply a force of nature given form, less graceful than the others but her fierce and powerful blows lacking none of their speed as she simply smashed Putties apart with powerful punches and kicks. The Black Ranger fought like an untamed beast, pouncing on one victim and ravaging their weakest points only to attack the next by skulking close in a crouch and leaping at them with unrestrained fury whilst the Pink Ranger, with her claws and tail was somehow even more frightening to behold; where the Blue Ranger redirected blows with fluid grace she simply twisted and shattered limbs with cold and calculating efficiency.

It was over within less than a minute and Cullis trembled in fear as the Red Ranger ordered the Black, Blue and Yellow to split up and search the immediate area for more Putties whilst she and the Pink Ranger marched over to him; the Pink Ranger speaking first, her voice low and smokey

"Elgar is dead, the Dark Empire double crossed you. We killed their assassin and represent the Alliance of planets who are at war with the Empire and are sworn to protect life and freedom throughout the galaxy….we invoke the right of parley"

"I respect and honour your right….Welcome aboard" Cullis managed to wheeze out as he righted himself, utterly dumbfounded by this turn of events as the Power Rangers were an eternal enemy to his ilk and Elgar personally had been part of a campaign against a previous team.

"Thank you" the Red Ranger answered, though their faces were hidden something in her voice spoke of a kinder nature, though perhaps it was merely less tempered by experience

"You have the Horusite crystals that they want, we can't let them have them" she continued "But I think if we play smart and act fast we might all make it out of this and make sure the Dark Empire don't get to win anything today"

* * *

Everything was dark;

And then everything was blurry and cold as a body that had been floating in a stasis tube was released unceremoniously into a harsh an unwelcoming galaxy; the fluids still clinging to the body making the chill in the air all the more pointed as they struggled to drag themselves from the floor on muscles that had been artificially stimulated but never truly used and try to make sense of their surroundings with eyes that had never seen whilst fresh ears treated every minute sound with rapt attention as if it were the most important of news and within seconds the sound of his own breathing had reached a deafening volume, reverberating in his skull and causing a sensory overload which left him vomiting and shivering on the floor.

Elgar hated this part.

The worst was yet to come however and the pirate merely lay naked on the cold floor and resigned himself to the inevitable; implants in the brain of his previous and now deceased body stored, digitised and transmitted data to his current location where it was uploaded into the body of a waiting clone upon its' activation; however by some quirk of sciences that Elgar didn't care to understand the final few memories, usually very pertinent ones wouldn't be fully integrated into the new mind until a few moments after animation at which point they would send his new body into violent convulsions and torment him further as new information and half felt memories cascaded through his psyche, including reliving his death. Elgar twitched and gasped for air for several moments until the process was complete at which point a single word escaped him

"Bastards"

With that completed he finally pulled himself to his feet and cast his eyes, which were now at least somewhat functional around. He was exactly where he expected to be, his own personal and permanently reserved lodgings at Port Corsair a space station built onto what might have been a fragment of a destroyed planet, located within the heart of an asteroid field that only the bravest or most desperate would ever flee to; Elgar had several lodgings here booked at all times to confuse any potential assassins that came looking for him where he would be most vulnerable ever since he had first been revived following the demise of both himself and his Aunt Divatox by the owner of Port Corsair, who had been looking for someone to honour several debts. The room he had awoken in was a small and dimly lit chamber, scattered around which were several more stasis pods and the sizeable amount of equipment needed to maintain them, three of which contained floating and as yet lifeless copies of the pirate; Elgar had only once considered bringing a second iteration of himself to life and had quickly dismissed the idea, knowing that he would have to either lobotomise his other self to ensure its' loyalty or kill it at some point in the future. Testing his new limbs he left the darkened room and entered a far larger room which was opulent to the point of absurdity; his personal quarters within the pirate port and the site of more debauchery than most sentient beings would dare consider.

Elgar searched for a bathrobe and a pair of fluffy slippers, reasoning that it made no sense to conduct important business in the nude.

He then left his quarters which he had chosen for their proximity to his shipyard of choice and made his way towards said shipyard; the artificial atmosphere of the space station uncomfortable to skin that still felt ill fitting and senses that were still raw and unfiltered. No sooner had he entered the sprawling and gargantuan complex of hangars, workshops, officers and graveyards of destroyed vessels that formed the shipyard than a voice called out over the clamour of machinery and the rarity of honest work being done in such a place

"GOT YOURSELF KILLED AGAIN DID YA BOY?" the voice was blunt and surly, greatly fitting the individual to whom it belonged. Elgar didn't deign to answer the question and simply asked one of his own

"How long until the Megalodon is space worthy?" Elgar may have been an ostentatious pirate who routinely dealt in superstition and gambled with his life despite losing such wagers with unfortunate regularity, but he was also practical and well moneyed enough to have construction begun on a newer, more capable vessel the moment he took his latest one from the port, ensuring that the moment he seemingly perished both he and his ship were returned

"At your leisure, I suppose you'll want a new contingent of Piranhatrons as well?" Elgar merely nodded silently; his ship was ready and the way forward was clear with only one possible course of action.

"Have a course plotted for Grendel Four, I have business to conduct and throats to open….just as soon as I'm properly dressed"

**Authors Notes:**

So, half way into another arc.  
I feel like each arc so far has had a similar formula but a distinctly different feel to it; I hope that's accurate and I'm not just making repetitive drivel which everyone besides me can see for what it is?  
I hope you can see why I gave the chapters of this arc the names of heist movies now, that should tell you something about how the latter half of this arc is gonna play out.  
So, this should probably be in the summary but it's probably quicker to just ask here….what does everyone think of the way I handled Elgar? It's obviously a vast departure from what he was in canon but again, with him being a clone the door was open to make him something better….And I felt the Jack Sparrow slipping into him there even as I was writing him.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
I'm realising that I really like doing these descriptions for the new planets and giving everywhere it's own distinct character.  
Okay Thespiasaur is a Thespian dinosaur….or more accurately lizard, I don't watch She-Ra but I've seen how excited everyone is for the new canonically non-binary character "Double Trouble" I needed a design for a throwaway character and that's what was in my head; also I want to stress that Thespiasaur and Yokai, disposable villains will not be the only NB characters in this story, I have plans for a very important NB/Genderfluid character later on in the story.  
So the name for Elgar and previously Divatox's ship 'The Megalodon' I actually thought it was canon after reading 's story but I can't find a canon name for it on the Wiki.  
Three hundred feet, about the size of a football pitch seems about right for something that could be considered small in galactic terms….Also yes he painted it black for stealth purposes.  
I feel like that whole introduction scene managed to get across everything you need to know about the new Elgar….the fake out with the sword was a classic.  
"_Should of offered me that drink __you__ would have had better luck __just__ poisoning me"_….admit it, that line was bad-ass.  
"_That's just my game" _and_ "I'm your huckleberry"_….I couldn't help myself, I knew I'd do it from as soon as the idea to make him a Gunslinger popped into my head.  
Okay so Mercy and Justin's whole exchange where they tried to name the monster was basically my thought process, Deadly Dapperling is actually a variety of poisonous mushroom and the name is what inspired me to scrap my original idea for the mushroom monster and make him the Val Kilmer Gunslinger he ended up being….And yes Shiitarget Mushroom is terrible, I know.  
Apart from the way the Dapperling killed Elgar being a reversal of how he killed Thespiasaur the _"Say when" _is another Val Kilmer/Doc Holiday line from Tombstone.  
If the Dapperling's rounds could pierce Ranger armour he would be OP considering he's got ranged weapons and can regenerate.  
Power Rangers, teaching kids the important life lesson of "Always rush people you want to fight in groups of five or more" since 1993.  
Dokufugu = Poison and Pufferfish, in my head she's a humanoid and translucent Puffier Fish lady with a respirator and if you're a fan of RWBY she's not entirely unlike Cordovin.  
So Paradoxa gave Dokufugu something that was described as an insurance policy but is actually part of her own greater plan….I'll give you three guesses what that is.  
I think Paradoxa snapping at Dokufugu is actually the closest to worried we've seen her yet.  
Okay the Dapperling regenerating itself when it reanimated is a one off, it only worked because the monster already had that ability.  
Yes, the literal Feral Child that is the Black Ranger basically just pulled out the _"Cowabunga it is"_ meme.  
They remembered the cannon this time.  
Remember, they can teleport onto the Megalodon without alerting the Dark Empire because of the hull of the Megalodon deflecting scans.  
Cullis is intended to be of the same species as Porto, the problem is I actually kinda forgot what Porto looked like when I was writing him an in my head he was longer and looked more like a caterpillar or silkworm, so that's what Cullis looks like….I assume I don't need to explain the name.  
"The right of parley"….If you're gonna go space pirate, you may as well go full space pirate.  
Elgar's waking up scene was kinda inspired by the part in the Matrix where Neo wakes up.  
And that's why Elgar is still around, someone woke one of his clones up to pay a tab.  
Stop thinking about Elgar naked, stop it….I said stop.  
Oh he's pissed.

Thank you to Jen452 and Super ShadowHenshin for their reviews on the last chapter.  
I'm sure I'll work more cameos in.  
Intrigue is my speciality….well that and horrible puns.  
I'm certainly planning something.  
Tempestus is out here serving looks.  
Yeah I pulled from a few places, the Animorphs influence is mostly just the exterior of the ship, the interior, a lot of the planets, body horror aspects and general bleakness are inspired by the lore for Warhammer 40K, which if you've never heard of it is where the expression Grim-dark comes from.  
Well I was a child in the 90s and always loved sci-fi so it's not really any surprise.  
You're far too kind, if you're looking for other great Power Rangers fan content, watch Power Ranger Unworthy on Youtube (Episode 3 is coming soon) and read 's stories_ (He's in the process of reworking his existing material and returning from a very long hiatus)_

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	12. Now You See Me

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 11 – Now You See Me**

The world of Chordata was one that had been covered by vast open plains and lush jungles filled with all manner of bizarre lifeforms ranging from small and seemingly harmless things whose mass was largely formed by a thick mass of curly fur to gargantuan apex predators whose gaping maws were filled with enzymes capable of corroding steel. The untamed world had also been on the cusp of developing truly sapient life in the form of a race know as the Smilodon.

Then, almost a thousand years ago the Dark Empire had found the world and seen the burgeoning species as a perfect source cannon fodder and genetic material to be absorbed into the chimerical make up of Acheron and their ever expanding dominion.

A fully grown Smilodon adult was roughly between six and seven feet tall, with the female of the species being larger on average and were nominally bipedal although it was not uncommon for them to drop into a crouched and skulking gait that brought them onto all fours, they were mostly humanoid in shape with a long muscular tail that trailed behind them. Their bodies were solid masses of dense and powerful muscle covered by a layer of mottled fur in the colour of the dusty brown surface of their home world, interspersed with a ridge of raised fur along their backs and random flecks in a bright green colour that mimicked the plant life of the plains. Male Smilodons sported a crest of the green fur along their skulls whilst females had pouches to carry their young; the head of a Smilodon was distinctly feline in structure with permanently pricked ears, blood red eyes with slitted pupils and three pairs of large fangs which reached far past their lower jaw, they were also capable of distending their jaw to swallow smaller prey whole much like a snake would. Even with the influence of the Dark Empire they had remained a primitive race, clad in roughly made leathers and shunning any form of armour or advanced weaponry in favour crude axes and clubs made from the hard stone of their natural habitat and operating in insular pack like structures that viewed outsiders with mistrust; such was the reason that Smilodon were seen only infrequently in the Dark Empire's campaigns, each pack needed to be presided over by an Acheron hybrid at all times to maintain cohesion and the end result was a force of shock troopers who whilst capable, were often seen as requiring too much effort in comparison to groups such as Tengu Warriors or even Putties in extreme numbers.

Captain Dokufugu of the Atramentous however kept a cadre of perhaps two dozen Smilodon under her command, all of whom were under the direct authority of a hybrid known by the others as 'Ummese Izinyo' Ummese was a large female, even by Smilodon standards and her dusty fur covered less of her body, leaving the Acheron side of her heritage on display in the form of the raw and deep red flesh of her arms and midsection which made her bulging muscles all the more prominent whilst the fur of her torso forming a pronounced collar of sorts; she also carried the only weapon made of metal that her pack possessed as a sign of her station, an oversized single-bladed axe whose serrated blade featured several claw like hooks.

Captain Dokufugu looked incomprehensibly small and inconsequential as she stood beside Ummese yet the far larger alien still bowed her head in deference as the rest of her pack proceeded to attend to the task given to them. The Megalodon had been brought aboard the Atramentous and it had been clear that whatever Putties had managed to enter the vessel had been eliminated and that whatever crew still remained aboard the vessel had gone to ground somewhere within, whilst it was not a large ship the Megalodon was still a pirate ship and would no doubt have hundreds of hiding places; rather than waste time and resources Dokufugu had simply summoned Ummese and her pack, ordering her cadre to uproot and hunt down the crew for interrogation.

Presently the sounds of a struggle could be heard within the bowels of the captured ship, a brief and one-sided affair punctuated by the sound of several dull thuds and bestial snarls followed by the sound of something being dragged out of the ship. Dokufugu and Ummese stood in front of the access hatch at the prow of the ship which had been torn open with explosives, the hybrid turning to the alien as the first of the Smilodon came into view

"They found the crew" her voice was a dull grunt and her speech was impeded somewhat by her absurdly large fangs as as well as the somewhat stunted intellect caused by combining Acheron genetics with such a primitive race. The assertion was proven correct as the pack of predators stalked out of the ship with one of them dragging what Dokufugu first believed to be a sack and another carrying a shattered laser weapon of some kind; with a few grunts and snarls in their native language the Smilodon explained their findings to Ummese who in turn relayed them to Dokufugu

"This is the only one aboard, Putties and metal fish-things were found in pieces"

"Very well" Dokufugu wheezed from beneath her respiratory, spine covered cheeks inflating and deflating slowly as she considered the feeble creature in its' woven hardened carapace that lay before her "Stand it up" with a growled command the seemingly sole crewman of the Megalodon was dragged to their feet

"I'm not sure what you hope to gain from this I'm sure, but I can promise you that-"

"Silence him" Cullis's incensed ranting was brought to an end by a firm backhand from Ummese which tore the thin veil that covered his face asunder and shattered one of the lenses of the goggles which were surgically grafted to his face. Dokufugu stepped close and noted that Cullis's carapace had been cracked in several places and watery blue blood leaked from many of those cracks, in her mind he had been suitably prepared for questioning

"Where are the rest of your crew"

"Face down in the swamp" at a nod from Dokufugu another blow was delivered "That was wholly unnecessary, Elgar and I were the only living members of the crew…..I was responsible for-"

"Silence" the diminutive and stocky captain snapped leaning in close as Cullis's head was forced down to her eye level by one of the Smilodon restraining him, cracking his carapace further in the process

"I want the Horusite, worm"

"With pleasure" the reply stunned the blue skinned woman questioning him for a moment and Cullis reached a frail arm inside his own protective casing and produced a palm sized shard of an orange and purple crystal that seemed to vibrate the air around it with some unseen resonating power. Dokufugu's cheeks seemed to implode as she looked at the crystal and saw that it was barely a fraction of what had been promised

"Do I seem like someone who can be toyed with to you?" her voice trembled with barely contained rage

"Perhaps if you weren't stood next to someone so much bigger than yourself I'd be able to take you-" Cullis's sarcastic retort was lost between a deluge of blows delivered by the Smilodon, watery blood spattering the floor and several exclamations of pain escaping Cullis before Dokufugu raised a hand to halt the brutality, she needed him conscious after all.

"Perhaps a mere beating isn't enough encouragement" Dokufugu mused cruelly, her voice dropping to a whisper as she added "Perhaps you should be taken to Lady Paradoxa and her personal flesh-crafter, he would keep you alive and awake whilst he unmade you and searched for anything valuable within your innards….or perhaps you want to tell me where the rest of the Horusite crystals are"

"In one of Captain Elgar's many safe locations" Cullis ground out through clenched teeth "You destroyed a friendly port on Onyx, do you think any thief, smuggler or pirate is willing to do business with the Dark Empire without some insurance?" Dokufugu took several deep breaths, calming herself as much as possible before turning to Ummese and nodding, the leader of the Smilodon promptly beat Cullis unconscious with several heavy punches.

"You, take this worm to the brig!" Dokufugu screamed to the aliens holding Cullis's limp form, after the order had been translated she continued

"Ummese have one of our scout craft deliver this shard of Horusite with news of our success to the Heliothis-"

"As you wish"

"And inform your pack that I want this ship torn apart and searched and that they will play nice with their fellow grunts….I want that boarded and searched from top to bottom with no stone unturned, those Horusite crystals must be aboard somewhere!" with that the diminutive captain stormed off, making her way to the bridge and silently hoping that the small shard of Horusite would buy her enough time to either find the rest or form a plan of escape.

* * *

Anubis Cruger had been forced to return to the Lightspeed Moonbase, his own vast responsibilities demanding his attention once again though naturally the officers acting as Mission Control for the Aegis Rangers had promised to keep him informed of developments. Justin had been forced away from his workstation once the Power Rangers had teleported aboard the Megalodon; the Megazord had been returned to Aquabase, deconstructing itself into its' constituent parts in the process and the former Blue Turbo Ranger, being the most senior specialist currently on the planet was required to give the gargantuan war machines a preliminary examination which would precede a far more in depth systems check and maintenance procedure.

Which left Kimberley and Zebidiah Lord alone to oversee the ongoing mission, the ageing, yet somehow ageless robed man continuing to levitate in a cross-legged sitting position with the former Pink Ranger taking Justin's seat and wondering how Billy managed to do this when he had given up his status as a Ranger to take on a support role for the Zeo Rangers. To Kimberley watching from the sidelines within the safety of a command centre was akin to torture, especially as the tension continued to mount with each growing moment and it seemed that there was nothing that the former Pink Ranger could actually do to help or guide her young charges.

The Aegis Rangers had imposed a total radio silence, deadening their communicators so that there was no chance of their position being inadvertently given away and with the utter lack of surveillance both around the planet of Grendel Four or within the ship they had boarded Kimberley was still forced to rely on the Rangers' own helmet feeds as her only source of information; which rendered her utterly ineffectual as wherever the teens had sequestered themselves was currently pitch black.

Then the situation worsened drastically as each of the feeds transitioned from darkness to a grainy and fuzzy, static greyness with the words _'signal lost' _imposed over it, this was a startling an unwelcome event in its' own right but the fact that it had affected all five feeds in perfect unison almost seemed like an omen of sorts.

"What just happened?" Kimberley demanded urgently

"We lost contact" Zebidiah noted simply, stroking his beard as he weighed several possibilities against each other; Kimberley however found herself lacking the patience required for such things and quickly contacted Doctor Stewart on his communicator

"Justin! Justin come in, we just lost contact with the Rangers!"

"I'll be there in a second" the child prodigy and former Ranger turned scientist was as good as his word; returning to his workshop in a stream of light as he teleported, throwing the protocol regarding teleportation within the Aquabase out of the window.

"What were they fighting?" he asked promptly

"They weren't fighting anything" Kimberley answered with some confusion "Their feeds just died" Justin frowned and began checking and rechecking several pieces of equipment and software settings before a stream of muttered curses escaped him

"What is is?" Kimberley demanded, dreading the answer

"There's nothing wrong with their helmets or the feed" Justin answered, his face ashen "We lost the signal because the Dark Empire ship engaged its' cloaking and most likely accelerated to warp speed"

"Can you find them?" Kimberley asked, mind racing as she searched for answers "I can explain the situation to Dana, have a ship or one of the colonies teleport to the planet and send out scouts in all directions….Do any of the remaining Rangers have a space worthy Zords?" she bit back a cruse, realising that the late Trey of Triforia would have been a prime candidate to aid them and that she currently had no way to contact Andros or the latest iteration of the Megaship

"I can keep trying, eventually they'll have to drop to sub-light propulsion; we'll be able to re-establish contact….Zebidiah you know my opinions on raw and unfiltered magic but do you have any spells or lucky charms that can-"

"Calm yourselves" Zebidiah huffed indignantly as he ceased levitating and returned to his feet, standing tall and imposing over the former Rangers

"We just-"

"I understand the situation" he interrupted "But I was of the understanding that you sent a team of Power Rangers, not newborn kittens"

"What're you saying?" Kimberley hissed coldly, rearing to her full height

"When Rita sent Tommy into your Command Centre and severed Zordon's tethers to the material plane you were lost, outmatched and utterly without guidance….did you stumble and collapse under the pressure or did you rise to the occasion?"

"We won that time but-"

"The explain to me Miss Hart why you that the Aegis Rangers are some how lesser Rangers than your own team!" Zebidiah barked, Kimberley and Justin finally seeing the point that he was driving at "The Black Ranger was raised on one of the bleakest worlds in the galaxy and all but raised by a Ranger and accomplished guerilla, the Pink Ranger has made a career and lifestyle out of avoiding capture, the Blue Ranger is an undisputed genius, the Yellow Ranger was a warrior with a string of victories to her name before you ever put a Morpher in her hand and the Red Ranger….well Mercy is the culmination of all of our efforts isn't she, she's the best Lightspeed could make. Have a little faith in your heroes"

"We think we should wait it out?" Justin sighed

"I think that right now the Rangers still have the element of surprise, they will lose that the moment we start scrambling a rescue operation" the argument made sense as much as Kimberley was loathe to admit it, after a moment of tense silence she nodded

"Justin try and re-establish contact, I'll send word to Cruger to have a ship on standby….but in the meantime we let the Rangers handle this" Zebidiah nodded at the concession, prudently cautious without risking giving away the Rangers' position. He returned to sitting though this time he took a seat rather than flout gravity and mused out loud with a wry smile

"If experience has taught me anything Kimberley it's that you Rangers do your best work when the odds are stacked against you"

Kimberley found that she couldn't dispute that.

* * *

With the units of Putties that had been assigned to the Atramentous destroyed, their remains sinking below the swamp water of Grendel Four the task of assisting the Smilodon warrior cadre in the task of searching the captured Megalodon in its' entirety had fallen to several unlucky crew members of various species. It was a more viable solution than relying on the automatons in any case, whilst relatively sturdy and almost infinitely replaceable the Putties were hardly intelligent enough to locate the various nooks and crannies that Cullis could have used to hide the Horusite crystals.

Two of the aliens assigned to the task were spindly things with vivid green skin and protuberant elliptical eyes which were entirely without irises or sclera, the pair were nominally part of the maintenance crew of the Atramentous and wore the overalls one would expect of their station but Captain Dokufugu had, in a moment of cunning noted that the pairs' profession made them suitable for the task at hand.

"Do you think there's actually anything here to find?" the first alien asked their comrade, neither of them having names that could be easily pronounced due to the limitations of the human larynx.

"I think that if there isn't the Captain is going to tell Ummese to have her pack eat us" the second alien replied dismissively

"Not so loud, they might here you and get ideas" the first retorted with a sound that was culturally equivalent to a chuckle, the overall perception of the Smilodon amongst the majority of the crew of the Atramentous was that the primitive hunters were useful savages who played a valuable role within the Dark Empires' war machine but were still savages nonetheless. The pair fell silent as they continued searching for the Horusite crystals, tearing panelling from the walls of the small but well equipped workshop which Cullis had allegedly been found in.

The pair were completely unaware that their conversation was being overheard.

The Aegis Rangers and Cullis had quickly formed the beginnings of a plan, albeit a highly risky one and Mercy had been surprised by the bravery of her new ally, though she supposed that Cullis wouldn't have lasted as long as he had as the right hand of an infamous pirate without a certain degree of nerve. Whilst Cullis had quickly cobbled several components lying around in his workshop together into something that resembled a laser weapon the Rangers had been sequestered in a small space that Panthera had already guessed the existence of, a cramped vault just large enough for all five Rangers to hide within which was lined with the same materials as the hull of the Megalodon, making it undetectable to most scanning equipment even if it were to be used inside the vessel. Though they couldn't see anything outside of their hiding place they could still hear and Mercy felt herself tense as one of the aliens searching the workshop spoke to the other, voice suddenly becoming serious

"Wait….something isn't right here"

"What do you mean?"

"The prisoner, the Smilodons found him carrying some kind of laser weapon right?"

"That he used to put the Putties down with-"

"I don't think him did" the first and presumably more observant of the two noted "I doubt he was any kind of sniper so where's all the damage you'd expect to see on the walls? And look at the Putties, where're the burns from the laser? This was done by blunt force" the second aliens' voice was suddenly hushed and terrified

"You think-" whatever else he intended to say went unheard as Mercy exploded out of the vault hidden in the wall of the workshop, the other Aegis Rangers barely a step behind her and the first alien fell to the ground unconscious with a single blow

"WE HAVE INTRU-" the second alien was cut off once again as they joined their friend in a crumpled heap on the ground but the damage had already been done, the sound of feral snarls and thundering footfalls drawing closer could be heard echoing through the gangways of the Megalodon from all angles.

"This is going to be crowded and unpleasant" Rensa noted gently as he braced himself beside Mercy, Aslaug taking her now customary position at the Red Ranger's right hand

"This is not the ideal place to open a can of whoop-ass" Tempestus noted in the usual dead-pan that accompanied his outdated slang as he positioned himself by the sole entrance to the workshop

"Speak for yourself, up close and nasty is just how I like it" Panthera chuckled darkly as she flipped onto a workbench and waited with coiled muscles.

Then the Smilodon reached them and surged into the room like a living wave of claws, fangs and sharpened stone weapons only for the Pink Ranger to brutally rob the momentum from the lead alien as she leapt from the workbench and ploughed into them, shoulder first before knocking them aside with a powerful backhand.

The other Rangers followed suit and Mercy left several Smilodon warriors, who whilst capable fighters were far less resilient than Putties unconscious of the floor, quickly rolling aside to avoid a wildly swung axe before rising to her feet and parrying another blow from her new opponent, a particularly large Smilodon female who snarled and bared her massive fangs at the Red Ranger before lunging again. The blade of the axe came rushing towards Mercy from her left and were she not currently morphed she was sure it would have cleaved her in two, however the Red Ranger managed to step back and to the side to avoid the blow before grabbing the shaft of the weapon and forcing it backwards, striking its' wielder in the eye and disorienting them enough to drop it; she then followed up by casting the axe aside and delivering a powerful right hook to the aliens' mouth which shattered several oversized fangs and was carried into a spinning back which left the Smilodon limp and unmoving and the Red Ranger free to observe the larger battle.

The Rangers were winning despite the enemies' greater numbers, Panthera being able to use her particularly unpleasant fighting style to full effect and simply leaving several opponents physically unable to continue the battle, Tempestus and Rensa had formed something of an alliance with the Blue Ranger's fluid redirection of any force used against him breaking the mass of bodies into smaller groups which the Black Ranger could pick off piecemeal. The Yellow Ranger had planted herself firmly in the entrance and was engaged in a pugnacious battle of attrition against the remaining Smilodon seeking to enter the workshop, seeing Aslaug hold the line prompted Mercy to act and she rushed forward, sliding under the Yellow Ranger's arm as she grappled with an enemy and launching herself into the fray once more with a series of lightning fast kicks and knee-strikes that ended the battle in its' entirety.

"Okay" she panted out, grinning beneath her helmet as the adrenaline coursed through her "That's the easy part done"

"There's bound to be other people on this ship" Panthera noted as she sidled into view "And they'll have guns"

"So we've got to sneak through a ship full of enemies who will kill us on sight, whilst carrying explosive crystals" Aslaug surmised bluntly

"Groovy" Tempestus sighed as he and Rensa came into view, the pair carrying the Horusite crystals, each of which was roughly the length of Tempestus's arm and notably thicker in stark contrast to the minute sliver that Cullis had offered up as a decoy

"It's gonna be tough but we can do it, we have to do it….We're gonna save those prisoners" Mercy told them firmly "Now let's contact Cullis and let him know that the plan's going ahead"

* * *

Consciousness returned to Cullis in a wave of dizzying nausea and pain, he was certain that some of the blunt force trauma that he'd been subjected to at the hands of his interrogators had done some internal damage that would likely need to be treated as soon as possible and his cocoon like carapace was chipped, cracked, scuffed and otherwise broken in countless places. Unable to truly sit due to the limitations of his form he dragged himself into something more akin to a coiled position and cast his eyes around as the, now broken goggles affixed to his skull adjusted to the gloom of his new surroundings.

He was unmistakeably in a cell, a small and cramped one at that which was damp and dark, completely without furnishings and lit only by the weak glow of a bioluminescent moss which grew in small and scraggly patches along the walls and the corners of the room. He saw that the way out was barred, quite literally with a series metallic rods reaching from floor to ceiling and placed close enough together that even Cullis's own atrophied appendages would struggle to fit through the spaces between them; there was however no sign of any forcefield which Cullis instinctively sensed would present an opportunity and quickly waddled closer to investigate, wincing in pain and expelling dried blood from his flattened nose as he did so. Pressing his face to the bars of the cell allowed him to peer out into what lay beyond and doing so without incident confirmed that the bars were indeed the sole means of keeping him secured; the cell was clearly in the brig of the Atramentous which was comprised of a twisting web of darkened corridors lined with similarly designed cells within the bowels of the ship intended to disorient any prisoners in the event that they should escape, though Cullis noted that there were currently no guards present which suited his purposes perfectly.

Then he noticed that the cell directly opposite him was occupied.

Readjusting his goggles he saw something surprising, the occupant of the cell was a human woman with olive skin, dark brown hair that had become messy in her captivity and an air of resolute defiance despite her circumstances, most remarkable however was the uniform she wore; black fatigues which seemed to have once had a layer of armour fitted over it which sported an emblem upon their shoulders which all pirates, smugglers and assorted spacefaring criminals operating in Alliance space had grown to despise, a golden circle containing a six pointed blue icon

The logo of Lightspeed Rescue.

"Hey, hey you, human!" Cullis hissed, checking once more that there were no guards present "Human over here-"

"I can see you" the woman informed him

"You're with Lightspeed? What're you doing here, who are you?" the woman seemed to consider for a moment before finally answering

"My name's Charlie, Charlie Morales. My team and I were sent aboard a Dark Empire ship to bring it down" her expression hardened "My team are in the brig somewhere but I haven't been able to see them since we were transferred to this ship; the guards said something about as being used as insurance" Cullis's multiple hearts hammered and he spoke quickly and frantically in a hushed and urgent tone

"Okay listen, listen close the Power Rangers are here, they boarded my ship on Grendel Four to sneak onto this one for a rescue mission-"

"Rescue Mission?" Charlie demanded in disbelief "Do you have a way to contact them?"

"I'd be failing at my job if I didn't" Cullis replied with some incredulity, sliding a hand into his armoured carapace and reaching around for a moment before producing the communicator that the Rangers had given to him specifically for this purpose

"Slide it over!" Charlie hissed "It'll fit through the bars, slide it to me!" Cullis thought for a moment but eventually did so, lamenting the fact that he would most likely not get the device back and it would have sold quite well on the black market.

Charlie paid Cullis little mind, instead producing a small eating utensil that Cullis assumed she had managed to steal and using it snag the communicator and drag it into her own cell, quickly sliding the device onto her wrist and activating it; the sound of a pitched battle being raged somewhere within the ship greeting her as the communication was answered

"Cullis?" Charlie was taken aback by just how young the voice that greeted her sounded

"Cullis is here. This is Specialist Corporal Morales of Strike-Squad Alpha, who am I speaking to?"

"Me-The Red Aegis Ranger" the voice hesitated for a moment and Charlie took the opportunity to ask

"I was told you were leading a rescue operation?"

"We're looking for the Triforians abducted during the Dark Empire's attack on Pulchra-Pax; we're going to use Horusite crystals to force the ship to drop out of warp and call for an evac" Charlie needed a moment to process the information, suddenly feeling a numb nothingness yet at the same time everything at once with white hot fury and the icy chill that came with realising just how unimportant she truly was.

They weren't even trying rescue her

"Corporal?" she was snapped from her momentary daze by the Red Ranger's voice and realised that she needed to answer and begin taking action

"The Triforians are dead" Charlie paused, taking a moment to enjoy the bitter sense of satisfaction that came with shattering the Red Ranger's hopes "The Dark Empire never wanted them alive, they just needed to use their….I don't know magical essence for some kind of machine. I'm sorry"

"Oh" the Red Ranger's tone sounded fragile and hollow, as though the fight had been knocked out of her completely before returning with a vengeance a moment later "They took Cullis to the brig, are you there too?"

"Yes, my team were captured and-"

"Keep this communicator hidden and active" the Red Ranger ordered "We're coming to get you out and we're gonna make the Dark Empire pay while we're at it"

"Understood" with that Charlie ended the communication, it seemed things were going according to plan after all. Quickly she turned to Cullis "We need a way out of these cells, I don't suppose you're carrying tools in that cocoon of yours?"

"Once again my dear I'd be failing at my job if I didn't" the silkworm like creature retorted with an annoyed huff, arms retracting beneath his carapace as he spoke "I might not be the most glamorous, but I'm still a pirate don't you know"

* * *

The last alien of the most recent wave of attackers fought on relentlessly, a six-armed emaciated and misshapen thing with obsidian flesh and a whose skull was utterly devoid of eyes and was instead almost entirely taken up by a mouth filled with hook shaped teeth that moved individually.

Mercy delivered a spinning kick to the things' ribs which shattered ribs and as it staggered backwards, shrieking and spitting in defiance and rage until Rensa and Aslaug rushed the monster from opposite sides and in perfect synchronisation with the Black Ranger crouching low and sweeping its' legs out from beneath it and sending it toppling into the path of the Yellow Ranger's devastating haymaker. The grotesque alien hit the ground with a resounding thud, its' limbs curling up into its' torso like those of a dead insect

"What's our status?" Mercy demanded, not wasting any time

"Just about….and finished" Panthera announced from where she and Tempestus had ripped away a section of the panelling of the ships' interior and secreted the last of the Horusite crystals within it, the five of them had been fighting their way through the ship and making their way towards the brig with the Blue and Pink Rangers hiding the volatile crystals in what, as far as Tempestus could tell were strategic locations, Panthera's ill-gotten knowledge of underhanded tactics allowing to form a makeshift detonator set to a timer.

"Okay, that's the last of 'em let's go and break out our people!" Mercy led the way and her fellow Rangers followed her in the direction of the signal being transmitted by the communicator they had given to Cullis. They made a considerable distance along the narrow corridor within the narrow main structure of the ship before finally being halted by the presence of a far larger Smilodon warrior, with patchy fur revealing crimson flesh and carrying a truly brutal looking axe

"You go no further" Ummese snarled and behind the Rangers the sound of slow, mocking applause revealed they had been surrounded

"I am Captain Dokufugu. I want you to know that Rangers, I want you to know who it is that's beaten you" the diminutive and rotund blue skinned alien sneered in a pompous tone from behind her respirator, having appeared from a hidden side entrance leading from another adjacent corridor surrounded by a phalanx of armed guards "You must think me a fool if you truly believed that I wouldn't deduce that you planned to free you accomplice. Now you're exhausted and surrounded, hardly even a challenge-

"Weapons ready and form the Power Blaster on my command" Mercy ordered, voice unusually cold as she steeled herself for what was to come; the Aegis Rangers did as she instructed and the narrow corridor was briefly filled with coronas of multicoloured light as their weapons weapons were manifested

"A valiant effort but ultimately worthless" Dokufugu dismissed them with an imperious wave of the hand "Ummese, kill them!" the monstrous Acheron hybrid hurled her axe at the Red Ranger only for her to be pulled clear of the attack by Aslaug, leaving the weapon to sail through the air and bury itself the face and chest of one of the captains' bodyguards, carrying their broken and bleeding form back a further dozen feet. Ummese wasted no time and leapt into battle, slamming Mercy into a wall with a single clawed hand as the Red Ranger made to meet her head on and simply rampaging over Tempestus and trampling the Blue Ranger underfoot before Panthera used the wall as a springboard to vault over the monster and deliver a two footed kick to the base of her skull, staggered and bowed but still upright Ummese saw the Yellow Ranger rushing towards her with her axe raised for a decisive blow and lashed out with both hands, catching the blade between her palms and throwing her opponent aside only for burning pain to blossom in her back and flank as the Black Ranger's daggers ripped through her flesh, launching herself to her feet she flung Rensa aside with a swipe of her tail followed by a back hand only to be hurled back by a flying kick from the Red Ranger which brought her rolling to a stop at the feet of Captain Dokufugu.

"POWER BLASTER!" Mercy bellowed and the Rangers' quickly took their positions and formed their combined weapon

"You truly think this over?" Dokufugu taunted as Ummese leapt to her feet with an enraged snarl and prepared to charge and Mercy aimed and fired the weapon.

Aiming straight past the aliens.

The beam of incandescent white light wreathed in multicoloured lightning tore through the space beside Dokufugu, the captain recoiling in fright whilst her bodyguards leapt to the ground to save themselves; the beam continued down the corridor at a slight angle that caused it to eventually collide with the wall.

In exactly the spot where the Horusite crystal had been hidden, detonating it prematurely.

The effect was immediate and the Rangers turned and sprinted towards their destination as fast as possible whilst a fireball blossomed out from the point of impact, tearing through the corridor and engulfing Captain Dokufugu along with her cohorts, her furious declaration that their conflict was far from over dying along with her and a moment later the shock wave and heat of the blast reached the location of the next Horusite crystal, triggering an apocalyptic chain reaction of destruction.

The full scope of the carnage that the Rangers had wrought on the Atramentous could only truly have been seen from outside of the vessel, with massive explosions tearing through the narrow shaft of the axe-shaped vessel between its' streamlined command bridge and weapons batteries and the wide and arcing wings affixed to the propulsion systems at its' rear. The damage severed all communications between the two halves of the ship, a matter which could normally have been mitigated by various auxiliary systems and subroutines however the Atramentous was currently travelling at warp and the momentary disruption was enough to force the ship to immediately return to sub-light speeds, which in turn made the damage all the more catastrophic. The atmospheric controls within the ship couldn't compensate for the sudden difference fast enough which combined with the sheer strain being placed on its' hull resulted in the command bridge imploding and the weapons batteries detonating, then the narrow body of the vessel began to collapse and disintegrate with the infernos raging across its' many decks being suffocated as the atmosphere was sucked out into the void of space.

"WELL WE'RE OUT OF WARP!" Mercy yelled over the gale force winds caused by the departing atmosphere; there was still a vast amount of distance between themselves and the breach in the ships' hull that could be measures in miles but the effect was still being felt

"I DON'T THINK CAPTAIN HART WILL BE ABLE TO GET A SHIP HERE FAST ENOUGH!" Tempestus called back.

"FOCUS ON GETTING TO THE BRIG!" Panthera bellowed "IT MIGHT HAVE IT'S OWN FORCEFIELD!" a roar behind them rose above she shrieking wail of the exiting air

"IT LOOKS LIKE SHE SURVIVED!" Aslaug warned and Mercy risked a glance over her shoulder, Ummese had survived the explosion and had reclaimed her axe, though its' blade was glowing orange with heat and the aliens' entire left arm was missing whilst flames spread across her fur and licked at her flesh

"SHE'S GAINING ON US!" Rensa noted and Mercy saw that it was true, however injured she was Ummese would reach them in a matter of seconds and the Rangers did not have the time to face her.

Then a laser beam ripped through the air between the rangers and pierced the Acheron hybrids' skull directly between the eyes, leaving her lifeless body to come rolling to a stop and be slowly dragged backwards by the force of the ever worsening vacuum.

"I SEE SOME ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE TO THE PLAN….UNORTHODOX ONES AT THAT!" Cullis's almost amused but evidently tense voice announced his presence and the Aegis Rangers looked dead ahead of them, seeing that Elgar's First Mate stood beside Specialist Corporal Charlie Morales, at the head of a group of her fellow Lightspeed personnel and carrying a powerful laser weapon that had been plucked from a defeated member of the ships' crew.

"I THINK THEY WORKED!" Mercy called back, matching the aliens' faux joviality.

Just as the screeching of metal and a shower of sparks announced another section of the ship being ripped away entirely and floating into the void.

**Authors Notes:**

HAPPY HALLOWEEN MOTHER-LOVERS!  
Boom, three quarters of the way through Arc 03.  
The start of the Chapter felt like it didn't have enough of the actual Rangers in it which is always a problem with anything involving an ensemble cast, but I think it balanced out by the end.  
Now that's a cliffhanger, can you Megazord your way out of that one Rangers?

Not much to say here, so let's summarise shall we:  
Okay so I assume everyone here knows that Smilodon was a prehistoric mammalian predator similar to a sabre toothed cat; Chordata was also the Phylum they belonged to. Does giving soon to be dead grunts like this some fleshing out matter, does it progress the plot? Absolutely not but I do like my worlds to feel lived in so I'm gonna keep doing it.  
Ummese Izinyo, or Knife tooth in Zulu.  
Now we all know Cullis didn't have a laser weapon, which should have been your first clue that the Rangers were playing the villains.  
Admit it, watching Cullis openly fuck with Captain Pufferfish Dolores Umbridge was cathartic on a spiritual level.  
I mean _"I'll let Gibil fuck your shit up"_ works as a threat.  
So, a scout ship will get a literal handful of Horusite to Paradoxa but it's a far cry from the ten arm sized crystals that she wanted.  
The Aquabase scene honestly felt like it was needed to pad out the chapter and make it flow a little better; but it's also good to see how the secondary characters are doing.  
Kim and Justin think of the Rangers as "Their Rangers or Their Kids" Zebidiah is the former Lord Zedd and sees them differently, which actually manifests as him having more faith in them because he's been on the receiving end.  
Also _"__Mercy is the culmination of all of our efforts isn't she, she's the best Lightspeed could make" _what if I told you I'm sowing some seeds there for something that won't come up until Arc 07 at the earliest but things will start building towards from the next arc.  
Look, if you're a grunt who doesn't even get a name-tag then don't try and be the smart one; just fall over and play dead when the ass-kicking starts.  
Every time I start working on this story I have a window open in Chrome just googling 90s slang for when Tempestus starts talking.  
I intentionally kept it open to interpretation as to whether or not the Horusite was actually on the ship until the Rangers pulled it out as part of their plan.  
So that's the insurance policy/hostages that are actually part of a larger plan within a plan that Paradoxa gave to Dokufugu, Charlie and co.  
Okay so the Rangers know that the mission was a bust from the start and that the Triforians are dead and Charlie was a bitch about it but at the same time, imagine being a hostage and then finding out the rescue mission to the prison you're being held in wasn't even looking for you.  
Cullis you walking plot device.  
Of course the crystals were gonna get used as bombs, you saw that coming as soon as I mentioned them being explosive surely?  
Dokufugu should have just stayed on the Bridge or jumped on one of her scout ships, but instead she had to gloat….typical villain mistake.  
Ummese killing one of the pointless bodyguards was a nice touch.  
Okay I'm not astrophysicist and I know that there isn't really any air resistance in the vacuum of space but my background in engineering just tells me that being immediately brought from faster than light travel to a near dead stop is gonna have some kind of moving inertia and will probably do a shit load of damage….Also fuck science it's Power Rangers, rule of cool is law.  
Ummese living just long enough to get snuffed in the name of a dramatic reveal.  
Okay I want you to pay attention to something, at no point when Charlie mentioned her team or when she was stood in front of them did I mention how many of them were there.

Thank you to SumoSnipe for his review on the last chapter.  
I mean you could see the Dapperling as either of those things but I was going for something like the embodiment of that Tumblr shit-post about mushrooms meaning that decay is an extant form of life….crossed with Val Kilmer.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	13. Inside Man

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 12 – Inside Man**

They weren't going to make it.

The truth came crashing over Mercy in an icy, crushing wave of dread as the shattered and sundered remains of the Atramentous continued to crumble around them all. Even with the command bridge and nearly half of the ships' overall length ripped away and more joining it every second as the reactors that powered the vessel still refused to die and propelled the ship forwards, limping along in faltering and unpredictable bursts of quickly guttering power that ploughed the Atramentous into its' own wreckage whilst all the while critical systems overheated and failed, in many cases with explosive results that damaged the ship even further. By some small miracle however the artificial atmosphere was still being created by whatever means the Dark Empire's fleet used, continuously trying to adjust and compensate whilst the vacuum of space greedily sucked the air out of the ruined vessel as fast as it could be provided.

"COME ON, HEAD FURTHER BACK!" Panthera yelled, struggling to be heard over the rushing, screaming air "WE'VE GOTTA FIND AN ESCAPE POD!"

"YOU THINK THE DARK EMPIRE HAS THEM?" Mercy called back "I THOUGHT THEY'D JUST LET THEIR PEOPLE GO, SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST AND ALL THAT-"  
"THEY'RE RUTHLESS BUT THAT'S JUST WASTEFUL!" this observation came from Charlie who was thus far the only member of her team to have spoken aloud, the others presumably rendered silent by the ordeals that they had been through. Turning her attention towards Charlie Mercy was horrified to see icicles forming in the woman's hair and that reddened, puffy condition of her skin; whilst Mercy had been aware of the steadily dropping temperature as the failing atmospheric controls lost their battle with the void the Aegis Rangers were encased in their suits and immune to the effects of the cold, not so for their accomplices.

"MERCY, HE NEEDS HELP!" Mercy turned to see Aslaug carrying Cullis over her shoulder, the alien stiff and shivering as his blue-grey flesh seemed to lose its' colour; his physiology far less suited to the cold.

"KEEP MOVING, IT'S ALL WE CAN DO!" she shot back, following Panthera even as the gale force winds caused by the atmosphere rushing out buffeted them

"LET'S HOPE THIS PLAN WORKS!" Charlie called out to the Red Ranger with no small amount of bitter sarcasm; their initial plan had been one devised by Tempestus, the Blue Ranger hoping to use the various blast doors of the vessel to create an airtight seal around an area of the ship and buy them some time only for the collapsing structure of the vessel to make the plan untenable. Mercy offered no response and simply followed the Pink Ranger who seemed to have at least some inkling of where to look, eventually calling back to her allies

"THE DOOR'S JAMMED, TEMPESTUS HELP ME OUT!" the Blue Ranger rushed to her side and the pair began to override the various locking mechanisms and within moments the door that Panthera had found slid open and she quickly ushered her fellow Rangers and Charlie's allies inside, closing the door behind her to cut off the howling of the rushing air.

"This is it!" she exclaimed happily "This is where the escape pods….No, NO!" Mercy looked around the vast hangar that they had been led into and saw what it was that had caused Panthera's distress.

All of the escape pods were gone.

"Damn it!" the Red Ranger's voice cracked and wavered, were she not in the presence of strangers she would have removed her helmet to wipe her eyes but instead she simply blinked away the tears that stung them

"There aren't any more pods in the rest of the ship are there?" she croaked out, realising that the end may be inevitable

"Maybe" Panthera sighed, her tone sounding as though she were resigning herself to her fate "But even if they haven't been taken we'll never make it at the rate the ship is coming apart"

"We didn't survive Phaedos and go through all of our battles just to trade our lives for one ship" Rensa noted, his soft voice suddenly firm and resolute

"There're terminals here, if there're any other pods left anywhere on this ship I can find them and lock them until we get there" Tempestus offered. Mercy nodded, steeling herself as she prepared to give the order and finding herself looking to the Yellow Ranger

"Wherever you lead, we follow" Aslaug murmured quietly

"Then let's go" Mercy's voice was quiet and scared yet her unshakeable resolve shone through.

Only for the creaking of steel to announce that the ship was continuing to fall apart around them.

* * *

The latest iteration of the Megalodon was devilishly fast and tore through the void of space at speeds that would soon be the envy of even the Alliances' best as soon as they came to know of the vessel. Elgar sat alone within the compact and sleekly designed command bridge of his new ship which was currently being operated by both himself and an artificial intelligence which, whilst far from his preferred approach was currently the best option available to him; the computer navigating and making sense of the pure white expanse that lay beyond the viewscreen as the light of countless stars seemed to blur and blend into one another.

It seemed that the Dark Empire ship was captained by a rank amateur and Elgar intended to exploit that weakness to the fullest.

Upon arriving at Grendel Four he had been largely unsurprised to find that his quarry had left the system, however it soon became apparent that the Megalodon had been taken aboard the larger vessel and in a display of ludicrous carelessness its' various homing beacons had been left operational meaning that Elgar knew that wherever his quarry were headed they were travelling at warp speeds and the moment they dropped to sub-light, several hundred light years away the pirate was able to pinpoint their exact location and give chase.

"Drop to sub-light" he growled to the computer and within a moment the endless plane of whiteness ahead began to shatter, the darkness intruding upon it forming the blackness of space as the various stars were reduced to distant pinpricks of light; Elgar gave an annoyed huff as he noted to himself that Cullis could have completed the task in half the time.

"What?" the pirate hissed through clenched teeth as the Megalodon came upon the wreckage of the Atramentous, the massive ship been ripped completely in half with the remains of its' own front end tearing gouges along its' hull as the crippled vessel continued to stagger forwards on dying engines, trailing parts of itself behind it. Allowing himself a smirk of satisfaction Elgar quickly began homing in on the location of the Megalodon only for his smile to falter upon receiving conflicting readings, his sensors which were likely the only ones capable of finding the ship reported that it was in several places around the remains of the Dark Empire warship

"Of course" he snarled, realising that the previous Megalodon had been destroyed in whatever explosions had ripped through the Atramentous; quickly Elgar turned his attention to locating Cullis and silently hoped that he would not come to find his First Mate and trusted companions' homing device somewhere within the wreckage of his own ship.

"There you are" the pirate breathed a sigh of relief as he found that Cullis had indeed made it off of the previous Megalodon, though his life signs seemed to be in poor shape. Elgar promptly brought the Megalodon deftly through the wreckage of the vessel only to find to his horror that Cullis was within a part of the ship that was in the process of collapsing, zooming in found that in fact his friend was currently exposed to the void of space as the hull had been ripped away, the atmosphere visibly leaving the ship.

There was no time to waste and Elgar simply acted, arming and firing a series of drill tipped torpedoes into what remained of the ships shattered body which where connected to the Megalodon by immense cables; the smaller ship began to inch ever closer to the breach which threatened to suck Cullis out at any moment whilst at the same time using the torpedoes as anchoring points to extend its' own forcefield outwards, temporarily sealing the gap. Breathing out a long sigh of relief Elgar finally paid closer attention and saw that Cullis was amongst a group that appeared to be largely human, far more importantly was the fact that he was being carried carefully by a Power Ranger

"Well this is a turn of events" the pirate mused to himself as he opened the hatch for the group to enter whilst rising from his seat and preparing to head down to that same hatch.

This after all, presented an opportunity.

* * *

"Onto that ship!" Mercy pointed to the streamlined vessel which was almost identical to the one that they had used to board the Atramentous and had seemingly arrived just in time to save them

"Do we know who it is?" Rensa asked cautiously

"No but it's better than dying in space!" Charlie spat coldly as she began leading her people through the hatch that had been opened for them, with a nod from Mercy the Aegis Rangers followed suit with the Red Ranger being the last aboard, making sure that her allies made it to safety first. The hatch closed behind her with a hiss and lights flickered on revealing firstly that the ship was as similar to the Megalodon on the inside as it was outside and secondly that there was a figure waiting for them, cast in heavy shadows with their hands behind their back; though as he marched closer her came into view and Tempestus gasped

"We saw you die!" whilst the Rangers knew that Elgar cloned himself to cheat death seeing him active again so soon was still jarring

"And did everything you could to help me I'm sure" Elgar sneered dismissively "Now I must ask you to put my First Mate down"

"He's wounded" Aslaug noted, Cullis himself managing to wriggle free of her grasp; landing on the ground with a dull thud before slurring out an apology

"We lost the Horusite Captain, but we made sure they didn't get it either"

"And it looks like they don't get to keep the ship that they tried to avoid handing over as well" the pirate remained silent and thoughtful before turning to the Rangers and their allies and adding "I want you to put me in charge with someone with some authority as Lightspeed….I'm in the mood to do business"

"We don't do business with scum" Charlie snarled

"Then I can leave you on the nearest asteroid and hope you can hold your breath for long enough for your people to find you….wrap up nice and cosy, it's cold out there in the void"

"He'll do it" Panthera noted in a tense murmur

"Corporal, give him the communicator" Mercy ordered firmly and Charlie, with some clear reservations slid the device from her wrist and threw it to the Pirate

"Ah I haven't seen one of these in years, let's see if I can remember how they work" he mused fondly, activating the device and being immediately greeted by the voice of Captain Kimberly Hart

"Rangers! Rangers what' your situation? Whatever is happening on that ship is interfering with our readings, we can't-"

"That would be because my ship is not meant for prying eyes. This is Captain Elgar of the Megalodon, my First Mate and your Rangers formed an alliance of convenience and seeing as we have the same enemies at the moment I propose we make that alliance something more official….The Dark Empire are proving themselves to be bad for business" Mercy waited with baited breath until the former Pink Ranger finally spoke

"I'm to understand that we will be unable to teleport the Rangers from your ship?"

"They wouldn't be very good collateral if you could now would they?"

"Understood" Kimberley answered tonelessly, keeping her voice even to hide her anger at the situation "You know your way to Earth Elgar, you'll be escorted to a secure location where you'll be met by a representative of Project Lightspeed

"And I have your word that they won't be carrying weapons and handcuffs?"

"Oh they'll be armed" Kimberley sneered "They just won't shoot unless you give them a reason to. Now if we have a deal allow me to speak to one of my Rangers"

"We have a deal" Elgar grinned "The Red one always calls the shots right?" without waiting for an answer he threw the communicator to Mercy, who rather than patching it through to her helmet simply allowed the conversation to be heard by all.

"Captain Hart-"

"What's your status? Is everyone okay, the Triforians?"

"There were no Triforians….The Dark Empire killed them all for their magic" Mercy answered mournfully, the silence from Kimberley was one of shock and disgusted horror; though after a moment Mercy continued "The stolen Horusite has been destroyed, along with the Dark Empire ship and its' captain is a confirmed casualty"

"Good work" Kimberley breathed out "You've done well Rangers, you'll be debriefed in full when you return to base-"

"There's something else" Mercy added quickly "There were prisoners on the ship, Lightspeed personnel….Strike-Squad Alpha"

"They're alive?" the former Pink Ranger gasped in open disbelief; Mercy smiled brightly beneath her helmet, comforted by the knowledge that she'd managed to save someone after all.

"Yeah, they're in need of medical attention but they're alive" she sighed as the fatigue began to sink in "All five of 'em"

* * *

"You have failed me Paradoxa" Lord Zedd's voice was felt as much as it was heard, the waves of palpable terror that engulfed the insectoid Acheron hybrid chilling her to the core as she kept her eyes firmly downwards; not daring to look at the warlord lest it be interpreted as some sign of defiance. Upon learning of the fate that had befallen the Atramentous she had immediately returned to the empty command bridge of the Heliothis and sent word to her master, prostrating herself before his holographic visage and desperately attempting to explain the situation in a way that wouldn't see her marked for death.

"All is not lost my lord, this is only a minor setback"

"Your self assurance will be your undoing" Lord Zedd countered, the warlord had no need to raise his voice; even from such an unfathomable distance the sheer force of his arcane might was a tangible thing, leaving Paradoxa agonised as tendrils of pain seemed to burrow into her skull like living and parasitic creatures.

"You waste my ships, daring to promise them as spoils to the vermin of the galaxy" Zedd's voice finally rose in volume if only by the merest fraction "And you have the gall to call your failures minor, as if it were your place to decide?"

"The teleportation gate is still under construction my Lord" Paradoxa gasped, straining against the torment she was being subjected to

"And with that do you intend to power it?" Lord Zedd demanded imperiously, clearly growing tired of his subjects' excuses

"A scout vessel was despatched, a fragment of the Horusite was able to be recovered" Paradoxa produced the palm sized orange and purple sliver that seemed to vibrate in her palm, pitiful in comparison to what she had hoped to present "It's small but unprocessed, it could power a teleportation gate for one, perhaps two small jumps-"

"And can the Grand Armada of the Dark Empire be transported through a single gate in one or perhaps two small jumps?" the tyrant responded coldly "I hope for your sake you have something with which to justify your continued existence Paradoxa or I will gladly have one of your officers relieve you of your duties" Paradoxa visibly trembled in fear and pain as Lord Zedd's magical punishment was redoubled and her entire skeleton felt as though it were being crushed in a vice whilst her nerves were set ablaze.

"I anticipated the arrival of either the Power Rangers themselves or the Alliance and I made preparations, preparations which have been proven worthwhile" Paradoxa managed to hiss through clenched teeth, her pale green skin coated with a sheen of cold sweat "I placed our spies on the Atramentous under the guise of prisoners to be used as a bargaining chip; the Power Rangers have 'rescued' them and taken them into the very heart of our enemies stronghold-"

"Then perhaps your meagre achievements will be of some value after all" Lord Zedd almost purred, his voice resonating throughout the entirety of the empty command bridge "You will await further instructions and relay them to your spies and agents when the time comes"

"Yes my lord"

"You are to continue your harassing of the Alliance worlds, let them perceive no weakness….You are to guard that shard of Horusite with your life and know that if you ever fail me in such a way again I will inflict a lifetime of pain upon you for your incompetence"

"Yes my lord" Paradoxa repeated

"Now remove yourself from my sight" Lord Zedd spat coldly; Paradoxa quickly rose to her feet and retreated, the shame of being exiled from the bridge of her own ship far from lost on her.

These new Power Rangers had proven themselves to not only be capable warriors but also more cunning than their predecessors, allying themselves with those former Rangers would have simply considered villains to strike at a greater foe and using far more underhanded tactics in battle. A foe who was powerful but fought honourably could be bested, a pragmatic one however was something else entirely and Paradoxa quickly decided that she would need to reassess her strategies for conducting this campaign; in the meantime however she hybrid began mentally compiling a list of those officers who were likely to be ordered to remove and succeed her should the Power Rangers deliver another crippling blow and devising ways to have them sent elsewhere.

* * *

"At ease, sit down and make yourselves comfortable please" Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell's voice was leaden with exhaustion as she addressed Captain Kimberley Hart and the officially unranked but always invaluable Zebidiah Lord. Dana's office was less professional and Spartan than one might assume from someone of her station, her doctorate hung upon the wall behind her surrounded by photographs of her late father and others of herself surrounded by her fellow Lightspeed Rangers which served as both a reminder of happier times and what had been lost already, she and her brother were the last of her team and Ryan was a shell of the man he had once been, his spirit broken as much as his body had been in the doomed assault on Acheron.

"Report" Dana yawned, though both Kim and Zebidiah remained silent; seemingly waiting for their commanding officer to be truly ready, which Dana noted to herself may take far longer than they could afford to wait. The Aquabase and Lightspeed as a whole had been a frenetic hive of activity since the Pirate Elgar had been escorted to a relatively neutral location by a pair of heavily armed and armoured _'DeSantos' _class battleships; hours had blurred together and time had lost all meaning, even now in the early hours of the morning with the sun slowly reaching above the horizon far above the Aquabase Dana struggled to believe that things had transpired as they had done; even after being a Ranger herself she found herself marvelling at the ability of heroes to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat and despair against all odds even in these dark times.

"Strike-Squad Alpha have been given the all clear by Doctor Manx" Kimberley eventually began "Commander Cruger has been informed of recent developments, he's given them indefinite leave to recover….some of their injuries are pretty severe, I-I think he actually cried when I told him that they'd been found"

"Can you blame him?" Dana murmured "it beggars belief"

"It seems that Paradoxa had them transferred to the vessel sent to Grendel Four to be used as leverage against us….my second born has turned the Dark Empire into a mass of disgusting and dishonourable cowards and sneaks" Zebidiah's voice deepened into its' once customary rumbling snarl, the air crackling around him with arcane magic.

"Well let's hope it keeps working against them" Dana noted, truly she had been braced for the worst and when Strike-Squad Alpha had been debriefed and inspected by Doctor Manx and several of her assistants Dana had stationed a heavily armed contingent of Silver Guardians outside of the medical facilities in case of emergency, she hadn't dared hope for the seeming good fortune to be the truth and instead expected to learn that the rescued specialists had been converted into sleeper agents by the use of some magical, psychic or mechanical trigger, or that explosives had been surgically implanted into their bodies, or that they were alien duplicates sent to assassinate Lightspeed officers or any number of other horrors.

"The Aegis Rangers have also been debriefed and Justin is giving their Zords a thorough inspection as we speak" Kimberley informed Dana, gently adding "Request for the Rangers to be excused from training for a few days and for them to be offered additional counselling….that mission got a lot closer to the wire than I'm happy with and I think they're more shaken up than they want to admit"

"Granted" Dana nodded approvingly, Zebidiah merely grunted and kept his thoughts to himself though privately he approved; whilst he believed that Lightspeed was far too willing to coddle their Rangers and in his opinion hinder their growth they were undisputedly heroic and had earned the right to a reprieve.

"As for the Pirate, Elgar….I understand that both yourself and Doctor Stewart have had dealings with him before?"

"He seems like an entirely different person, from what I understand he may as well be" the former Pink Ranger noted with a shrug, whatever animosity she had harboured after her abduction decades prior had faded and been mentally consigned to the mountain of emotional baggage that being a Power Ranger entailed.

"I know of him through reputation alone" Zebidiah shook his head "Though that reputation has changed greatly without his Aunts' influence"

"Indeed" Dana nodded, unsure of whether she wanted to know Zebidiah's precise opinions on whether or not that change was positive "As per the agreement you made with him an understanding has been reached that I believe benefits all parties enough that he is likely to actually honour his end….Although I can safely assure you that neither you or Doctor Stewart will have any dealings with Elgar for the foreseeable future"

"Good" Kimberley sighed, working alongside the former Lord Zedd and having something akin to a demonic spirit which had once possessed a Power Ranger training recruits was disconcerting enough.

"There is of course the matter that we're avoiding talking about" Zebidiah muttered bitterly "The Triforians….we couldn't save them, we never had a chance"

"Triforia has been made aware" Dana informed Zebidiah, unsure of how gentle to be with the man and unable to read his feelings, it could either be deep sorrow or an icy hatred for his own kin that was currently radiating from him in waves.

"It's not just the deaths Dana, it's what they mean" the former warlord explained with an exhausted sigh, one that seemed to convey the weariness that the memories of every conflict he'd waged in his previous life had left him with.

"We knew that they wanted the Triforians for their magic, we just thought that it was connected to the Horusite but it seems we were wrong….If I had to hazard a guess I would say that Paradoxa wanted the Horusite to build a teleportation gate in order to mobilise more of the Dark Empire's forces"

"But we stopped her"

"For now" Zebidiah grunted, his voice growing urgent as he added "All those magical souls Dana, I can only think of a few rituals that would require that many sacrafices and only one that fits with the evidence we have now, the monsters the Rangers have been fighting…..Paradoxa has access to a Dread Forge" there was an intake of both women, both Kimberley and Dana had heard explanations from Zebidiah himself of enough of the Dark Empire's practices to understand both how horrific what had been done to those abducted Triforians had been and what it meant in the larger scheme of things

"So what you're telling me is that she's set up a mining operation somewhere?" Dana asked

"Why just one?" Kimberley added in horror "With all those ships she could have set up dozens of smaller operations"

"What it means is that she's no longer merely scouting and feeling out our defences" Zebidiah breathed out, glad that they understood the scale of the threat "It means that the Dark Empire have dug in and fortified themselves, we're now fighting a war against an enemy with nigh on infinite resources and numbers"

* * *

The sun had risen above Mariner Bay and beneath the waves of the sea the city had been built beside activity continued as relentlessly as ever, the morning bustle of activity had started and the fact that it was a Sunday held little bearing on that reality; from within their shared living quarters the Aegis Rangers could hear the Silver Guardian Cadets who Mercy still considered herself a part of making their way from their own dorms to the mess hall for breakfast. The Aegis Rangers themselves had no need to do so as their own common area included a small kitchen which they had all taken to keeping well stocked, allowing them to sleep later on weekends.

Sleep had however eluded the Rangers following their return to Earth.

It had been early evening when they had left for Grendel Four and by the time they had returned and put through the additional wringers that were debriefing and their medical exams that followed every mission it was already early morning, with all five teens utterly exhausted but still unable or unwilling to sleep due to a mixture of adrenaline fuelled nervous energy and simply dreading what nightmares their minds would conjure should they drift off.

Instead the team had made themselves a large breakfast and gathered around the almost comically large screen that adorned one of the walls of their common area and those Rangers that could do so had tried to contact home.

Aslaug had sent word to the Terra Venture colony and simply asked that if it were possible word be sent to her tribe and her Father be informed that she was in good health, with the distrust that the Frost Claw Tribe held for most technology there was no way for the Yellow Ranger to speak with the man directly which had left the attempt a brief and painfully impersonal affair, it was no less than Aslaug had expected but it still stung.

Tempestus had been lucky, either the time zones between Mariner Bay and the Blue Ranger's home city on Aquitar had aligned favourably or his adopted parents simply lived such busy lives and worked at all hours to such an extent that they had already been awake when their son had contacted them. Tempestus had found himself naturally sliding back into Aquitian custom after over a month away from his home world, becoming formal and reserved until Cestria had reminded him that she was in fact his mother and not one of the cities' Elder Council and that both she and Billy were exceptionally proud of him, Billy had echoed the sentiment upon arriving a moment later and Mercy had found herself a little starstruck upon meeting another of the original Power Rangers, though oddly far less animated and exuberant about the fact than might have been expected.

Mercy had in turn been offered the opportunity to contact the colony ship 'New Angel Grove' in order to contact her friends amongst her own unit, those being the closest thing to a family the orphaned girl had but she had declined and stated that she could call them whenever, promptly offered Rensa the chance to try and contact Andros.

Against seemingly all odds the Red Astro Ranger had been able to answer and now the Black Aegis sat with Tempestus and Panthera who played absently with a yo-yo whilst he related the Aegis Rangers recent exploits and assured Andros that he was adapting well to life on Earth, even if it required him to where filter goggles at all times to avoid being blinded.

"I'm proud of you" Andros eventually stated, voice heavy with emotion "You're like a son to me Rensa….I'm just glad I could give you a life better than what it would have been on Dread" Rensa nodded in turn, having needed to hear those words but at the same time being filled fresh determination

"And what of my people, what of the rest of Dread?"

"Those that didn't want to fight the Dark Empire are being relocated to worlds where they can live in peace, places where there's actual life….Most wanted to fight" Andros's grin became savage "I'm currently aboard the Megaship Mark three; eight whole clans from Dread and two detachments of guerrilla fighters from KO-Thirty Five are going to be joining me on infiltration and sabotage missions within Dark Empire Space along with Karone and Zhane-"

"And apparently I'm here to look pretty" a clipped, mocking voice observed "I came to talk with you, the last messenger I dealt with had me ambushed and shot" the owner of the voice seemed to peel himself out of the dark recesses of the Megaship's command bridge and stride into view, drawing gasps from the Rangers as he did so

"Oh don't be surprised, my ship is fast even without your fancy long range teleporters"

"But you, you're-" Tempestus stammered as he tried to make sense of this disregard for the natural order of things "You're a pirate?"

"Oh my poor sweet, sheltered blue Ranger…..I'm not a pirate" Elgar grinned and waited a beat before delivering the punchline "I'm a pirate on the behalf of the Alliance now, which makes me a privateer"

The sound of Elgar's cackling at his own joke was enough to get Mercy's attention from where she had been sat relatively subdued, scratching Klo the monstrous alien wolfhound behind the ear as he drooled on her; looking up she saw that Panthera had barely reacted to the pirates' joke which seemed odd somehow and instead the teal-skinned former smuggler sat hunched in on herself paying little attention to her yo-yo with her tail wrapped around her rather than its' usual swishing. After a moment Mercy realised what was bothering the Pink Ranger and felt an immense pang of sympathy for her friend, putting her own worries aside she made her way over to where Panthera sat and gently whispered in her ear

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she promptly led her into the Kitchen area, in truth their common area was entirely open plan so it offered little privacy if any but it did at least give them some space to talk amongst themselves

"You've been quiet since we got back" Mercy began gently

"So have-"

"Is it about your sister?" she interrupted Panthera and kept the focus firmly away from herself "I'm sorry if I'm prying but-"

"It's fine" Panthera breathed out "I dared to hope and that's my fault….When we heard that the Dark Empire had kept prisoners to bargain with and transferred them to other ships, I just thought….I hoped that there was a chance that Acinonyx might be there"

"I'm so sorry" Mercy whispered pulling Panthera into a hug

"It's my own fault, I should have known better" the Pink Ranger muttered bitterly as she blocked the hug, though her voice held the ghost of a smile "And don't hug me….I don't like having my arms pinned"

"Sorry"

"It's okay" Panthera made to return to the sofa but paused and gave Mercy a serious stare before adding "You're doing okay" the moment Panthera had left Mercy found herself beginning to tremble, burying her face in her hands even as the shook and slumping against the refrigerator and slowly sliding down it until being halted and held firmly by the shoulders

"What's wrong?" Aslaug's voice, accented with low rumbling growls as always asked softly

"I'm such an idiot, I shouldn't be the leader….I shouldn't be a leader at all" Mercy choked out through tears as she buried her face into Aslaug's neck "You all could have died today and it's my fault-"

"It's hardly your fault that our enemies are poor shipwrights" the Yellow Ranger grunted with a soft chuckle

"You could have died" Mercy repeated "We almost did….we could have all died in space and I have to take responsibility for that"

"We survived, we returned victories. We set out to deny our enemies resources, we achieved that and rescued people as well. When I said I would follow you wherever you lead that means into the end if needs be….Fortunately that wasn't today"

"Thank you" Mercy sniffled as Aslaug pulled her into a crushing hug. The two remained like that for some time, the taller girl resting her head against the Red Rangers' until they were eventually interrupted by Rensa, whose conversation with his father figure had obviously ended

"Is she okay?" Aslaug made to step back and allow Mercy to speak for herself, only to realise that Mercy had melted into the embrace due to more than a need for physical contact; she had fallen asleep standing up

"Help me carry her to her bed" Aslaug murmured, she was perfectly capable of lifting Mercy herself but worried she might wake her if she tried

"Cute" Panthera noted with a smirk as she watched the situation "We'll make sure nobody wakes her up, she earned it….But I'm taking the bacon she didn't eat"

* * *

A greasy burger of dubious quality served by a surly vendor operating a mobile food stall was something that Charlie Morales had never expected to feel like a luxury, but at that particular moment every mouthful bordered on divine.

Strike-Squad Alpha had run the veritable gauntlet of medical and psychological exams the five of them had been subjected to with only B'Vor and Rachel having any lasting injuries that needed further treatment, the mauled and partially blinded woman being offered the best treatment Lightspeed could provide to reconstruct the left side of her face whilst the hardy and taciturn blue alien would most likely need surgery to fully heal his punctured lungs. They were yet to return to the Moonbase, although they had been contacted by Commander Cruger who had openly wept for joy at the sight of his miraculously returned protégés, Anubis had informed them that they had been given indefinite leave; Ivan had noted that the five of them lived on base to which Commander Cruger stated that accommodations within the city of Mariner Bay had been provided courtesy of Bulk who had contacted his nephew who apparently managed to call in several favours.

It was currently early afternoon and Charlie had managed to get a few hours of sleep which she had decided would be enough before making her way out into the city which was truthfully unknown to her, as much of a cultural landmark as Mariner Bay had become after playing host to a Power Ranger team she had never found a justification to visit. After wandering through the city for several hours Charlie found something that brought her to a stunned and silent halt, the bustle of city life passing around her without registering in her mind in any way; it was all she could do to remain standing and after several minutes she had made her way to the food vendor and simply continued to stare in silence as she ate.

They had made a statue of Strike-Squad Alpha, the five of them portrayed in their full armour with their weapons shouldered and once customary helmets donned cast in some black stone that didn't seem to be native to Earth.

"Even dead we're still useful to them" Charlie whirled round at the whispered comment, finding Ivan stood beside her wearing a bitter sneer "That's why they've shown us with our helmets on….you understand that right Charlie? We're not people to them, we never have been we're just tools and this is them getting one last use out of us; a banner to wave so they can recruit someone to replace us"

"You're a twisted son of a bitch" Charlie hissed

"But I'm right" Ivan shot back, his sneer morphing into a smug smile which combined with the familiarity of his tone made her blood boil as she rounded on her second in command once again

"Listen closely Specialist Komarov" she spat coldly "I agreed to this, I agreed to joining the Dark Empire because it was what was best for my team….That might include you Ivan but don't ever think we can go back to how things were"

"Why would I ever want to" Ivan cackled evilly "I think being back here has made you forget the new order of things Charlie…..you might be front and centre getting all the shiny medals and praise from the people who left us to die but we're part of the Empire now and to the people that matter, I lead this team now-"

"And remember that the Empire would happily allow me to duel you to the death for that position…..you're in charge until I decide I'm sick of you" Ivan merely laughed again, this one far more genuine and closer to the interactions that the two had once had as if he had somehow managed to convince himself that Charlie were joking or had simply reached a plateau of self assurance where the threat meant nothing

"There's the old Charlie I remember" he eventually answered with the same twisted smirk "I'll leave you to sit here and stare at statues….Just remember we have our orders and Paradoxa wants to see something in return for sparing your lives"

**Authors Notes:**

And boom, there's Arc 03 done.  
I'm thinking that I might cut this story down to one update a week, just for the simple fact that I'm writing two ongoing stories with weekly uploads and flirting with the idea of a third….I'm literally cranking out a few thousand words a day every day and getting a bit burned out.  
Arc 04 is called "The enemy within" and I'm sure you can guess where it's going….However what you won't see coming is how it ties into Arcs 05 and 06.  
Also, I'm posting this on Sunday 3rd November….Tomorrow Unworthy Productions will be posting a short video in their ongoing fan-series on Youtube, I'll post the link in the notes of the next chapter I post but if you can I'd like you all to go and subscribe to them on Youtube.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Nothing like an ominous statement like_ "__They weren't going to make it"_ to kick things of.  
My Warhammer 40k influence is showing in the way I wrote the ship coming apart isn't it, I can tell.  
Charlie has a point, the new Lord Zedd is unspeakably evil but he isn't going to throw hundreds or thousands of lives away on every ship, training new crews takes time.  
Yeah Ranger suits make the people wearing them pretty much immune to atmospheric conditions considering the Rangers can canonically fight without issue on the moon; so I'm assuming the compensate for altered gravity and a lack of air somehow.  
Tempestus's idea wasn't exactly a bad one, just didn't work.  
Mercy's been trained for as long as she can remember to fight wars, she knows from history that Rangers can be killed, she saw Trey die….but I think seeing that there were no escape pods left, that was the moment it became real for her and she realised she could die.  
Did you all forget that Elgar was coming after the Atramentous.  
So yeah, he doesn't have two ships any more but there's a new Megalodon the second the old one gets destroyed so the legend continues.  
And that's how the Megalodon does boarding operations.  
"_And did everything you could to help me I'm sure" _Ah I'm gonna miss writing Elgar.  
The Rangers could have taken Elgar but the Aegis Rangers aren't the sort of people who double cross and kill the guy who just saved them and Charlie was only offering a token resistance for the sake of appearances.  
"_All five of 'em" _you knew it was gonna get fucked up the second you read that and I made a point of not mentioning who or how many of Charlie's people were there until then.  
So, three arcs in and this is actually the first time Paradoxa has been on Lord Zedd's bad side, this is her first real loss.  
Luckily she isn't stupid and her back up "Insurance" plan paid off.  
So yeah it's canon that the Red, Blue, Yellow and Green Lightspeed Rangers are dead now.  
"_DeSantos" _class battleships, yes as in Rocky DeSantos.  
I can't wait to have Zebidiah and Lord Zedd meet, that's gonna be a fun conversation.  
Let's be honest if canon is anything to go by Dana's concerns were fair ones.  
Being a Ranger should come with a lifetime of free therapy.  
Okay so Zebidiah's revelation is nothing new, Paradoxa had the Dread Forge at the end of the last arc, it's just that now everyone has been brought up to speed.  
I think the Rangers that still can call home needed that.  
So it really is everyone versus the Dark Empire at this point, Rangers and villains are teaming up.  
"_I'm a pirate on the behalf of the Alliance now, which makes me a privateer"_ is he wrong though?  
So Panthera's sister keeps getting mentioned….because reasons.  
Also Mercy is a typical red ranger in that she'll worry about everyone else's problems and completely ignore her own.  
Let Mercy sleep 2020.  
They got their statues and they made them look like Rangers….And then Ivan had to be a dick about it.  
So Ivan is the new 'real' leader of the Strike-Squad by virtue of the fact that he's the original traitor who turned the others, in the Dark Empire's mind he's the one responsible for them.  
And Ivan and Charlie have gone from being close friends to a situation where it's obvious one is going to double cross the other at some point.

Thank you to SumoSnipe for his review on the last chapter.  
Yeah Charlie should have known better and on an intellectual level she probably did but actually facing that reality is different….I'm kinda reminded of Jason Todd in Under the Red Hood _(The animated movie version)_ where he has a line to Batman like _"I'm not asking you to kill Two-Face or Penguin or any of the others, just him because he took me away from you"_ and I feel like that's the sort of mental state she's in.  
Told you that you were forgetting someone, there's always another Megalodon…..or to quote a certain prequel _"There's always a bigger fish"_

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	14. Be Prepared (Arc 04)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 13 – Be Prepared**

The monster that the Rangers had been deployed to the planet of Xybria to defeat was sent crashing to the ground and tore chunks from the road before finally coming to a stop and springing back to their feet, roaring in rage and defiance.

The monsters' voice was a reverberating and metallic shriek that tormented the nerves of all who were subjected to it ablaze and its' appearance was no less unpleasant. Even with its' hunched posture it was a little over six feet tall and moved with an ungainly and lumbering manner; overall its' body was roughly simian in shape though it was largely impossible to tell what the creature had originally looked like before being subjected to whatever torturous procedures had reduced it to its' current form. Essentially the creature was a skinned and bloody chunk of meat comprising of a torso, stumps of limbs and a skull which had been crudely and haphazardly grafted into a collection of machines and cybernetics. The monsters' legs were undersized and sported inverted knees, a lack of armour over the limbs leaving various gears and pistons on full display, their fluids mixing with the blood and viscera than ran from the things' body; its' arms were similar in design and massively oversized to give to give the monster the appearance of some terrible cyborg gorilla, each hand featuring several long mechanical claws ending in hooked talons. The creatures' chest cavity had been opened and several organs had clearly been replaced with machinery whilst its' head was hidden from view, encased in a helmet that roughly resembled some ancient pterosaur with an opaque visor to cover its' eyes. The entire dreadful ensemble was completed by the thing being wrapped in black robes which were sodden with blood and the aura of arcane energy that crackled around it, manifesting as a haze of deep violet light.

Zebidiah had posited that this abomination had once been a member of one of the myriad races that the Dark Empire had dominated, one whose biology seemed to naturally lend itself to magical capabilities; it was likely that this had once been a slave or low ranking member of Paradoxa's forces whose body had been remade and repurposed after some accident.

Justin, with his usual blasé attitude towards Earths' enemies had thus called it the _'Hex-Nut'_

"Okay team" Mercy breathed out as the Aegis Rangers took their positions around her, their armour sporting various scuffs, burns and scratches from the battle thus far "There's no armour on its' limbs, see if we can slow it down and form the Power Blaster….we're gonna put this thing out of its' misery"

"Are there any depths that our enemies won't sink to?" Aslaug demanded in utter disgust as she regarded the Hex-Nut, the idea of butchering ones' own allies or defiling their bodies in such a way utterly abhorrent to her.

"Honestly, not really" Rensa noted in unsettlingly calm, almost conversational tone. Then the monster charged and the Aegis Rangers rushed forward to meet it, the two forces meeting with earthshaking force in the evacuated street of one of Xybrias' cities. Mercy led the charge with her crimson bladed katana trailing behind her and as the Hex-Nut leapt at her with a wailing and grating scream, clawed hands outstretched and a pulsating magical light gathering in its' palm; she slashed out, weaving around the berserk slash of the monster and watching as it landed on the ground and staggered forwards with sparks and hydraulic fluid spraying from it's damaged legs.

"LOOK OUT!" Aslaug warned as the thing attempted to whirl around, lashing out with its' unnaturally long reach; the Yellow Ranger was the next to reach the Hex-Nut and brought her axe down on its' right arm. Whatever metal the beasts' modified limbs were made from was strong to withstand even the Power-infused blow, though it left the arm barely attached and the monster distracted and howling in agony right until it fell silent with one of Panthera's curved blades stabbing though its' visor and bursting from the back of its' skull, ending the battle without the need for the Rangers combined weapon.

"Well….It's over" the Pink Ranger sighed as she pulled the weapon free and watched as the Hex-Nut collapsed to the ground with a few final unconscious spasms, her usual scathing comments absent in the face of this new depraved tactic from the Dark Empire.

"Booyah" Tempestus added with a solemn nod

"Captain Hart, target's been neutralised"

"Good work Rangers, we're scanning the city for any remaining clusters of Putties" a silence that was almost peaceful fell over the Rangers as they were allowed a moment to gather themselves after the frantic battle they had endured. Xybria was a planet on the fringes of Alliance space but was no less of of an integral member and had contributed much in terms of technology, indeed many of Earths' own space faring vessels shared man elements with their Xybrian counterparts and many scientists from the planet had travelled to Earth to aid in its' preparations.

It was a relatively small world, barely larger than Pluto and with a population smaller than some of Earth's capital cities and a comparable atmosphere, it's sea green skyline dotted with clouds of the faintest indigo and pierced as far as the eye could see by the countless skyscrapers that to Mercy seemed futuristic somehow whilst above even them a fleet of small vessels primarily intended for terrestrial transport roamed, with much of the cities' populace currently held within them to protect them from the Dark Empire's assault.

Ever since the Rangers had rescued Strike-Squad Alpha Paradoxa had returned to her former approach of using her Vanguard Fleet to launch probing raids across Alliance space and search for weaknesses in their defences with Xybria being the latest target, this city in particular being of cultural significance as it was the home city of the Supersonic Rangers, the only team of Power Rangers Xybria had ever produced and statues of these legendary heroes were visible in countless places across the city.

"We're reading movement outside of the city" Kimberley announced, before Mery could respond Justin joined the conversation with an urgent yell

"THEY'RE FIRING A MUTAGENIC GRENADE!" a response fell from the Red Ranger's lips immediately

"WE NEED AEGIS ZORD POWER!" she felt the tingle of teleportation and rush of power that came with being transported to the Hawk Zords' cockpit as the machines materialised and as she soared above the city she watched the reanimated form of the Hex-Nut rise to its' feet; whatever chemicals and magic was used to grew the monster to its' new titanic stature carrying over to its' mechanical components whilst doing nothing to repair the damage done to it, evidently Panthera's fatal blow had sundered whatever part of the monsters' brain controlled its' arcane powers as the violet Aura around it sent bolts of crackling lightning tearing through buildings, destroying them with ease.

"We need to draw it out of the city!" Tempestus urged, Mercy was inclined to agree though before she could Rensa offered an observation

"I don't think we can….look at it, it isn't moving. I don't think it's in control of itself"

"You think I…." the Pink Ranger trailed off as she looked for an appropriate word "Lobotomised it?"

"I think we should put it out of its' misery again" Aslaug suggested "Whatever this creature once was, this is no fate….it's not even death, it's worse"

"Agreed" Mercy nodded "Let's form up and deal with this quickly. We need Megazord Power!"

'_Megazord activation has been initiated'_

Mercy reclined in her cockpit and let the process happen, finding herself in the cockpit of the Megazord and feeling the sensation of her mind being expanded as she entered the shared consciousness that came from piloting the mecha

'_Megazord activated'_ almost the moment the synthetic voice had spoken the Aegis Rangers found themselves flung backwards and struggling to keep the Megazord steady as bolt of purple lightning struck its' chest, leaving burned and torn armour plating which billowed black smoke around the point where Aslaug's Ursa Titan Zord met the left shoulder formed by Tempestus's Plesion Zord.

"Aim for the head, keep hitting the same spot!" Panthera snarled, a notion that Mercy agreed with despite how vicious it sounded when coming from the Pink Ranger

"Mega Cannon!" at her command the Rangers fell into synchronisation, each of them mentally willing the shoulder mounted weapon to fire and a moment later their surroundings were lost beneath the blinding light of the weapon discharging. When they were able to see once more the Rangers were treated to the sight of the Hex-Nut, its' armoured skull all but obliterated in a truly obscene display and the Rangers knew from experience what would come next.

The monster exploded and whilst the Megazord was able to shield itself several buildings in the immediate area were almost entirely destroyed.

"Rangers" Kimberley spoke into each of their helmets' "We've found what the Dark Empire were doing here"

"Go ahead" Mercy answered through clenched teeth, Paradoxa did not waste time and resources as many tyrants and overlords faced by various Rangers had on growing each and every champion she sent forth to monstrous proportions and so when she chose to do so it was always in favour of a larger plan, however what the former Pink Ranger said next

"We've found several Dark Empire escape pods in the mountains outside of the city, this might have been the nearest civilised planet to where you destroyed their ship….It looks like the Dark Empire are running an extraction mission"

"Should we…." Mercy faltered, the question she had stopped herself from asking one that her conscience struggled with

"No, we won't shoot a retreating enemy in the back" Aslaug spoke with a calm sense of finality "We're not those kinds of warriors"

"Agreed" Tempestus bowed his head again "Captain Hart, I hope you'll understand my objections" there was a moment of silence before the former Pink Ranger spoke

"Understood, the ship seems to be preparing to leave the system. Lightspeed has received word from the Captain of the cities' air defences, Ace Chikyu the fifth….or Fiveman, if these translators are working right. He thanks you for your assistance and says that Xybria is happy that Power Rangers walk on its' surface once again"

"Tell them we were happy to help" Mercy smiled beneath her helmet and whilst the city around her was all but deserted due to the prompt and orderly evacuation that had taken place she could almost imagine the populace cheering up at the Megazord as it stood victorious; thoughts which she quickly forced aside as realised, with reddening cheeks that her fellow Rangers could all but see the mental image and quickly tried to recover

"Okay team, let's go home"

* * *

Paradoxa's disdain and disappointment were written plainly on every line of her face as she surveyed the ongoing construction of her teleportation gate. Such a machine should have a grand spectacle, a terrifying sight heralding an inescapable defeat for any enemy that it was arrayed against and whose enormity could only be described as astronomical. A teleportation gate should have been a towering ring of twisted baroque metal with each panel etched with diabolical runes and so massive in size that four of the Dark Empire's largest ships could traverse it at once; yet what Paradoxa was confronted with was simply laughable in comparison, Something small enough to fit within the hold of any of the ships in her fleet and even at such a pitiable size it would only be capable of a few bursts of power at best with her limited ability to fuel it.

Paradoxa turned away in disgust and stalked towards the Heliothis whilst considering the mission on Xybria, she had received word from the captain of the vessel dispatched to the world and for all intents and purposes the mission had been successful and the loss of Gibil's latest creation was of no real consequence. As unacceptable to her as the loss of the Atramentous and the failure of its' crew to complete the mission assigned to them had been Paradoxa had still sent one of her remaining ships to extract the survivors from Xybria for a trio of reasons, firstly that the world was a known ally of Power Rangers and any excuse to sow fear amongst its' populace was to be taken, secondly despite their failures many of the crew of the Atramentous had skills that could be put to use elsewhere and they could eventually earn the leniency that had been shown to them.

The third reason was that it allowed Paradoxa's true plan to proceed unhindered by the Power Rangers and their allies.

A plan that would soon be brought to fruition.

Paradoxa made her way to her private quarters, humid festering and intolerable to all but the insectoid creatures she shared part of her lineage with as always; its' darkness lit only by the faint glow of screens and bioluminescent winged and buzzing creatures that hovered in the air around her. Once she had ensured that she was alone and could not be overheard she prepared a holographic communicator and waited for a transmission that she expected to receive at any moment.

"Well, this is….cosy" the heavily accented voice of Ivan Komarov dripped with sarcasm as his translucent blue likeness flickered into view, leaning lazily against a wall within whatever dwelling he had found on Earth "Mission report, as promised"

"You would do well to bow" Paradoxa noted with her usual calm and silky tone; Ivan snorted at the idea

"I didn't bow to Yokai, when the commanding officer dies everyone gets promoted a rank so why would I bow to you?"

"Your naked ambition will cost you one day Ivan" Paradoxa noted, masking her annoyance beneath faint amusement as she stepped closer to the projected image "You should learn to bow"

"Every time you say the word naked I lose my train of thought" Ivan leered, having the audacity to wink at the alien warlord

"Such vulgar attempts at mind games are beneath you" Paradoxa sneered

"Which is where-"

"If you have nothing of value to say then either be silent, or be silenced" she cut off whatever filth the man intended to spew, her patience limited when matters of high importance were at stake

"Your distraction lasted long enough for us to do some digging….although I've seen the footage, is Gibil having an off day?"

"Wasting his best work on a mere distraction hardly seemed fitting" Paradoxa dismissed "Now, what have you found?"

"I know where the information and the physical components you want are being stored" Ivan informed her with a smug and self satisfied smile "The information is a matter of clearance which I can handle….the physical components may be more difficult"

"You require another distraction?" Paradoxa surmised

"Something to get rid of the Rangers, their Zords as well if possible" Ivan became somewhat more businesslike, foregoing another unseemly comment about Paradoxa being a distraction.

"I'll have Gibil produce a suitable creature and select a target to draw the Rangers away from Earth, things will be arranged within the next few days" Paradoxa assured her treacherous underling "Complete this mission and the Dark Empire will know you as heroes"

"I'm sure those gifts you gave us will come in useful"

"Now go, attend to your duties" Paradoxa ordered firmly, Ivan did as he was instructed and the projected image flickered and vanished, yet at no point did the human show her the respect her station demanded. The green skinned alien allowed herself a small smile, the human was a ruthless enemy, charismatic in his own way, pragmatic enough to make harsh decisions and possessed a hunger for power and recognition that would see him do well within the Dark Empire; overall Paradoxa found him intriguing.

It was such a shame that he wouldn't bow.

* * *

It was the day following the Rangers battle with the Hex-Nut and their defence of Xybria and the Rangers had promptly returned to their usual routine of both their own studying and training as well as helping the newer classes of Silver Guardian cadets stationed at the Aquabase. The five teens were currently performing the latter duty despite the fact training and lessons had officially ended for the day as Mercy had, despite her various aches and pains from recent battles with the Dark Empire's monsters been in the mood to pay an extra visit to the extensive gym that the Aquabase boasted and her team-mates had gladly joined her. In one of the many sparring areas which sported padded floors and were roped off in a manner similar to a boxing ring Mercy could see Panthera and Rensa facing off against each other with all of their customary ferocity whilst surrounded by a crowd of cheering onlookers, there were few officers and no cadets present on the Aquabase who would willingly pit themselves against either the Black or Pink Ranger owing to the particularly brutal fighting styles that the pair favoured which left them training together more often than not. Aslaug was putting her, not quite human physiology through its' paces and Mercy absent mindedly chewed at her lower lip as the Yellow Ranger managed to bench press close to two hundred kilos whilst a small crowd of her own apparent fans yelled encouragement. Both Mercy herself and Tempestus were actively training other cadets alongside a handful of junior members of Lightspeed

staff, far less qualified than the veterans and former Rangers who taught actual classes; Mercy had been correcting the flaws in a group of girls' form as they practised the same mixture of martial arts that the Red Ranger employed whilst the Blue Ranger led a small group through what could best be described as Aquitian yoga as a warm up.

"Get up and dust yourself off, that was pathetic!" the harshly snapped order rang out through the gym and Mercy along with many others turned towards the source of the outburst, shocked to see Corporal Charlie Morales hauling an older cadet who was no more than a year of two younger than Mercy to her feet as they clutched at their bloody, broken nose with tears in their eyes.

Since their rescue from the Dark Empire the specialist team known as Strike-Squad Alpha had been living in Mariner Bay and had slowly been reintegrating themselves to both normal life and Project Lightspeed, helping out and making themselves useful around the Aquabase until their imposed leave from active duty was lifted, each of them citing that being left idle felt no better than captivity after spending so long in service to the alliance.

One of the tasks that they had been encouraged to undertake was the training of new cadets in much the same way the Aegis Rangers were, there was something of a rumour around the base that this position may became permanent if the specialists took to it and Mercy would be lying if she said she found the idea anything other than revolting. She had watched the way Charlie operated and found it distressing, the older woman was demanding but offered nothing in return for success and openly and publicly mocked failures to the extent of bullying whilst hiding behind the excuse that it would be better for students to learn the price of failure in training than in the field; whilst Mercy was willing and able to accept that Charlie and her team as a whole were struggling with the trauma of whatever had happened to them as prisoners she could not sit by and watch as the guise of full contact sparring was used to excuse physical violence.

"That's enough corporal!" Mercy was already marching towards the training area Charlie and her current victim occupied, official rank be damned; her unease at the situation being eased by the knowledge that her fellow Rangers were making their way through the crowd and flanking her on either side.

"Out of my sight" Charlie coldly dismissed her bloodied student who quickly scurried out of the ring before she turned her attention to Mercy "Do you have a problem with the way I train these meat bags?"

"I don't know where you were trained but that's not how we do things here" the Red Ranger answered firmly

"If they don't block they get hit in the face, would you rather I did it or a Putty because at that point they may as well be getting hit with a brick?" Mercy remained silent, merely treating Charlie to a glower which the older woman treated as a sign of defeat "Speak up private! Or is it cadet?-"

"Specialist Jackson actually, so don't try and pulls rank on me" Mercy cocked her head and gave an uncharacteristically smug sneer as she used the cover story regarding the Rangers' presence on the base to her advantage; a round of hushed muttering passed through the gathered crowd at the revelation that the seventeen year old who many of the cadets had known for years was of the same rank and status as this vicious and unforgiving taskmaster greatly demystifying her exactly as Mercy had intended.

"Well then" Charlie laughed, a menacing sound when paired with the cold fury in her eyes "How about a little friendly competition between officers"

"With pleasure" Mercy snarled, leaping into the ring without a second thought and paying no mind to the plethora of phones being quickly pulled from pockets in order to record the upcoming bout.

"Specialist" Charlie chuckled derisively "Let's see what makes you special red" there was something in the her tone, some slight inflection on the final word that made Mercy's deep brown eyes widen; red was not a mere comment on the dyed tips of her curly hair, Charlie had recognised Mercy's voice and knew exactly who she was.

The older woman lunged forwards without warning and Mercy had barely assumed a fighting stance before Charlie's low spinning kick had buckled the knee of her lead leg and was followed by an elbow colliding with the back of her skull sending he staggering forwards. Mercy lashed out with a wild spinning kick to try and keep Charlie at bay, she seemed to expect the manoeuvrer and waited until the exact moment Mercy's feet connected with the ground again to rush forwards with a deluge of fists and elbows; using the limited space of the ring to keep inside of Mercy's guard and limit her ability to fight back.

Mercy sensing an opening as she avoided a left hook aimed at her head made to drive her right knee into Charlie's rib, Charlie reacted without missing a beat first dropping into a crouch and turning at the waist to slam her right elbow into Mercy's knee and knock her off balance then quickly using her right to deliver a backhand to her opponents' gut and following up by springing to her feet as Mercy doubled over, bringing her knee into the younger woman's neck and leaving her grasping at her throat and gasping for air.

"Not even nearly good enough" Charlie spat in disgust as she delivered her finishing blow, a spinning kick that almost mirrored Mercy's own signature dramatic attacks, catching her in the chest and knocking her through the ropes of the ring.

"Are you okay?" Aslaug's gruff and husky voice asked, laced with concern as Mercy struggled to stand on legs that conspired against her

"Gimme, hang on gimme a sec" Mercy coughed and gasped, being gently pulled up from the ground by hands that were immensely strong and calloused but at the same time surprisingly gentle; her cheeks coloured a little as she realised that Aslaug had deftly picked her up and she found herself looking anywhere but into the Yellow Ranger's icy blue eyes, catching sight of Charlie leaving the gym, cadets parting around her as though they feared being the next target of her ire.

"On Aquitar she would not be trusted with any kind of power" Tempestus murmured, his bubbling voice as unfriendly as Mercy had ever heard it "She clearly only knows how to wield it as a blunt tool" Rensa merely let out a low sibilant hiss, lips peeling back from sharp and poisonous teeth in a snarl whilst Panthera placed a hand on the shoulder of both the Black and Red Rangers

"Execution could have been better" the teal skinned alien sighed "But you definitely had the right idea"

"You did what nobody else was willing to" Aslaug murmured in Mercy's idea, voice brimming with pride

"Yeah but I wasn't even nearly good enough" Mercy huffed, Charlie's words having clearly gotten under her skin "Come on, let's get out of here"

* * *

Whilst the Aegis Rangers were officially a team of specialists being retained at the Aquabase for additional training the excuse seemed flimsy to the bulk of the cadets currently stationed there, largely children who were yet to be robbed of the scope of their imagination and who had collectively seen that there were a group of five teenagers operating out of Project Lightspeeds' primary facility, four of whom were newcomers to the base and that this had coincided with the return of the Power Rangers; meaning that whilst it was a claim that was strenuously denied by the teenagers whenever they were questioned on the matter the identity of the Power Rangers was considered something of an open secret within the Aquabase.

Which was why news and footage of Mercy's sparring match and shocking defeat at the hands of Charlie had spread around the base like wildfire.

"What is your buddies' major malfunction?" Justin demanded sourly as he watched a video of the fight on his phone, wincing as the final blow was delivered "Is she naturally an ass-hole or was she just not socialised as a kid?" the question was directed at B'Vor of Strike-Squad Alpha the blue skinned and tusked alien remaining silent and foreboding as always, though the former Turbo Ranger noted that all four of his green eyes narrowed, seemingly indicating that lines were being crossed. The tense silence was broken from Ivan chiming in as he came clambering into view from below

"She's a hard-ass but that's just the way she was trained, she means well" the pale man sighed and shook his head sadly "That toughness of hers saved us plenty of times….but getting captured, seeing Beaver here and Rachel hurt, it shook her up"

"Ah shit, sorry man" Justin sighed, realising that as distasteful as he found Charlie's actions to be insulting her to her squad-mates was uncalled for.

They were currently working in the Zord Hangar, Ivan having approached Justin earlier that day and offered his help in any capacity that it may be required, first informing him that every member of Strike-Squad Alpha had a security clearance high enough to allow them access to restricted areas such as the hangar and explaining further, upon being questioned on his motives that the Zords intrigued him and filled him with a sense of childlike awe. Justin had eventually led Ivan and B'Vor into the Hangar chuckling and admitting to them that everyone had the same reaction to the Zords, especially when seeing them up close for the first time.

The Zord Hangars were essentially incredibly deep pits with multiple layers of scaffolding around them, Zords themselves being left sunk so far down into the cavity that the ground level one entered the hangar at was roughly level with their cockpits. Currently Justin was keeping half an eye on an ongoing systems check that was being run on a purpose built laptop that had been connected to the controls of the Ursa Titan Zord via a mass of cables and resting on an empty crate that was being used in place of a desk, next to the laptop a cup of steaming coffee balanced precariously in a display that was strikingly less organised than one would expect but Justin had ensured was perfectly normal, the Zords had not been finished when the Aegis Rangers had been formed as a team and neither had their attendant hangar which was not one that had used to house the machines of the former Lightspeed Rangers; with Justin doing much of his work from his own laboratory and workshop the hangar had been left largely unfurnished and slapdash in appearance.

Whilst the doctor and engineer assured himself that his repairs were progressing as intended B'Vor had been using his brute strength to move several crates filled with components close by and Ivan had, prior to replying to Justin's comment been using a powerful hose to clean the lower portions of the Zords.

"Good as new" Ivan declared, changing the subject as he gestured down to the pit of the Hangar "Anything else I can help you with?" Justin looked thoughtful and Ivan waited with baited breath as he watched B'Vor draw close and gently move the former Turbo Ranger's coffee ever so slightly and deliberately without being noticed

"Let me just check this-OH GOD DAMN IT!" Justin exclaimed as he turned towards his laptop and proceeded to spill his relocated coffee all over its' keyboard which in turn caused the screen to flicker and distort before finally giving up the proverbial ghost whilst Justin cursed fluently under his breath

"Oh that doesn't look good" Ivan gave a sympathetic wince "Will that damage the Zords?"

"No, no they'll be fine" Justin sighed in relief, the knowledge proving to be a silver lining "I was only reading information, I wasn't inputting anything….this laptop might be screwed though, this is gonna take a while to fix"

"Perhaps a little less coffee and little more sleep my friend?" Ivan offered with a bemused grin, Justin gave one last glance at the almost certainly irreparable laptop and let out a mournful sigh, realising that he had probably endured one too many all-nighters of late

"Yeah….Dana, sorry Vice Admiral Mitchell is not gonna be happy about this" he shook his head "Come on, I know you've got clearance but I can't leave you in here alone and I'm gonna head home for the night"

"Perhaps we'll be able to help you another time, unless of course my squad are allowed to go back to the Moonbase and be useful again" Ivan shrugged as he watch B'Vor deftly retrieve a small device that had been secured behind the crate Justin had been using a desk, still without being seen and with far more sleight of hand than a creature of his size and build should have possessed. With a few final goodbyes the pair left Justin to the process of locking down the Zord hangar and trying to decide how he would explain needing a new purpose built laptop to his commanding officer. Once they were out of sight and earshot Ivan turned to his ally with a twisted smirk and patted the powerfully built aliens' shoulder

"These people are idiots, being here on Earth where Rangers live….it's made them complacent. We would've been searched a dozen times at the Moonbase by now, even in my home country they would suspect us" the man shook his head and beside him B'Vor let out a low breathy grunt; the utterances being the closest thing to a spoken language his people had

"Good work letting the Doctor break his own computer" Ivan continued, nodding to the pocket in which B'Vor stashed the device he had retrieved "Less chance of them finding out what we've taken from their files….The components are in a hidden vault, the entrance is at the bottom of the Zord Hangars; a clever hiding place but it's been dealt with" B'Vor let out another breathy sound, like a sharp inhalation which Ivan seemed to understand, as he responded with a nod

"We can certainly do it….it's just going to mean blowing our cover"

* * *

"This place is amazing" Rena breathed out "There's nothing like it on my world"

"That's honestly kinda sad" Mercy murmured, remembering the blasted and desolate world that the Black Ranger called home and resolving to show him as many places that were complete opposite of the planet Dread as possible.

After leaving the gym the Rangers had found themselves at something at a lose end and upon realising that they were not required at the Aquabase the following morning Aslaug had suggested they leave the stifling confines of the base which had given Mercy the idea to go camping, something that she enjoyed but rarely ever found opportunities to do with her old cadet group. The five of them had, with teleportation speeding them up greatly arrived at a forested area beyond the limits of Mariner Bay and had set up tents and a fire in a clearing that they had found; so far from the city and with no moon in sight Mercy watched as Rensa considered for a moment before finally reaching to the back of his head and unfastening the filter goggles he wore to prevent himself from being blinded by natural light that he was unaccustomed to, his green tinged and oddly glossy black hair falling about his face as he gently massaged the places where the goggles and pressed against his skull whilst the flickering firelight gave his almost translucently pale skin and pure obsidian eyes an almost ghoulish appearance which was at comical odds with the roasted marshmallow he held in his hands.

"Nor does Aquitar" Tempestus added, sipping a bottle of the water from his home world that he routinely needed to ingest "We live under the oceans so we never see the stars like this…..Aquitar is bodacious, but in a different way"

"Like what the Aquabase wishes it was?" Mercy guessed, Tempestus merely smiled but didn't answer

"I pity you all" Aslaug, who was currently sat beside the Red Ranger sighed with a good natured smile as she threw a chunk of meat to Klo who began to eagerly tear at it "One day you'll all come to Mirinoi and see real forests, but this is nice though in its' own way" Mercy noticed that Panthera had remained silent and was merely sipping a bottle of alcoholic that she'd managed to sneak on the Aquabase despite regulations and wearing an oddly wistful expression

"What about you Panthera?" Mercy asked "Got any nice camping spots where you're from?"

"I wouldn't know" the Pink Ranger answered with a shrug "I'm Felixian but I'm star born"

"Star born?"

"I was born on a spaceship" Panthera explained "I've only been to Felix itself a handful of times and even then it was only the port cities…..my parents were ships' engineers, when they died in an accident Acinonyx and I were passed from one ship in the smugglers' guild to another until we earned our own. But as for looking at the stars, I've probably had the best view of them" Mercy felt an unshakeable urge to pull the Pink Ranger into a group hug but knew that the gesture would not be appreciated, life had not been kind to Panthera and Mercy wanted to rage against the injustice on her behalf.

"It must have been lonely" Tempestus noted gently, Panthera merely shrugged again and finished her bottle

"It was hard but it wasn't all bad" Panthera assured them, sensing the pity that was being heaped upon her and clearly deciding that she wanted none of it "It was me and my sister and whatever crew we might have been working with at the time. People come and people go, most of it ended on good terms"

"Things don't have to be temporary" Aslaug told her "You would be welcomed by people as an ally at any time"

"Well I'll be sure to visit if I'm ever looking for a slab of muscle wearing furs to keep me warm" Panthera retorted with a wink, changing the tone of the conversation in an instant and leaving Mercy nearly choking on her own drink.

"What?" Panthera shrugged nonchalantly, enjoying the conversation far more now that she could steer it away from such depressing subjects "I can't be the only one disappointed by the majority of the men on Earth….or women, whatever you're into"

"Or both" Aslaug grunted, offering nothing beyond that "Although I can't say I've been actively looking"

"Bad habits I suppose" Panthera flashed a wide smile that showed off her sharp teeth "Keeping my eyes open in case I see anything I might want….Tempestus what about you?" the Blue Ranger seemed suddenly shifty now that everyone's attention had been turned towards him, taking a moment to consider his words before they finally spilled out of him

"No human is attractive to me, they all look too much like my father" the realisation that Tempestus had never left his home world before coming to Earth and that the only human he'd ever seen in person was his adoptive father made perfect sense to Mercy though she was utterly unable to stop herself howling with laughter at the bluntness of the admission.

"Is it weird that I've never thought about things like this?" Rensa asked, suddenly self conscious that his upbringing on a blighted and nightmarish prison world had left him different to his new friends in yet another way

"No, no not at all" Mercy assured him quickly as she sensed his discomfort "Either that'll change or it won't and either way is fine" Rensa merely nodded silently. Panthera, it seemed was not quite finished with her good natured torment and her slitted, amber eyes fell on the Red Ranger with a knowing glint as they reflected the firelight

"What about you, kept your eyes open and seen-"

"Okay!" Mercy interrupted, quickly changing the subject "It's a camping trip tradition so who's got ghost stories?" fortunately her obvious plot worked and was not commented on as each of her friends leaned a little closer, eager to prove that their own home world had the most frightening tales.

**Authors Notes:**

Okay then people, welcome to the fourth arc/multi-part episode of the story titled "The enemy within"  
The theme for naming chapters this time around is "Disney villain songs" and I'll give you a little potential spoiler, the four chapters are titled: Be Prepared, The Worlds' Greatest Criminal Mind, Friends on the Other Side and Trust in Me. (Hellfire would have been a good call but it didn't fit any of the chapters and there was no chance of a chapter called 'Gaston' as much as I wished there was.)  
So I'm dropping down to one upload a week, Friday I'll posting chapters of my RWBY story FADE: Legacy, Saturdays are for Aegis and if I do decide to do anything with my idea for a Transformers story that'll probably be Sundays.  
Writing the back half of this chapter was a slog for some reason and I can't even figure out why.  
Also, I promised I'd link it here so if everyone can go to Youtube and watch the "Zack" short that Unworthy Productions have posted as the latest part of their "Unworthy" series that would be great /watch?v=S5lDA7-u6z0

Anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
I can't even say why but starting the arc with the end of a seemingly routine monster of the week fight just seemed to work, so I ran with it.  
Getting my grim body horror on from the get go.  
It's steampunk and magical so Hex-Nut….I know that one is below my usual standard, but a) I have an absolute corker that I'm saving for next chapter and Hex-Nut honestly might get reused as a name for a Transformers OC.  
Aslaug was disgusted about the Dark Empire firing on the grounded ships whilst there were Putties in the area back in the first arc, of course she's the one to be audibly appalled.  
Unprotected mechanical parts are just a liability.  
Booyah indeed.  
I'm not sure if we ever actually saw Xybria itself in the comics so I made up a look for it, I feel like space-age suits it.  
As a general rule, if Paradoxa pulls out the giant monsters then you should be looking somewhere else because she's up to something.  
I know the lobotomised monster thing seems a bit cheap but come on, it was barely held together in the first place.  
They're Rangers, attacking non-combatants that are trying to escape off world is something Strike-Squad Alpha would do.  
So as well as having the homage to the Supersonic Rangers from the comics I threw in a little nod to the Chikyu Sentai Fiveman that they were based on.  
Paradoxa's plans are progressing, be concerned.  
Paradoxa always has plans within plans, a fourth reason would be that being seen to launch rescue missions for her own people only makes the case against the Alliance even clearer to Strike-Squad Alpha.  
So Ivan works for Paradoxa in theory but she isn't the one to convince him to go rogue, we haven't seen them interact before and when I planned the scene out in my head I immediately just thought _"Sexual tension"_ so yeah, Ivan is a confirmed monster-fucker; enjoy.  
Gibil cobbled together something out of parts that were nearing their 'use by' date…..the Rangers were basically fighting a lasagna.  
Dark Empire 'gifts' loose in the Aquabase; you'll see…..  
Mercy….that's gay.  
Charlie is every negative stereotype about a drill Sargent cranked up to eleven; remember that those cadets are kids.  
Would the Red Ranger be a Red Ranger if they didn't stand up for someone, also I suppose with the location you could consider it an homage to the first episode of Mighty Morphing Power Rangers if you squint.  
Of course she called them meat bags, of fucking course.  
Sorry but there's no way Mercy wins that fight without morphing, Charlie outclasses her.  
There's also no way that the other cadets haven't figured out who the Rangers are….especially if they keep their Morphers on them; it's even easier than figuring out who Barman is if you live in Gotham.  
Y'know that the _"Morpheus is fighting Neo!"_ line in the Matrix, yeah that was the entire Aquabase when Charlie and Mercy got into it.  
Come on everyone working on the Aquabase is gonna be the sort of person who wants to see the giant mecha up close.  
Ivan has perfected getting people to take pity on him as a defence.  
I know it sounds unlikely to most people that the Zord Hangars would be left in a state like that but hear me out, I've worked in engineering and trust me when I say that whatever preconceptions of a workshop or lab you've got are wrong, anything that looks that pristine either has never been used or is being put back together after an accident.  
Okay so if anyone didn't get it Ivan and B'Vor were working with Justin so they could use the device to wirelessly steal files from Lightspeed and use his security clearance to avoid manually bypassing security, letting him ruin his own laptop was to cover their tracks a little.  
So the whole camping scene felt like a bonus….Or an Omake for the weebs in the crowd and I'm okay with that.  
Little details like Tempestus needing water from Aquitar and Rensa finally being able to take his goggles off for once are the sort of things I have to sprinkle in every so often or I'll forget about them.  
That's a thought, how would things like citizenship apply to people born on spaceship or stations? Would space stations eventually be considered sovereign?  
Life has not been kind or fair to Panthera and if anyone can benefit from the found family trait that Power Rangers lends itself to then it's her.  
I felt like this scene was as good of a time as any for things like the rangers sexualities….I think I was pretty clear for most of the Rangers but I'll just come out and say it here: Mercy's a lesbian, Tempestus is straight (But not really into humans) Aslaug is bi, Panthera is actually pan and Rensa is ace.  
Also, I'm from the UK is the whole camping with roasted marshmallows and ghost stories cliché a thing that actually happens in America, 'cos it feels like a rite of passage for you?

Thank you to Jen425 for her review on the last chapter.  
A Privateer…..I feel like if we see him again he'll have to be having Jack Sparrow levels of Banter with Andros.  
Yeah A-Squad's whole purpose is to be traitors, the only subversion of expectations I did was have Ivan be the instigator instead of Charlie.  
DeSantos class and a colony called New Angel Grove.  
Feels will be tugged, and twisted around like balloon animals then shaped into an actual Tommy Gun like that one scene in the Mask.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	15. Greatest Criminal Mind

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 14 – Greatest Criminal Mind**

Paradoxa's footsteps echoed as she made the now familiar trek through the sprawling and smog-choked bowels of the Heliothis towards Gibil's lair, her crew and the various prisoners from conquered worlds that toiled at menial tasks falling silent and working with greater fervour as she passed them; showing only the merest hint of acknowledgement to those who served her in return yet taking in every minute action that happened around her.

Eventually she entered the sealed lair in which her flesh crafter conducted experiments and practised his ghoulish trade, crossing the cold metallic floor which was as always stained with fresh blood, viscera and other such things that were best left unconsidered. Gibil himself stood at his easel, annotating his latest nightmarish masterpiece and writing with what Paradoxa quickly realised was blood; whatever he had been working at had left his ash grey fur stained a deep scarlet with gore and in several places still wet blood could be seen dripping from his body.

"I received word from the ships' physicians….they say you've been abducting patients again" the insectoid tyrant noted in an aloof and faintly bemused tone which more than adequately conveyed how little she cared for such matters as long as the results she demanded were delivered

"Such ugly words, I merely went for a stroll in search of inspiration Lady Paradoxa" Gibil gave one of his comically deep bows, his declaration of innocence and the stunned expression he affected being ruined as he burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggling "Inspiration just so happens to come to me in the oddest of places Lady Paradoxa, for example if I happen to see a being who has lost their arms in an accident and has no way to serve you it occurs to me that I can correct this-"

"How generous" Paradoxa drawled "Were they anyone important?"

"I didn't ask, their overseer seemed glad to be rid of them" she nodded in understanding at Gibil's words though privately decided that it may be wise to investigate the matter herself; grudges, rivalries and blood feuds between factions of a vessels' crew were a long standing Dark Empire tradition that Paradoxa wholeheartedly encouraged and used to her advantage, however simply murdering ones' crew-mates was unacceptable.

They belonged to Paradoxa and she would not tolerate her belongings being sabotaged.

"I assume you were inspired enough to produce that which I required of you?" she gave a pointed glance at Gibil's blood soaked fur and overalls.

"Oh course lady Paradoxa" Gibil gasped "I would never dream of failing you, nor would I snooze, doze, lounge or otherwise-"

"Show me" she interrupted, knowing better than to allow her deranged minion the chance to build momentum with his genuflecting

"At once my liege!" he quickly turned to the vast and baroque control terminal which his easel was positioned beside and began entering commands, somewhere within the bowels of the chamber the sound of one of the sealed cylindrical containers opening could be heard, a hiss of decompressed air followed by the splashing of the fluids that Gibil's monsters were preserved in and the reverberating impact of the beast itself hitting the ground; heavy thundering footsteps announced the things' approach and Paradoxa surveyed the creation impassively as it lumbered into view.

The thing was a behemoth, standing at roughly ten feet tall and boasting a physique that the word muscular utterly failed to do justice. As well as vastly increasing the basic stature of the alien he had experimented on Gibil had also mutated and armoured the thing, thick slabs of metal were grated onto the flesh of its' chest and abdomen whilst the rest of its' body was covered in short and bristly fur of a muddy brown colour, thick spikes of solid bone sprouted from the things' back in two rows that flanked its' spine and similar growths protruded from its' shoulders. Its' legs seemed a fraction too short and its' feet too small, they were padded things ending in short but jagged claws whilst its' arms had been remade entirely; the limbs that had been eviscerated by machinery replaced by skeletal robotic arms enhanced first by masses of biomechanical muscle fibres a metallic grey so dark it was almost black and then layers of armour plating which the fibres bulged beneath, this armour rather than metal was made of the same stone as Paradoxa's Putties and had likely been treated to have the same resilience, the wide and powerful limbs ending and titanic fists with reinforced and studded knuckles. Finally the insectoid looked at the things skull, the same bristly fur covered a wide and flat face with sagging cheeks, bulging and wild eyes and a ludicrous under-bite filled with fangs that overall resembled some grotesque parody of a canine that had selectively bred to the extreme. Its' ears were ragged and floppy things and the top of its' skull was adorned with a final row of bony spikes, these jutting points swept forward.

"I see that the basis of this creation was kept alive this time" Paradoxa mused as she listened to the things rasping and laboured breathing that left thick ropes of saliva spattering onto the ground with each exhalation and noted that she smelled none of the sickly sweet aroma of death and rotting meat that had pervaded the last creation Gibil had provided

"It was my liege, it was prepared with love and care and served with a garnish of-"

"Can it think?"

"I can Lady Paradoxa" the thing growled, its' voice a deep phlegm-laced rumble "And I live to serve"

"Excellent" Paradoxa gave a wide and sinister smile "The world of Verdant Six provides much of the food to Alliance ships and colonies that cannot grow their own….A small strike force is being sent to the world, I want you to lead the ground forces and burn it"

"As you wish Lady Paradoxa" the Acheron Hybrid turned to Gibil as she made to leave her minions' lair

"Are the latest batch of Putties ready?"

"They are my Lady, made to your specifications"

"You've done well….I will inform the physician that their patient has found a new zest for life" with that she departed, the unhinged and diminutive creature making some final examinations of his living weapon behind her. Paradoxa wasted no time searching for a remote place to hold a holographic transmission instead she opened a thoroughly encrypted channel of her communicator and sent a simple, audio only message.

"It's time"

* * *

"I'm not sure how or why but food always tastes better when it's cooked outside"

"That's because this how it's supposed to be done" Aslaug replied as Panthera, who had initially spoken gave a particularly catlike stretch as she exited her tent. It was mid-morning and the Rangers were once again gathered around a fire which they were currently using in place of a stove, the yellow Ranger with the furs she had brought from her home world of Mirinoi and used in place of a sleeping bag draped over he shoulders as she cooked bacon, eggs and sausages with her hand almost within the flames with practised ease and Klo sitting patiently but eagerly beside her waiting to be fed. Opposite Aslaug sat Tempestus and Rensa, the Aquitian had prepared his own breakfast and was currently trying to avoid looking at the food his team mates ate, he had been warned by his adopted father that Earths' culinary customs were different but they seemed barbaric and frankly monstrous compared to what he was used to; the Black Ranger however was staring at the cooking meat with rapt attention and positively salivating as he did so, his freshly refastened filter goggles whirring faintly as they adjusted.

Next to Aslaug sat Mercy and the Red Ranger found herself far too distracted to even consider the food at the moment, she had been blushing ever since Aslaug had declared that she looked cold the previous night and given the smaller girl her leather jacket to wear and the situation was only exacerbated by the fact that Aslaug's dusty blonde hair, normally tied back in an undercut and wolf-tail like style was currently down and cascading over her shoulders. Mercy had obviously stared for too long and allowed herself to loose track of what was happening around her

"You gonna take that food or not?" Panthera's impatient question startled the Red Ranger and as she jumped she backwards she found herself falling from the log that she and Aslaug were sat on, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground with the Pink Ranger's laughter ringing in her ears

"Sorry I um, spaced out for a sec" Mercy mumbled, hastily trying to downplay the situation as she tried to right herself only to be pulled back into a sitting position by Aslaug, who did so with one hand and seemingly no effort; Mercy found herself toppling sideways and resting against the Yellow Ranger's shoulder, her heart hammering in her chest and at the same time feeling as though it had stopped entirely when the muscular girl reached around her back to retrieve the plate of food intended for Mercy which Panthera had predictably stolen and ending up with an arm draped over the Red Ranger's shoulders in a loose hug

"Wait your turn, for once" she grunted out with plain exasperation before turning to Mercy and raising an eyebrow okay "Are you okay?" the Red Ranger was spared having to answer by the sound of her communicators' distinctive shrill chirping and she quickly raised the device to speak into it as she answered the call, knowing that it could only be from the Lightspeed Aquabase

"Mercy here, what's wrong?"

"We have a situation" Justin's voice answered her "Kim and Zebidiah are on the way, just a heads up that I'm teleporting you out"

"Our tents are-"

"We'll send someone to pick your stuff up" the former Turbo Ranger assured her before ending the call, the other Aegis Rangers had fortunately heard the conversation and as Mercy stood up and braced themselves to be teleported they did the same; Aslaug summoning Klo to her side and Panthera taking the opportunity to steal another sausage and egg sandwich and continue to eat happily even as the five of them were transported away in multicoloured streams of light.

"Okay we're here, what's the situation?" Mercy demanded eagerly as the Aegis Rangers arrived in Justin's workshop and quickly crowded into the briefing area around his computer where several screens were positioned; Klo curling up and making himself comfortable next to a particularly warm piece of machinery. The answer however came from behind them as Captain Kimberley Hart and Zebidiah Lord entered

"The Dark Empire continue to show how far they've fallen and demean themselves with another display of cowardice" Zebidiah snarled, Justin silently implored Kimberley to provide a more informative response and she quickly arrived

"Dark Empire Ships appeared above Verdant Six and immediately went on the offensive" Justin quickly began entering commands until the image of the world in question came into view on one of the larger screens at his disposal, Kimberley made her way over to his computer and began zooming the image in over the embattled area of the planet

"What's on Verdant Six?" Rensa asked, sensing that those with more understanding of the alliances' workings were uneasy

"Massive amounts of food production, this looks like an attempt to starve our forces rather face them" Zebidiah snarled, his contempt for the new Lord Zedd and by extension Paradoxa's way of waging war apparent with every syllable "There's also another possibility….the plant life on Verdant Six can cross pollinate with almost any flora from anywhere in the galaxy, it's possible that Paradoxa could be looking for something with which to create new Acheron hybrids-"

"I don't think that's something you're gonna have to worry about" Justin assured the former warlord, causing the Rangers to turn their attention back to the screens where their eyes widened in shock at the sight of the ground forces being deployed by the Dark Empire

"Are those Putties on fire?" Tempestus demanded incredulously as he struggled to comprehend the obvious truth of what he was seeing.

"They're molten, like when my people make steel" Aslaug observed, the overall form of the Putties were the same but their bodies rather than the usual light grey, stony material were formed from a dark grey substance which churned and roiled as the Putties moved with small, black glassy crystals protruding from them in seemingly random places and veins of glowing orange magma criss-crossing their bodies like veins which spilling flames and molten stone onto the ground as they moved, setting fire to everything around them.

"Slagheaps it is" Mercy decided, naming the things

"They haven't made it to their target yet" Kimberley announced, forcing the Red Ranger to focus "The Dark Empire ships slipped through the defences but couldn't teleport troops into the biomes….Forces are already being dispatched to stop them. They cannot be allowed to get inside"

"And they've got someone leading them" Justin noticed dispassionately "Look at the state of this ugly mutt" The Rangers turned their attention to where the former Turbo Ranger directed and were treated to the sight of the monstrous creature with augmented arms bounding ahead of the Slagheap Putties

"Okay wait, robot arms with big fists it's a Boxer Dog-"

"Way too obvious" Justin shook his head at Mercy's suggested name for the beast "But you were onto something….Wait, wait I've got it; Pugnacious"

"You're a genius!" Mercy laughed before turning to Kimberley "Are we ready to deploy?"

"Yes" the Red Ranger turned to her team and gave the order that was now becoming second nature to her

"It's morphing time!"

"Osore!"

"Sabre Beast!"

"Plesion!"

"Ursa Titan!"

"Red Tailed Hawk!" the Rangers stood in their morphed and armoured forms for a brief moment before they were teleported to where they were needed, vanishing in streams of multicoloured light once again.

"They really have taken to the theatricality of it all haven't they" Zebidiah noted with an amused snort.

* * *

"Okay, it's go time" Ivan breathed out, his usual sneering and self-assured confidence marred by the slightest traces of nervousness as Strike-Squad Alpha made their way towards the entrance to the Light-speed Aquabase, a road leading from the city itself out to sea and below the waves which was covered by a highly resilient cylinder of some transparent material; the enormity of the task that they had committed themselves to now impossible to ignore.

"Good, let's get this over with" Charlie snapped, taking care to barge Ivan aside with her shoulder and a considerable amount of force as she took her customary place at the head of the team, keeping Ivan at her right hand as though he were still the same reliable second in command that he'd always been. The five of them were unarmed and dressed in civilian clothes, seemingly presenting no threat at all and their presence on the base would raise no questions; though each of them had elected to wear some level of light body armour under their clothing.

"So what's the plan?" Rachel asked, her words now having a slightly slurred quality to them as the injuries she'd received upon the Heliothis had reduced the left side of her face to a mass of taut scar tissue, though Lightspeed had managed to replace her eye with a robotic component whose pale blue light blinked intermittently.

"We're gonna have to split up, distraction, secondary objective disguised as the main objective and the actual main objective" Ivan answered, speaking before Charlie could answer "Rachel, you and Cliff are to create a distraction….something messy that they can't ignore"

"I'm sure we'll think of something" Cliff chuckled darkly, clearly having managed to convince himself that this was no different to any of the myriad other times that they had been asked to do the unthinkable by those in charge and that their previous loyalties meant nothing.

"Beaver and I will take control of the teleportation chamber, you have the device yes?" the blue skinned alien silently produced another of Ivan's many gadgets. Whilst Ivan himself was carrying the storage device holding the data that they had managed to accumulate the one in B'Vor's possession would the traitors to wreak havoc within the Aquabase.

"Good" Ivan continued "This gives us an escape route, I have co-ordinates for our evacuation ready but more importantly Lightspeed will think we're trying to bring forces in-"

"Which leaves me free to do the job we're here for on my own" Charlie noted, eyes narrowing in suspicion; she had thought she knew Ivan once and although she had agreed to this treachery the fact remained that she would not rule out an underhanded attempt on her life

"If anyone can do it it's you" Ivan shrugged "Besides I found access codes for you, you'll see them….the Rangers should have left, we make our move when their Zords are deployed"

"I'm seeing a problem with this plan" Rachel gestured pointedly at their empty hands "We're going in unarmed….we can't raid the armoury without it raising an alarm"

"Which is why Paradoxa gave us a gift" Ivan gave a grim smile as he reached into his jacket and produced five syringes, each filled with a thick and viscous liquid of a deep crimson colour which seemed to shift and roll turbulently within its' container as if it had a mind of its' own.

"Raw Acheron DNA" Ivan grimaced, as though even he were not entirely sure about this part of the plan "Do what we can ourselves….this is a last resort if we need it"

"Well let's hope yours let's you grow a backbone Ivan" Charlie sneered as she took one of the syringes and pocketed it "Because I meant what I said, when this is over I'm going to kill you in single combat"

"You will certainly try" Ivan gave a wide and oddly good natured smirk before disregarding the threat "I can see the tunnel ahead, let's get to work"

* * *

Verdant Six was, as its' name would suggest a lush planet whose ecology could have been described as similar to what Earth would have been if humanity had never evolved beyond swinging in the trees. Vast oceans covered much of its' surface and its' continents when viewed from above were sprawling masses of almost pure green; that was not to say that the planer had not been settled and colonised however, Verdant Six had no sapient inhabitants of its' own and had thus been declared by the ruling body of the Alliance as free to be utilised. Where many planets would have been mined for minerals or their abundant water or icecaps drained for use on space stations, colony ships or worlds less hospitable to life, the most valuable resource Verdant Six had to offer was its' plant life and while farms stretching for thousands of acres spanned great swathes of the planets' landmass, rearing livestock both native and from a dozen other worlds the centres of both population and industry upon the planet were the Biomes, gigantic domed cities each populated by settlers from a different planted and devoted to the mass production of fresh food using the hybridisation of the planets' own flora and that of the settlers home world.

The Rangers appeared in, teleportation steams reaching upwards into some indeterminate point above them and displaced air rushing outwards as the materialised in front of an entrance to one of the massive biomes, the apex of its' curved structure hidden from view by virtue of its' sheer height yet their attention was directed away from the domed city and captured by the smoke rising just beyond the horizon that announced their enemies advance.

"What's the overall situation Captain?" Mercy asked, her communication channel to mission control opening with a thought

"They're splitting up and targeting multiple biomes at once….the Slagheap Putties seem to have the same weak points as usual" Kimberley's voice, evidently forced into a facsimile of composure answered her

"Should we split up?"

"Negative" the former Pink Ranger answered "Verdant Six isn't unprotected, local defence forces are already moving to counteract the attackers, reinforcements are teleporting in and ship are en route to try and force the Dark Empire to drop cloak again….Pugnacious is heading your way"

"Got it, moving to intercept" the Red Ranger nodded in understanding before ending communications and turning to the other Rangers "They're dead ahead, let's go!"

The five of them charged forwards, rushing towards the flames that the attackers were leaving their wake until a roared challenge greeted them

"RANGERS, COME AND MEET YOUR DEATHS!" the monster that they had named Pugnacious had halted its' advance and braced itself its' ragged ears pricked up, having clearly heard the Rangers approach whilst behind it a dozen of the Slagheap Putties shuffled along with their customary flailing movements, their footsteps setting fire to anything flammable they came into contact with

"No witty banter at all" Mercy grinned, glancing quickly to Aslaug before giving her orders "Okay, you guys work through the Putties….I'm gonna go take the dog for a walk" before she could allow anyone to groan at the admittedly terrible joke the Red Ranger surged ahead and her friends simply rushed in after her and collided with the Putties with an explosive impact.

A quartet of the flailing and warbling automatons broke off from the rest of their number and singled the Blue Ranger out and Tempestus fought with his customary grace and agility which he had been attempting to blend with the blunt and uncompromising aggression that he saw his fellow Rangers use to such great effect; the lead Putty swinging a wild blow at his chest with its' right which Tempestus countered by firmly grabbing its' wrist with his left hand and delivering an open palmed blow to the inside of its' elbow with his right whilst being immensely grateful that his Ranger armour left him impervious to the heat the things' molten body produced; he quickly followed up by pulling the Putty towards him and off balance as he delivered a low sweep to its' legs and hurled it past him to land in a crumpled heap whilst he carried his momentum into an aerial spinning kick that collided with the skull of a second Putty and sent it clattering to the ground, jabbering incoherently as it did so. There was only a brief pause before the second pair of Putties came rushing in from the sides, a frenzied blow aimed at his helmeted face coming from the right announcing their attack; Tempestus blocked with his right before driving his elbow into the things face and finishing off with a double palm strike to the weak point in the centre of its' chest, the magma in the Slagheap Putties' body cooled instantaneously and its' form shattered like broken glass yet the fourth Putty was already rushing in from the opposite side, the Blue Ranger clenched both fists together and turned to face it whilst delivering a hammer-blow to its' knee; the Putty was flung from its' feet and left lying on its' back where Tempestus finished it off with a swift punch to the chest. The first two putties were returning to their feet and without a word the Blue Ranger manifested his quarterstaff with a pulse of royal blue light, from there the battle was a relatively simple one as the Putties rushed towards him and were halted by a trio of blows, one to the head of the left Putty which sent it spinning dizzily, followed by a blow to the back of the right Putty and finally a spinning attack that struck the chests of both automatons at once.

The Yellow Ranger predictably fought with less flair and showman ship than her fellow Rangers yet her results were unmistakable, the first Putty to reach her having its' wild blows blocked with ease before Aslaug promptly responded by headbutting it and leaving the automaton staggering with part of its' skull collapsed and the arcane light in its' eye sockets flickering before an immensely powerful right jab saw her fist exit the things' back before its' body had fully begun to shatter. A vicious backhand followed by an elbow to the chest felled a second and Aslaug carried her momentum forward with a guttural roar, her axe forming in her hand and being brought overhead in a power slash that cleaved a third Putty in half vertically; the fourth and final member of the group of molten automatons that she had found herself in combat with chattered senselessly before rushing in and all but throwing itself at her only to be crushed by an anticlimactic kick to the ribs.

Panthera leapt into battle with catlike grace, the Pink Ranger landing in a crouch on the chest of the first Slagheap Putty before kicking herself off of it and collapsing the things' chest in the process, a second Putty was batted aside with contemptuous ease as she landed allowing her to focus on the third which had attempted an axe kick; Panthera caught the offending leg over her shoulder and wrapped an arm around it whilst kicking the things' other leg from under it and punching through the weak point in its' torso as it staggered backwards. The Putty she'd knocked aside rushed at her from behind and Panthera managed to spin and take out its' legs with a low sweep and leap upwards to shatter its' body with a well placed knee as it fell. Instinct came rushing to the fore as the former smuggler sensed another attack and her curved blades manifested in her hands as she turned, the final Putty taking a final step forwards after being impaled through the chest before the magic holding its' body together failed.

Rensa was brutal and unforgiving in his approach to combat as always, colliding with the first Putty with a low slide tackle that sent the Putty he had targeted sailing overhead before it was grabbed by the neck and waist as the Black Ranger rose to his feet and brought down on to his knee and shattered instantly. A spinning back kick adopted from Mercy's fighting style brought another crashing to a halt, Rensa's daggers formed in his hands with twin flashes of jet black and the final two Putties shattered as the Black Ranger flung the blades forwards and buried them in the chests of the automatons.

Mercy's katana formed in her hand with a pulse of crimson light as she charged towards Pugnacious, the slobbering monstrosity barrelling towards her and swinging a berserk downwards punch at the Red Ranger which she managed to avoid. The ground shook with the force of the blow and as the two turned to face each other again Mercy brandished her sword and gestured with the blade at a long thing gouge that now ran along the length of the ceramic armour encasing the monsters' right arm

"A puny wound, from a puny Ranger with a puny sword" Pugnacious scoffed, spittle flying from his mouth as he did so. Mercy braced herself and gestured for the monster to charge, Pugnacious did so with a furious growl, closing the space between them with a few powerful bounds and launching another wild swing; Mercy lashed outwards with a precise slash of her katana only to be left in wide-eyed shock as her blade clattered off of Pugnacious's heavily armoured chest in a shower of sparks and a moment later he was knocked from her feet and sent rolling to as stop in one of the small fires left by a destroyed Putty. Before she could rise to her feet the adversary was already baring down on her again, both gargantuan fists clenched together for another blow. Mercy darted between the monsters' legs with her katana held close to its' body and dragged her blade across the unprotected flesh of its' ankle and calf, its' crimson blood sizzled as it made contact with the blade and Pugnacious let out a yelp of pain which was quickly buried beneath a rumbling snarl as she span and knocked the Red Ranger aside with another absurdly powerful punch; she sailed through the air and landed with a dull thud several dozen feet away with the air knocked from her lungs though fortunately her armour hadn't been breached or compromised.

Mercy pulled herself to her feet despite the way her legs trembled beneath her and the way each lungful of air sent lances of pain through her chest and made her wince, a quick glance at Pugnacious and the way he was now keeping weight off of his injured leg, even going to the extent of resting on his knuckles like a gorilla told Mercy that despite his armour and enhancements the creature could be beaten with a well placed blow

"All bark and no bite huh?" she chuckled despite the pain it caused her and the opponent gave her exactly the response she had expected, simply charging towards her again for another attack with as much force and momentum as its' injuries would allow. Mercy sprinted forwards to meet the blow and leapt into the air at the exact moment Pugnacious lunged at her, landing on the monsters' arm and running along its' surface before leaping into the air once more and twisting as she sailed behind him; gathering the Power into herself and channelling it into the blade of her katana then giving one final slash which sent an arc of fiery red light crashing into the monsters back.

Pugnacious hit the ground and remained unmoving, a pool of crimson spreading from beneath them.

"Impressive" Panthera noted as she made her way over and surveyed the defeated monster "Or are the Dark Empire just sending weaker fighters"

"Yeah, yeah don't all rush in and help at once" Mercy grumbled, her katana vanished as she pouted with her hands on her hips

"You fought admirably" Aslaug noted, slapping a firm hand on Mercy's shoulder and reducing the Red Ranger to near incoherent and flustered mumbling which was quickly interrupted by Tempestus

"I don't think this is over, if they made a new kind of Putty and this is such an important world to the Alliance then…." the Blue Ranger trailed off and as if on cue Justin's voice could be heard in all of their helmets

"Dark Empire ships just dropped cloak, we've got a lock on 'em but one just fired a Mutagenic Grenade!"

"Okay, we know what to do" Mercy turned to her fellow Rangers who nodded in understanding before the five of them gave the command in unison

"We need Aegis Zord power!"

* * *

The flash of light that accompanied the Zords being teleported towards whatever decoy had been created to occupy them was blinding and Charlie found herself with her arms shielding her face and her eyes screwed shut yet still she felt her eyes burning for several moments and was left blinking spots of darkness away from her suddenly blurry vision after she managed to open them again; even more disconcerting was the sudden feeling of light-headedness that came over her caused by the sudden lack of air in the room after the massive teleportation

"Bastard" she gasped out as she staggered forwards, desperately sucking in air "He knew about that and didn't tell me" putting her steadily growing hatred for team-mate and hopefully temporary superior, Ivan she focused on the task at hand.

The mission had thus far gone according to plan and although the five of them had agreed to radio silence until they rendezvoused at the teleportation chamber, Charlie however was convinced that things were running smoothly simply by the lack of alarms, gunfire and frantic yelling. She had managed to enter the Zord hangar undetected and now that the gargantuan mecha were absent she ran to enormous pit where the Ursa-Titan Zord had been located whilst remaining in the shadows until the last possible moment, gripping onto the sides of a ladder and sliding downwards before stopping herself just before reaching the ground and landing silently. Taking a few slow, deep breaths Charlie realised that this was the point of no return, that the hidden entrance to the vault contained equipment Paradoxa needed for her plans was in front of her and that she could take it or just as easily raise the alarm and reveal her team to be the traitors they were.

Then the memory of being left in a cell with her team-mates wounded and dying around her sent a spike of cold, festering fury into her heart and her decision was made

"Fuck 'em all" she snarled through clenched teeth as she pulled the hidden panel in the wall away to reveal a small keypad with a small sheet of folded paper laid over it, unfolding the paper Charlie saw that it was the sixteen digit passcode that would grant her access to the vault

"Okay Ivan, let's see if you've still got your touch" Charlie entered the code, realising that she was placing her faith in the mans' loyalty to her as much as his abilities and that said loyalty was a fickle thing. The code was valid however and a hidden door hissed open just as she had been promised that it would

"Holy shit" Charlie mouthed silently to herself as she stepped quickly into the vault, privately surprised that it was indeed real and not an elaborate plan to trap double agents; as her eyes grew accustomed to the dim overhead lights which left the place in permanent gloom she began searching for what she had come here for, passing ruined bikes and battle-suits that all seemed to be prototypes which had never moved into production, entire shelves of failed Morpher prototypes which had melted, exploded or failed in various ways including one which was mysteriously listed as _'Lightspeed Black Ranger'_ knowing that the devices were inert and useless to her Charlie continued, silently awed by the skeletal frames of abandoned Zord prototypes until finally she came to a halt in front of her goal

"Project Crucible….Gotta say I'm unimpressed" Charlie muttered to herself as she took in the machine before her, it appeared to be some kind of incubator albeit with far more advanced and abundant computers and devices surrounding it; she stared at the thing for a moment longer before deciding that her decision not to question what this machine was or why the Dark Empire desired to emulate it was the correct one, both sides in this war were willing to commit atrocities and Charlie found herself struggling to sleep at night as it was so she simply prised open the panels of the machine and began the process of extracting the parts she needed.

Then the dim light catching something metallic close by caught her eye and Charlie paused

"Now this, this is much more my speed" she grinned evilly to herself as she realised just what she was looking at and just how much easier it would be for Strike-Squad Alpha to escape if she took it with her.

* * *

'_Megazord activated'_

The computerised voice filled the cockpit of the towering mecha as the Aegis Rangers felt the consciousness blurring together through the psychic link formed by the Megazords' controls, having elected to form their mechas' combined form immediately rather than try and engage the towering and reanimated form of Pugnacious; the monster in question now roaring and snarling incoherently as it sized the Megazord up with whatever bestial and bloodthirsty intellect it still possessed

"We can't risk any damage to the biomes" Mercy warned, her voice heard by her fellow Rangers despite her not speaking aloud

"So we can't use the Mega Cannon" Tempestus added

"It's on the move!" Rensa noted urgently, the monster had indeed begun to charge and each of its; footsteps shook the ground with a booming impact which left craters in their wake, moving as if the injury Mercy had inflicted upon the things' spine were of no consequence.

"Allow me" Aslaug grunted as she took primary control of the Megazord, her consciousness rising to the fore and bringing the titanic machine into a low crouch like a track runner in the moments before the starting pistol was fired; the Megazord sprung into motion and churned the earth around it as it surged forwards to meet the oncoming attack, Pugnacious reanimated form swung with both of its' mechanical limbs in an attempt to seize the Megazord only for the Yellow Ranger to have the Megazord duck below its' arms and wrap its' own arms around the monsters' waist before standing upright and lifting the monster from the ground, the joints of the mechas' arms creaking in protest as Pugnacious thrashed before being slammed into the ground with a deafening crash that sent tremors through the ground for miles in every direction

"Mine!" Panthera snarled as she seized control of the Megazord and brought the leg formed by the Sabre Zord down in a vicious stomp on the monsters' skull only for Rensa to take control and pull the Megazord back as Pugnacious lunged to its' feet snapping and biting at the Megazord with its' flattened snout, Mercy took control and delivered a devastating left jab and right cross to the monsters' face followed by the sort of inelegant but devastatingly powerful kicks to the chest that Aslaug favoured which sent Pugnacious flying backwards with another thunderous impact

"Quick, let's finish it off!" Mercy ordered as she watched the reanimated monster struggle to rise to its' feet once more, staining vast patches of grass below with the blood pouring from the wounds in its' face as it shook its' head violently. All five Rangers took control of the Megazord with their minds in perfect unison and the machine reached its' right hand over its' back as the gigantic claymore that had manifested there, Pugnacious charged at the same moment the Megazord swung its' sword and after the blinding flash of brilliant white light had subsided the monster staggered forwards a final few steps with a pitiful canine whimpering escaping it before its' body exploded.

"Captain Hart, the target has been dealt with. What's the situation of the other Biomes?"

"Under control, local defence forces manage to put the Putties down and firefighters are moving in….Looks like the Dark Empire ships are pulling out of the system"

"They've bombed worlds before, if they wanted the Biomes destroyed then why not here?" Panthera interrupted, thinking back to Triforia's blasted streets

"They might have had a secondary objective on the world" the former Pink Ranger admitted with an almost audible shrug "But you've stopped them. Good work Rangers, we're bringing you home"

With that they were suddenly teleported from the Megazord.

The sudden separation from each others' minds was always somewhat disconcerting for the Rangers, leaving them with a sensation in their heads that could best be described as akin to water draining from a sink and as such as they were transported back into Justin's workshop in streams of multicoloured light it was not with the charismatic and victorious entrance they would have liked, instead each of them wobbled on legs that seemed unwilling to cooperate

"We've gotta work out a better way of getting you out of your Zords, that's just not a good look for heroes" Justin noted with a grin that made it clear that he enjoyed the situation immensely

"Welcome home Rangers" Kimberley greeted them with a nod an a warm smile "You made us proud" Mercy found herself puffing up at the praise only for Zebidiah to interject and somewhat ruin the moment

"Panthera raised a valid question and I'll need you to be thorough in your debriefings, with Paradoxa's forces as well prepared as they are we cannot allow them to take advantage of our ignorance or short-sightedness; if they're planning something we need to know about it" he saw the way the Rangers, still in their morphed state sagged at the thought of debriefing and his low growling voice softened with his next words "Although….perhaps it can wait a while, you've earned the right to rest"

Circumstances however did not seem to agree with the man's assessment

"What's happening?" Rensa demanded as the lighting within the Aquabase shifted to an angry red colour and alarms began to blare out, the sound punctuated by Klo who was still in Justin's workshop snarling in agitation

"Well I've never heard of a siren being a good thing" Panthera noted dryly

"It's the lock down procedure" Mercy explained, turning to Kimberley and hoping that she would offer another explanation "The Aquabase is under attack"

**Authors Notes:**

So halfway through this arc, next Chapter the fun and games really start.  
Seeds are being sown for the next two arc and beyond...You'll see.

Anyway, not too much to add here so let's summarise shall we:  
The Worlds' Greatest Criminal Mind….Ivan is certainly putting himself in the running.  
Half way through this arc, next chapter's where the fun really starts.  
Not too much to add here, so let's summarise shall we:  
I can't stress this enough, the Heliothis is BIG.  
Yes, Gibil canonically loots the infirmary for live test subjects.  
When your objection to murder is _"Hey I called dibs on that guy"_ you're definitely one of the bad guys.  
Okay serious question, how many of you would try and pet the dog monster?  
Side note, I feel sorry for every pug….they're not supposed to look like that.  
"_I will inform the physician that their patient has found a new zest for life"_ shit like this is why villains are fun to write.  
I can image Aquitians being vegan and stuff like a barbecue looking utterly horrifying to them, which may or not be inspired by something from an Animorphs book I read as kid.  
Mercy in Aslaug's leather jacket, Aslaug with her hair down and actual physical contact….I'm giving the lesbians everything they want.  
Panthera definitely raids the fridge and takes whatever she wants, labelled or not _"For once"_ implies she's straight up stolen peoples' breakfast before as well.  
I actually had to go back and write Klo into this scene because I forgot he was there the first time around, so he would have just been in the woods and growling at whoever came to pick up the Rangers tents.  
Zebidiah bitching about the Dark Empire gives me life.  
Okay so the idea of a planet that can be used as a massive farm for everyone because of slutty plants that cross pollinate with everything made me think of Acheron DNA mixing with it, but it's not something I'm planning on using so instead I just had Zebidiah mention it; in universe explanation is that Paradoxa chose this planet to launch a decoy attack on specifically because it would make the Alliance overthink.  
A new kind of Putty, we haven't seen any since the first arc.  
"PUG"NACIOUS….I'm not sorry, not even a little.  
And now the real fuckery begins.  
Acheron DNA….So potentially there's now five monsters inside the Aquabase.  
Has a villain being such a smug bastard ever worked out for them in the long run?  
Mercy trying so hard to have the bad-ass quips and one liners.  
Writing the fight choreography and each Ranger's fighting style is always good fun.  
Okay so I feel like I should address this but out of the monster of the week villains that the Rangers have faced so far Corax/Culture Vulture was by far the strongest but if you remember he was an Acheron Hybrid like Paradoxa, Dapperling, Hex-Nut and Pugnacious are just abominations that Gibil has cobbled together.  
Tempestus making the smart calls.  
There's a reason the Zord Hangars don't have staff in them and Charlie just found it, teleporting them takes most of the air out with them.  
Almost sounded like second thoughts, almost.  
'_Lightspeed Black Ranger' _is obviously not canon but is an idea I had when I saw one of the comments on the last chapter….Lightspeed is canonically not a well run organisation, they know about the threat and who they want to be their Rangers but don't contact them until the attack is literally happening; they have trained agents pick up untrained randos so that said randos and the Captain's daughter can be Rangers. I thought_ "Why not just give the agent a Morpher" _and so Lightspeed Black was conceived, in my head their Zord is a Stealth Fighter.  
"Project Crucible" nothing ominous about that at all, especially not when it looks like an incubator.  
And of course Charlie found a weapon.  
Eventually Rangers have got just stop pretending that the individual Zords are any good, go straight to Megazord.  
Aslaug wears a necklace made from the fangs of predators from Mirinoi, she wears their furs, Aslaug has definitely wrestled some kind of alien bear.  
The Megazord battle was quick but truthfully when aren't they, if you're having a giant mecha stomp around for more than five minutes you've already lost due to the amount of collateral.  
Panthera raises a good question and if the world itself was the objective Paradoxa would definitely have had it bombed, but she's trying to misdirect and letting people think there's a different bigger plan to her actual bigger plan suits her needs.  
No hero landing for the Rangers.  
"_Well I've never heard of a siren being a good thing"_ Our Pink Ranger everyone.  
So next chapter we get see the traitors in action, right now Strike-Squad Alpha are winning; the distraction worked, they've got what they came for and now all they need to do is leave.

Thank you to Jen425 and SumoSnipe for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Kind of brilliant, kind of a dick.  
I mean would I be so predictable as to give you exactly what you expected? But someone is gonna have to take Charlie down.  
Canonically Lightspeed is run like a fucking circus, disorganised, civilians are given access to top secret documents, open fraternisation between personnel _(That would border on sexual harassment if it was shown today)_, open nepotism, the upper management manufactures life threatening situations in training exercises just so they can moralise about it later….It's only slightly better than some of the factories I've worked at.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	16. Friends on the Other Side

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 15 – Friends on the Other Side**

"DANA, THIS IS KIM! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" the former Pink Power Ranger demanded urgently into her communicator as sirens continued to chorus throughout the Aquabase.

"Damn it, I can't access any of the cameras!" Justin warned them as he furiously tried to override whatever it was that was wresting control and access to the Aquabases' workings from the former Turbo Ranger. Between the two of them stood the Aegis Rangers and Zebidiah Lord, the former waiting orders with a palpable aura of nervous anticipation whilst the latter remained inscrutable, head bowed and eyes gleaming.

"Some kind of computer virus….nothing I can explain" Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell's irate voice demanded "I'm locked in my office and I've lost environmental control, we've got reports of multiple contacts and a security breach in vault six"

"Vault six?" Kimberley demanded in horrified shock, the existence of the vault was a secret known only to a select few and the experiments housed within could be devastating if unleashed.

"Are the Rangers on site?" Dana demanded "All exits from the Aquabase have been sealed and the teleportation system has been deactivated….if they're not here now then-"

"They are" Kimberley assured her "We'll move to intercept as soon as we have a fix on the hostiles' location"

"Working on it" Justin ground out through clenched teeth "Whatever this virus that's attacking our systems is….I think it's, if not sentient then at least alive"

"That's unsettling" Mercy noted, eyebrows raising in concern beneath her helmet

"Not as much as you'd think" Justin muttered distractedly "Code is code but something that thinks can be outsmarted, give me a minute"

"We don't have a minute Justin" Kimberley's tense declaration was backed up by Dana getting in contact with her once again

"Kimberley, we've got an ID on the hostiles….It's Strike-Squad Alpha!"

"What?" the former Ranger mouthed the word out in utter disbelief and the Aegis Rangers stared at the communicator from which Dana's voice was coming in pure shock. The team of veteran specialists were not well liked amongst their peers and had a reputation for tactics that were bloodthirsty and excessive, but treachery of this sort was something altogether harder to believe

"Strike-Squad Alpha have gone rogue" Dana repeated, with clear fear in her voice as the ramifications of what this could mean occurred to her.

"Do you have a location?" Mercy demanded, taking charge of the situation whilst others remained stunned and silent

"They've split up" the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger answered "Two of them are making their way for the long range teleportation chamber, we think whoever broke into the vault is moving to rendezvous but we don't have eyes on them….The other two are the ones who set the alarms off, they're armed and fighting their way towards the schools"

"We'll cut 'em off" Mercy announced firmly, already halfway towards the exit to Justin's workshop before being countermanded by Kimberley

"Negative, Mercy you and the other Rangers need to make your way to the teleportation chamber"

"These spineless vermin are trying to attack children" Aslaug spat, coming to Mercy's defence

"And they're counting on you having this exact reaction" Zebidiah noted, disgust dripping from every syllable "Kimberley, I'm sure Zen-Aku will already know of these developments so I suggest that you be the one to assist him"

"And what are you going to be doing?" Kimberley asked

"Sealing my sanctum" the former Lord Zedd answered simply "We don't know what else they may try to steal before they leave and I have several artefacts that should not fall into their hands"

"And what gets out might not even be the biggest problem if this thing overrides the lock down" Justin added as he continued to pit his skills against whatever the rogue Strike-Squad had unleashed into the Aquabases' systems "Which is why you need to get to the teleportation chamber Rangers" Mercy's mouth hung open as she understood the man's meaning and an image formed in her mind of legions of Putties swarming into the Aquabase and overrunning it and Earths' greatest defence against the Dark Empire becoming the epicentre of an attack on its' surface.

She gave orders orders swiftly, all exhaustion from the battle against Pugnacious that had in truth only been moments ago was quickly forgotten

"Come on Rangers! Back to action!"

* * *

Commander Anubis marched through Lightspeed Moonbase with steely determination and cold, inscrutable expression that hid a blistering hatred as his greatcoat billowed out dramatically behind him and his knuckles clenched tighter still around the ancient ancestral sword that hung at his hip.

Today, he promised himself, that sword would spill the blood of the worst kind of traitors.

The Moonbase, formed from the palace that had once been Rita Repulsa and later Lord Zedd's base of operations was the central hub of a vast, galaxy wide intelligence gathering operation with hundreds of thousands of streams of information being received at all times and one of those streams of information by virtue of simple necessity came from the Lightspeed Aquabase; which was how Cruger had come to know of the attack and then, in the final few moments before contact was lost with his allies on Earth learn the identities of those responsible for the act.

Strike-Squad Alpha were among the best of the best, but more than that Cruger had considered each of them something of a protégé and had, at various times considered each of them a possible candidate to succeed him one day; now for reasons unknown they had betrayed everything that they had once stood for and more painfully to the Commander, they had betrayed him and the knowledge was made all the worse by the certainty that this was not the product of some form of chemical or magical mind control.

They had willingly chosen their path.

The doors to the armoury slid open with a hiss and Cruger began searching for the piece of equipment that he required, passing rows of laser rifles and shotguns modified specifically to take down Putties in large numbers as well as several more esoteric weapons which were all ignored in favour of a single boxy and cumbersome device; a remote teleporter, the kind that Strike-Squad Alpha themselves favoured as they allowed the user far greater independence than the standard teleportation beacon.

It would also allow Cruger to enter the Aquabase despite the traitors disabling of the bases' own teleportation system.

"DOGGIE!" a familiar and urgent voice called out to him and Cruger turned towards the entrance to the armoury, finding an instantly recognisable pair of men approaching him

"I don't know what you're thinking-" Bulk began

"Who're we kidding we know exactly what you're thinking" Skull interjected "That's why we're here"

"You can't run in alone like this, give the order and the whole Moonbase will mobilise" the larger of the pair quickly added

"This is my mistake" Cruger answered bluntly, getting to the crux of the matter "I trusted them, I vouched for them, I looked the other way and ignored the signs that there was something wrong because I didn't want to see them….This is my mistake, I'm going to fix it and I wont' endanger anyone else"

"At least let us come with you" Skull insisted, drawing a pair of weapons and handing one to his old friend

"We can't let you run in blind with no support" Bulk chuckled "You trained us better than that" Cruger paused for a moment before shouldering the remote teleporter and reaching out to lay a hand on each of their shoulders

"Your loyalties have never been questioned and for that I'm grateful….and I'm sorry" both Bulk and Skull's eyes widened a moment too late as they realised what was about to happen, then they both slumped forwards as Cruger rendered them unconscious.

Without further delay he readied the teleporter and departed for Earth, there was justice to be done.

* * *

Gunfire rang out throughout the Aquabase, conventional weapons with bullets that would ricochet against the reinforced walls of the underwater structure rather than anything more advanced or alien that could breach the exterior of the base with ease and invite a flood of seawater crashing in; the kind of weapons that left blood spattered on walls and floors with each report rather than the sanitised combat against various automatons that those defending the Aquabase had likely experienced thus far in their careers.

Ivan and B'Vor ploughed through the defences rallied against them with little effort; the hulking blue alien using the absurd levels of strength and durability that his people were gifted with to close the distance between himself and the Silver Guardians that barred the way, bullets doing little more than graze him before he left crushed bones and ruined armour in his wake. Ivan however was far more cautious and mobile in his approach flitting between any available cover and using his years of training to take down the bases' security, stealing their weapons as he went and leaving a trail of men and women who had been stabbed and shot behind him until finally it seemed that the two of them had cleared the way to their objective.

The Aquabase was comprised of a series of pod like structures connected both horizontally and vertically by a network of transparent tubes which housed walkways, elevators and in some cases entire roads, giving the entire thing the appearance of some gargantuan metallic reef or perhaps a depiction of a chemical compound. B'Vor and Ivan rounded a corner without further interference and saw that the clear tube that would lead directly to the teleportation chamber was unguarded

"Something's not right" the gaunt and pale man noted to his towering and blue skinned companion, the apparent lack of resistance at this final stretch unsettling to him; eventually he let out an annoyed huff

"Nothing for it" with that the pair made their way into the clear walkway and the door behind them sealed shut, which Ivan presumed was the work if the living computer virus that had been unleashed into the bases' systems. A moment later his trepidation was proven to warranted as the door at the opposite end of the walkway and for the briefest moment he had a glimpse of the teleportation chamber itself, almost mockingly close but kept from his reach by the five figures who filed out of the room to place themselves firmly in front of the entrance

"You look surprised to see us?" the Red Ranger called out and Ivan allowed himself a small smirk as he studied her tone and body language as well as those of the other Rangers

"And you look uncomfortable being here, maybe you should step aside"

"Just never thought I'd have to take down another member of Lightspeed" Mercy shot back, fury simmering just beneath her collected composure

"Oh don't worry, you won't" Ivan sneered, mildly enjoying the back and forth until B'Vor let out a wheezing huff which the man understood to be a reminded that the Rangers were likely stalling for time. Ivan looked at the stolen pistol in his hand, which the Pink Ranger seemed to notice

"That won't work on us" her low and husky voice declared "You're good but you're no Rangers"

"The grooviest option would be for you to stand down" Tempestus added solemnly. Ivan took a moment to consider before realising that there was only one possible solution to the problem; he looked at B'Vor and the two shared a nod before Ivan discarded the weapon, throwing it to the ground between himself and the Rangers

"Good" Mercy nodded "Now, get on the ground both of-" she was cut off and left in silent horror as both Ivan and B'Vor drew syringes filled with some viscous substance that writhed and swirled as if alive and stabbed the needles into their own necks, the substance within all but leaping and forcing itself through the thin tube and into a new host body where it began to merge with and alter the genetic material it found.

"Oh my god, what have you done to yourself?" Mercy gasped as she watched the changes begin to overtake their bodies. B'Vor grew until he scraped against the roof of the cylindrical walkway, clothes and armour tearing as his body bulged, flesh hardening and cracking into exoskeletal plates beneath which raw and bloody muscle and tendons could be seen pulsating; the tusks sprouting from his upper jaw elongated even further and his lower jaw split in half to become a wide and gaping maw, lined with rows of hooked fangs whilst the most unsettling of all to watch was the way that his arms seemed to tear in half and each half then regrew into a functioning limb, muscles bulking out and reforming as ruined hands were reshaped into cruel talons with two claws adorning each limb.

"That, is disgusting" Aslaug noted gruffly. Ivan in a display of considerable willpower did not scream as his body was reforged on a cellular level by the Acheron genetics that spread through it; instead he merely clenched his teeth and let out small grunts and hisses of pain as his bones were elongated and his muscles altered to make him several inches taller; his skin taking on a pale reddish hue before glistening silvery scales began to grow over it in patches that covered his arms and neck, his styled and spiky hair grew into a series of swept back quills whilst his ears became bat-like; eventually he doubled over as solid bone spikes burst from his spine and shoulder blades and when the Rangers saw his eyes again they were a fierce yellow colour with slitted pupils, the transformation had been far less intense than his partners' but the results were just as unsettling

"So" Ivan hissed, flexing ghoulishly long and many jointed fingers and revealing a serpentine and prehensile tongue as he spoke "I think we all know what happens now"

With no further warning the beings that had once been Ivan and B'Vor charged.

"HOLD THE LINE!" Mercy bellowed "They can't get to the teleporters!" the Red Rangers flew towards Ivan and the two began exchanging blows at lightning speed, the mutated man delivering a spinning backhand into the Red Ranger's forearm to bat her fist away before driving his elbow at the visor of her helmet, Mercy caught his arm and fought to redirect the blow only for Ivan to deliver a punishing knee-strike to her ribs that forced her back. He attempted to press the advantage further with another kick which Mercy promptly caught and used to throw him off balance, the mutant responded with a back-flip before lunging back into close quarters with a spinning, low sweep at Mercy's legs at the same moment the Red Ranger launched a hurricane kick. The two blows missed each other and after a brief pause the two combatants launched themselves at one another again.

Aslaug, Tempestus, Panthera and Rensa were being overwhelmed by the raw power that B'Vor's mutated form possessed; each Ranger struggling with an individual limb as the mutated alien swung his tusked skull at them in a thrashing, stabbing motion and forced them back step by step.

"I've got him!" Panthera declared as she managed to trap one of B'Vor's twisted and malformed arms beneath her foot before driving her knee into the elbow joint and forcing the joint backwards with a sickeningly wet snap. B'Vor let out a horrendous and inhuman shriek before reaching around with another of their arms and hurling the Pink Ranger into the ceiling with ground-shaking force and a resounding clang.

"TAKE HIS LEGS!" Aslaug ordered furiously as she grabbed both of B'Vor's upper arms and grappling with him as the monstrous creature gradually overpowered her, Rensa and Tempestus made to bring B'Vor to his knees but were halted by the wild and frenzied swipes of his lower limbs, one of which was now broken and twisted at an impossible angle until eventually the mutant alien screamed and thrashed even more uncontrollably and the Blue, Yellow and Black Rangers were flung to the ground. Tempestus dragged himself to his feet and looked out at the freezing seawater that lay outside and the beginnings of a plan began to form in his mind, something that he would never have considered before leaving Aquitar and made him question himself for the briefest of moments before calling out to Mercy who was locked in combat with the thing that Ivan had once become

"Everyone pull back! I've got an idea!"

"The only place we can pull back to is the teleportation chamber!" Rensa observed as he ducked beneath a blow from the still rampaging B'Vor

"Deal with this beast and we can hold the other one at bay" Aslaug countered, which Mercy seemed to agree with

"Everyone pull back" the Red Ranger looked at the Aquitian for a moment "Whatever you're gonna do, be careful" then she and the other Rangers fell back into the chamber which they had been intending to keep their enemies from reaching; Ivan slipping through with them before the entrance was sealed shut. Tempestus noted to himself that it would have been nice to trap both of the traitors, but now it was just he and B'Vor.

"On Aquitar we have very specific punishments for traitors like you" Tempestus's usual affable tone had become icy as he manifested his quarterstaff in his hands "Unfortunately I have neither the time nor the implements for it, so this will have to do" B'Vor turned to face him, movements somewhere between lumbering and scuttling as they charged towards the Blue Ranger; Tempestus held his ground and as his monstrous opponent drew close he forced all of his power into a single strike, the tips of his staff glowing with cerulean light as he lashed out.

And shattered the transparent walkway in which they had been fighting.

Water flooded in with such force and pressure the walkway was ripped apart almost entirely and filled with water; Tempestus as a native of Aquitar was within his element and capable of breathing under water whilst his armour protected him from the debris now swirling around him. B'Vor however was not so lucky, his mutated form lacked any adaptions that would have made it suitable for swimming and indeed his mouth could no longer close, leaving the alien thrashing and struggling as they swallowed vast lungfuls of seawater until eventually their movements slowed and stopped as he drowned.

"Drowning is no way to die, but treachery is no way to live" Tempestus mused to himself before swimming out of the hole he had created in the Aquabase and searching for another point of entry so that he might aid his friends.

* * *

The urge to cackle maniacally was becoming overwhelming for Charlie as she tore through any and all opposition with laughable ease, what she had found within the treasure trove that was the hidden vault could only be described as a prototype Battleizer suit. The thing needed no connection to the Morphing Grid to function and formed a mechanical exoskeleton around her, heavy and powerful limbs fitted high calibre machine guns whilst some kind of plasma weapon was fitted over her right shoulder; she had also found a pair of prototype swords intended to be used by Ranger; Charlie had reasoned that in a fair world she would have been a Power Ranger, so the weapons were rightfully hers to take and now the blades were slung across her back along with stolen components from Project Crucible as she powered through the Aquabase.

"THERE SHE IS!" the clearly frightened voice of a solider screamed from ahead and the force arrayed against her made Charlie's eyes widen for a moment before she committed to her course of action and broke into a full sprint. At least a dozen heavily armed Silver Guardians knelt and took cover behind sandbags that had been piled up to create a makeshift barricade, behind them was a six wheeled armoured personnel carrier with a turret mounted on top of its' reinforced hull and aimed directly at her, the thing had been positioned sideways to fill the entire road that ran through this section of the Aquabase and ensure that there was no way around it.

Instead Charlie went through it.

The machine guns fitted to her exoskeleton raked through the air and forced the soldiers to duck and take cover, the hull of the vehicle behind them being thoroughly dented by the gunfire but remaining unbroken; then Charlie fired her shoulder mounted plasma weapon and a flash of pale blue light filled her field of vision accompanied by a low and warping bass sound that preceded the cacophony of the armoured personnel carrier exploding. Shrapnel flew out towards her and Charlie was forced to stop firing and cover her face, those Silver Guardians who remained opened fire on her as she stampeded over their defences and through the wreckage; she felt the Battleizer exoskeleton stagger and sag as something vital was struck and quickly returned fire before rounding a corner. The stolen suit would go no further, each movement being sluggish and juddering whilst sparks and fluids issued from ruptured components.

It was no concern to Charlie who quickly stripped away the harness that had secured her into the Battleizer and drew the swords she had taken with it, broad bladed and double edged things which began to glow with ominous crimson light and thrum in her hands as she sprinted ever closer to goal.

And then she found her way halted by an impassible barrier

"Shit!" she exclaimed upon seeing the final walkway between herself and the teleportation chamber sealed off, peering through the narrow window in the blast door that had locked into place brought an end to any half formed plans about tearing it away with her new swords; the walkway had been flooded and she could see a twisted and mutated body floating ahead of her that she realised with a start was B'Vor.

No sooner had the realisation that she needed to find another way around come to her than she heard footsteps behind her, slow and deliberate. Twirling the swords in her hand and finding that they possessed some quality that made them more difficult to control than anticipated, like moving inertia, she turned and faced the newcomer

"Hello Charlie" Doggie Cruger snarled as he drew his sword

"Doggie" Charlie gave a nod of recognition as the syringe filled with Acheron genetic material appeared in her hand, Cruger looked the substance with naked disgust and Charlie regarded it for a moment longer before dropping it to the ground and crushing it underfoot.

She didn't need tricks and she intended to prove it to those who had overlooked and forgotten her.

* * *

"CRESCENT WAVE!" Zen-Aku howled the name of his signature attack as he twirled and slashed the curved glaive in his hands; both Cliff and Rachel leapt and rolled aside to avoid the attack as the arc of incandescent light ripped through the space they had occupied, however the stolen grenade that Cliff had hurled at the Org was ripped apart in the process as well and thus the stalemate continued.

Cliff and Rachel had launched their diversionary attack on the area of the Aquabase which held the school which younger cadets were trained in; overpowering several of the Silver Guardians who stood guard over the area at all times with ease and stealing their weapons, though they had never reached their destination. The pair had gunned dozen well over a dozen soldiers, their actions being the cause of the initial alarm that had been raised but before they could advance any closer to the children they had been intercepted by Zen-Aku who had told the pair in no uncertain terms that whilst the children were being escorted to safety by other veterans and former Rangers they needn't concern themselves with such things, he would be sufficient to ensure that neither of them caused harm to a single child in Project Lightspeeds' care.

With the alarm raised both Cliff and Rachel had attempted to fall back and retreat towards the teleportation chamber but had thus far been unable to do so, the Duke Org having kept them trapped in the open and park-like area that was used for recess; desperately fighting for their lives as he attacked him without mercy.

"We need a better plan than this" Rachel snapped, the cybernetic eye that she had been fitted with to replace the one that had been blinded in Strike-Squad Alphas' ill-fated attack on the Heliothis whirring and visibly adjusting as it fed information directly into her brain whilst she searched for an opening in Zen-Aku's defences

"Open to suggestions Rachel" Cliff answered tensely as the pair circled their adversary, positioning themselves on opposite sides and trying to ensure that he couldn't keep an eye on both of them.

"Last resort?" the scarred woman offered

"Not yet"

"ENOUGH TALK!" the Org roared, launching himself at Rachel in a blur of movement and bringing the Crescent Blade down in a diagonal slash which the treacherous woman managed to nimbly weave around before placing a booted foot against the back of the blade which had sunk into the ground before using it as a springboard to deliver a spinning kick and force Zen-Aku to step away from his weapon, the blow impacted against his armour with an echoing clang and he swiftly responded in kind though Rachel expertly rolled away from the attack and the Org was quickly sent staggering to the ground by a sucker punch to the side of the head as Cliff joined the fray one again.

"Put him down!" Cliff snarled as he delivered a serious of kidney punched followed by an elbow to the snout before stepping aside and allowing Rachel to land a particularly vicious kick to the throat followed by a spinning leg sweep that took his legs out from after beneath him.

"Cowards" Zen-Aku spat, Cliff offered no excuses or justification as he loomed overhead and made to deliver an axe kick.

Only to be kicked aside and land in a crumpled heap some distance away; Rachel fought with the newcomer for a moment but met a similar fate and Zen-Aku saw a hand reach down to help him and quickly took it.

"The kids are safe, the Rangers are looking for the other traitors" Kimberley explained as she pulled Zen-Aku up "It's just us and them"

"As it should be, combat with no distractions" the lupine warrior growled

"I think it's time for the last resort" Cliff noted as he turned to Rachel

"Agreed" she nodded "Let's hope you're still pretty when this is over" she flashed her partner a wink with her remaining eye before the two of them drew the syringes filled Acheron genetics that they'd been given and injected them.

"Ew, I think I'm gonna be sick" Kimberley declared as the pair began to transform. The consistency of Cliff's body began to change and loose all uniformity whilst it became a pure jet black all over, patches of skin became viscous like tar and began to leak through his clothing as it stretched and expanded; other areas of skin, primarily around his chest and lower parts of his limbs morphed into glassy, shimmering crystals which erupted and grew outwards into layers of armour and monstrous appendages in place of hands that resembled wrecking balls. Rachel grew a layer of iridescent and pale lilac fur, interspersed with streamlined and swept back thorns that dripped with poison, a long and muscular tail grew from her lower back with a pincer-like appendage at its' tip; her legs lengthened and her knees shifted backwards with an audible snap and whilst her robotic eye remained her remaining natural eye began to distort, forming two distinct pupils and irises of different colours that overlapped each other.

"I think you're the pretty one now" Cliff noted in a sickeningly amused tone as the two examined their new forms, his voice reduced to a throaty gurgling.

"Really wish I still had a Morpher right now" Kimberley murmured whilst beside her Zen-Aku simply held out an outstretched palm and summoned the Crescent Blade back to him, it flew to his hand with the sound of whistling and rushing wind; the moment it had done so the now mutated traitors threw themselves at the pair, Rachel streaking ahead of Cliff whose transformation had rendered him a hulking and ungainly behemoth

"Get the fast one first" the former Pink Ranger suggested, sprinting towards Rachel with Zen-Aku close behind her, only to be brought to a halt and forced to leap aside as the mutant came to an abrupt halt and turned on her heel, bringing her new tail around in a wide arc before holding her right arm out towards Zen-Aku, her poisonous quills turning to point at the Org before being fired like projectiles which were quickly blocked and deflected by the lupine warriors' weapon.

"ZEN-AKU NOW!" Kimberley called out as she quickly closed the distance between herself and Rachel and held her thrashing tail at bay, keeping her in place as Zen-Aku sprung forwards.

The Crescent Blade swung out faster than the eye could see and Rachel's lifeless body collapsed backwards, blood pouring from the stump where her head had once been.

"NO!" Cliff's voice was the closest thing to a grief-stricken scream that his new form would allow and his mace-like fist was swung on ropey, tar-like tendons; striking Zen-Aku in the chest and sent him hurtling through the air to land several dozen feet away with a crash.

"Kimberly, stand clear!" a rumbling growl demanded, the words echoing unnaturally as Zebidiah Lord marched into view, arcane magic swirling around him in a crimson aura and eyes crackling with arcs of white lightning as he tapped into the powers that had once made him feared across the galaxy. Cliff and the former Lord Zedd locked eyes and the older mans' robes billowed out around him as if he were stood in gale force winds as he extended a hand and there was a moment where the mutated traitors' expression changed from one of hatred to pure terror.

And then his body exploded.

Viscous gobs of tar-like ooze and shattered fragments of glassy black minerals hung suspended in the air, interspersed lightly with parts of Cliff's body that had not yet completely transformed until eventually Zebidiah unleashed a fresh wave of magic and the stench of burning flesh and oil filled the area.

"I despise cowardice and I despise treachery" Zebidiah growled before turning away, his voice still echoing and distorted as he spoke.

Kimberley stared in dumbfounded silence, noting that even Zen-Aku seemed visibly shaken by the way Zebidiah wielded his magic; the former Pink Ranger forcibly reminded that the man had once been Lord Zedd and finding a whisper escaping her.

"Thank God he's on our side now"

* * *

Charlie and Commander Cruger exchanged blows at a speed that was beyond what many would have considered possible as they duelled, their years of training and the sheer fury with which they duelled propelling them to speeds close to those of a morphed Ranger.

"The great Anubis Cruger, hero of Sirius running and hiding! If they could see you now!" Charlie taunted with manic glee as she launched her latest offensive; the power that her swords contained fuelling her movements and as she made a backhanded slashing attack with her left the unnatural momentum carried her forwards and her follow up right overhand threw her into a spinning leap, allowing her to close the distance between herself and Cruger faster than he could create it.

"Charlie Morales, one's of Earth's best, one of my best!" Cruger shot back coldly as he rolled aside from a blow that would have torn him half "If I'd known that this is what you were I would-"

"YOU WOULD HAVE WHAT CRUGER!" Charlie was on him again in an instant and he was forced to clutch at the blade of his own sword as both of Charlie's weapons forced him to his knees

"YOU WOULD HAVE KEPT ME FROM BEING A RANGER? YOU WOULD HAVE SENT ME ON SUICIDE MISSIONS AND HOPED I NEVER CAME BACK? YOU WOULD HAVE LEFT ME TO DIE?" Charlie's voice was a hoarse scream as she raged "WHAT YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?" flying into a berserk rage she kicked Cruger in the face and the canine alien was forced to roll aside as her swords tore glowing gashes into the ground as he struggled to evade her before finally flinging himself back onto his hands and kicking her in the chest with both feet.

"You really think you could be a Power Ranger don't you? Don't delude yourself Morales" Cruger sneered with obvious derision "The Dark Empire throw you table scraps and you show your true colours, imagine what you'd do if you were trusted with anything real" Charlie let out a howl of rage and lunged forwards, the blades of her swords crackling as she slashed inwards with both hands and a gust of wind accompanied the blow which Cruger avoided by leaping backwards and promptly bracing himself for Charlie's next onslaught

"Yes I know all about your bullying and instigating fights with the Red Ranger" he sighed as he deflected slash after slash, his blade so fast as to be nothing more than a blur of silver

"And what makes her so special?" Charlie demanded, repeating the question that she had asked of Mercy herself as she slashed at Cruger's chest before dropping into a low, spinning sweep before lunging upwards into a stabbing attack

"Things which I doubt you have the capacity to understand" Cruger answered simply, which only served to enrage his former student further; Charlie readied her swords and charged towards him with a scream whilst Cruger took a slow breath and lunged forwards to meet her.

The two collided with one another and everything fell silent

"If I'd known that you were still alive, I would have darkened the stars to save you" Cruger whispered in Charlie's ear, hissing in pain as she gave a few final struggling movements and tried to twist the blade that had bitten into his arm; his words filled with an immense, heavy sadness as he added

"But I can't save you from yourself Charlie and you made your choices" he stepped back and pulled his ancestral sword free, the blade that been protruding from her back being slowly removed. Charlie fell to the ground shaking and wide eyed as she struggled to breathe with blood pooling around her, the wound had punctured her lung but Cruger had intentionally stopped himself from piercing her heart; as tempting as it had been.

"Commander Cruger!" he wheeled around, sword ready at the sound of his name being called and was confronted by the sight of the Titanium Ranger; the visor of the suits' helmet retracting to reveal that it was Dana Mitchell wearing her brothers' armour

"They locked me in my office and stopped recycling the air" she explained "I had to morph and cut my way out"

"Where are the rest of Strike-Squad Alpha?"

"Captain Hart informs me that Specialists Nelson and Ou-Yang were terminated" Dana's use of the clinical term disturbed even her "The Blue Ranger has reported that Specialist B'Vor has likewise been terminated and is moving to assist the other Rangers in dealing Specialist Komarov" whatever Cruger wished to respond with went unsaid as Charlie let a disturbingly wet choking sound, followed by a wheezing gasp.

"Then it seems that Specialist Morales may be our best source of information" Cruger finally murmured

"Agreed" Dana nodded before opening a communicator channel "This is Vice Admiral Mitchell, I need a medic and a security team on my location ASAP"

* * *

Ivan's mutated form was far more lithe and agile than the Rangers had anticipated, his limbs were capable of bending in abnormal and irregular ways and gravity seemed to be of little limitation to his as he had proven himself able to scuttle across walls and even the ceiling without hindrance.

"I'd tell you to come and die with honour, but clearly you have none traitor!"Aslaug roared her challenge up to Ivan who responded by leaping down from the ceiling and landing on the flat of the Yellow ranger's axe blade before spring forwards to bring his knee crashing into her face with tremendous force, Aslaug staggered backwards with her Visor broken and Rensa leapt to her aid only for Ivan's now serpentine tongue to extend from his mouth and wrap around the Black Rangers ankle, throwing him across the room where he struck a wall and fell to the ground with a thud before struggling to rise.

The teleportation chamber was spacious and minimalist with its' outer edge was filled with platforms, whilst the Rangers' teleportation beacons allowed them to manifest and teleport from anywhere within the Aquabase the vast majority of extraterrestrial visitors reached the Aquabase through those platforms and Ivan knew he needed to escape before the living digital virus that he had unleashed into the base was circumvented, the problem with this was that the Rangers understood his goal as well as he did and had thus far managed to prevent him from doing so.

Which Mercy continued as her spinning kick to the side of the head caught him off guard and sent him reeling

"I suppose if I were still me that might have hurt" he sneered driving an elbow into Aslaug's gut as the Yellow Ranger tried to tackle him from behind "But Charlie was right, you're not even nearly good enough" Mercy knew better than to rise to the bait but charged anyway in an effort to keep her adversary on his toes and distracted, though his mutations had enhanced his senses and boosted his reaction times to a preternatural degree. Mercy rushed towards him from the front and Panthera came charging from the right; Ivan leapt into the air and wrapped his tongue around Panthera's neck to pull the Pink Ranger close whilst at the same time delivering a two footed drop kick to Mercy's chest, throwing Panthera over him he flipped to his feet and launched a series of acrobatic blows at Mercy and used his inhuman speed and flexibility to keep the Red Ranger at bay

"You are an odd one to say the least" Ivan mused in a conversational tone "The only orphan from a Megazord fight gone wrong? No other kids ended up in Lightspeed-"

"Is this the best you can come up with to distract me?" Mercy demanded as Ivan sidestepped her kick aimed at his chest and carried his momentum into a spinning backhand which was in turn avoided

"Tell me, can you actually remember anything before you came to Lightspeed or do you only know what they tell you?" Ivan somersaulted over a leg sweep and kicked Mercy away with a smug smirk and a knowing look in his yellow eyes "I'm pretty sure it's the latter"

"Shut up!" Mercy snapped as threw herself into a spinning kick aimed at Ivan's face, unable to keep herself wholly composed and suffering for it as Ivan captured her leg and dragged her to the ground.

"MERCY!" Rensa leapt to his feet and manifested his daggers, hurling them directly at Ivan's chest only for the mutant to pluck them from the air

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" Aslaug charged, axe held overhead

"Predictable" Ivan sighed as he span away from the Yellow Ranger and in a single twisting movement slipped around her blow and plunged Rensa's daggers into her side and shoulder which caused her morph to flicker but ultimately hold as she gritted her teeth and persevered.

Ivan sprinted for one of the teleportation platform, trading blows with Rensa for a moment before using the Black Ranger's own wild and feral way of fighting and his own momentum against him, slamming his head against the floor with a worrying crack. Mere steps away from his goal he felt arms wrap around his waist

"You're not going anywhere" the Pink Ranger growled in his ear; Ivan's bones made a sickeningly moist squelching sound as he twisted his neck around to speak to Panthera face to face

"So you'll launch rescue missions for random Triforians but not for your own sister?"

"What?" ice flooded through Panthera's veins and she felt her stomach lurch at the traitors' words

"Perhaps she feels the same way about being abandoned as my team did" Ivan grinned, displaying the serrated fangs that his mouth was now filled with "Perhaps you'll find out"

"Panthera grab him! He's getting away!" Mercy's words seemed to be coming from somewhere in the distance and the sight of Ivan scurrying onto the teleportation platform and vanishing in a streak of light after he escaped her grasp barely registered to her, Panthera merely sunk to her knees sobbing uncontrollably inside of her helmet.

The sound of another entrance on the opposite side of the teleportation Chamber sliding open drew the attention of the Rangers and Tempestus sprinted into the room

"I've spoken to Vice Admiral Mitchell, the other traitors are dead or captured!" he declared breathlessly "Where's Ivan?"

"Gone" Mercy said simply as she tended to Aslaug who had de-morphed and was clutching at her wounds with blood trickling through her fingers.

"Captain Hart" she raised her communicator to her lips to speak "Captain Hart this is-"

"Mercy come in, what's your status"

"Ranger down" Mercy's lip visibly quivered at the words "Aslaug needs help"

"Medical personnel are en route. Whatever Justin is doing is working, we're taking back control of the base….Where are the hostiles"

"B'Vor's dead" Mercy informed her with more venom than even she had expected in her words "But the mission is a failure ma'am, Ivan escaped" there was a moment of palpable tension before Kimberley answered

"Understood"

**Authors Notes:**

Okay, three quarters of the way through this arc; next chapter wraps up.  
I'm not gonna lie this chapter was an absolute slog to get through but I think it's because both Aegis and my RWBY story FADE: Legacy are at the same point in their respective arcs, which means I've had to write two big old crescendo battles in one week.  
Also means I'll be writing two denouement chapters next week.  
After I'm done with chapter 16 of Aegis I'm gonna have to do some planning for both Aegis and FADE, so there may be a hiatus of a week or so, don't worry if I don't post a chapter it just means that I'm plotting.  
Also a little spoiler for the next Arc….It's gonna feature some Kamen Riders_ (Although they'll be heavily altered versions/near enough OCs because I don't actually watch Kamen Rider)_ so you've got that to look forward to.  
And as for the sixth arc….Oh boy I cannot wait for that one.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Okay so remember in the first arc how Dana was worried that the Dark Empire might be able to employ cyber attacks against the Aquabase, well surprise.  
The plan wasn't entirely successful though, the plan was to leave the Rangers marooned while the attack happened.  
"_Code is code but something that thinks can be outsmarted" _either that or start a robot uprising.  
Cliff and Rachel were told to cause a distraction, heading for the on site schools where all the cadets like Mercy were taught is definitely one way of doing that.  
And so the Rangers actually reacted the way Ivan expected them to, leaving Charlie completely free.  
Strike-Squad Alpha accounted for everything except someone using their own tactics, typical villain arrogance.  
Friends don't let friends do stupid shit alone.  
Ivan and B'Vor against Silver Guardians who've spent most of, if not their entire careers guarding a base that hasn't been attacked in twenty years is a total mismatch and we all know it.  
The glass tubes in the Aquabase are actually wide enough to drive down, it had canonically happened.  
Seriously has anyone ever tried to just shoot a Power Ranger with an actual gun? 'cos I imagine it would just bounce off.  
You knew from the second I said they had syringes full of Acheron genetic material that I was gonna use it as an excuse to go body horror….In my head I'm imagining the transformations as something like the Necromorphs in that Dead Space animated movie.  
Also, note that I called them mutants and not Hybrids; Ivan injecting Acheron genetic material into his body and being changed by it is not the same as someone like Paradoxa who was born Acheron.  
B'Vor in his mutated form is just a lumbering juggernaut of a thing.  
It's a bout time Tempestus got a bad-ass moment.  
Using the environment as a weapon and fighting dirty, he's learning from Panthera.  
You knew Charlie was gonna find something stupidly nasty in the vault, an armoured exoskeleton and a pair of power swords seems about fair.  
People who follow my RWBY stories probably already know this but when I reference Plasma weapons I'm thinking of plasma weapons as described by Warhammer 40k, chunky things with a rounded front and a glowing plasma cell on the top, does a lot of damage but can't really rapid fire and is prone to overheating.  
Two minutes earlier and the Rangers would have been fighting Charlie along with Ivan and B'Vor and that's not a fight that they could win.  
No mutations for Charlie.  
Zen-Aku can canonically fight whole teams of Rangers, just to give you an idea of how well trained Strike-Squad Alpha are.  
"_Ew, I think I'm gonna be sick"_ is a callback and you know I had to use it.  
Straight up decapitation, no flashing lights and random explosions; just cut their damn heads off.  
Zebidiah Lord is still the same guy who was Lord Zedd and he does not fuck around, just straight up unmade Cliff.  
I'm imagining Charlie's movements being like the Second Sister in Star Wars Fallen Order; when she just becomes a blur with every swing, except its' actually more the swords dragging Charlie around than anything else.  
Charlie just causally letting her inner egomaniac….and all other kinds of maniac out to play.  
And down she goes, that's four of them taken care of.  
You forgot Dana still has the Titanium Morpher after Kimberley gave it back didn't ya….She's actually probably got her own Morpher as well.  
"_I'd tell you to come and die with honour, but clearly you have none traitor!" _can you imagine how it feels to get roasted by a space Viking.  
"_But Charlie was right, you're not even nearly good enough" _I suppose this seems like a good time to adress the fact that Charlie and Mercy never got their rematch; if Charlie were still the one calling the shots they would have, but she lost her control of her team and denying her that seemed fair, she fought Cruger while Mercy squared off with the actual leader of Strike-Squad Alpha.  
"_Tell me, can you actually remember anything before you came to Lightspeed or do you only know what they tell you?" _remember when I said that this arc would set up Arc 05 and then Arc 06, remember when Lightspeed called Mercy_ "The best they could make"_….New readers, welcome to the shit-show, old readers welcome back.  
And boom, there's a revelation….Acinonyx is still out there, if you believe Ivan.  
So, the first all out mission failure for the Aegis Rangers and Charlie didn't get the parts of Project Crucible to the teleporter Ivan was the one carrying all the intel that they'd stolen….Plot progression time.

No reviews on the last chapter but thank you to everyone who read it.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	17. Trust In Me

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 16 – Trust In Me**

Ivan had escaped.

A statement that if he were being entirely honest with himself he still found somewhat difficult to believe considering that his way had been barred by the Power Rangers themselves despite Paradoxa's promises that the Alliances' primary defenders would be distracted; a shortcoming that he fully intended to bring to the insectoid Acheron hybrids' attention in their inevitable face to face meeting.

"The Captain wishes to speak with you, you will find her on the command bridge….human?" a member of Paradoxa's crew informed him a burbling and distorted voice as he materialised within the teleportation chamber of the Heliothis. He allowed himself a wry smile at the confusion with which the slug-like creature addressed him, realising that his new appearance was evidently alien enough to render his humanity a questionable thing; he then took a moment to reorient himself and take stock of his surroundings, noting that the Dark Empires' teleportation systems were as unabashedly inferior to those used by the Alliance as he had been led to believe; the chamber itself resembling a bleak and horrific temple to some eldritch deity, every surface was littered with meticulously carved with arcane runes which gave off a pulsating crimson light and cast the entire chamber in a flickering bloody glow which painted oddly dancing shadows across the walls and filled the air with a dull buzzing and a charged atmosphere that ones' skin prickle; even beyond their ghoulish design the teleportation system simply lacked the range, power and reliability of those which Ivan was accustomed to.

Deciding that such things were a matter for another time the traitor departed and began stalking through the Heliothis in search of the command bridge; taking the time to acquaint himself with the idiosyncrasies of the newly mutated body he inhabited, combat had been second nature to him with some combination of his own training experience and the effects his transformation had upon his mind driving him forwards but now that he had retreated to relative safety Ivan noticed that his lengthened limbs and the spines jutting from his backbone conspired to change his gait into something hunched and loping as though he would be equally comfortable on all fours whilst he also noticed that the simple act of breathing felt different and that he was now unpleasantly aware of the muscles of his prehensile tongue which had retracted to somewhere in his gullet.

Being granted a measure of freedom whilst the rest of his team mates had been imprisoned prior to their eventual defections and following him into the arms of the Dark Empire had granted Ivan a limited amount of freedom which he had used to become familiar with the layout of the gargantuan vessel that was the Heliothis, though Paradoxa had never allowed him explore beyond its' confines and examine the slave run mining operation and the monstrous Dread Forge which churned out her units of Putties. Ivan used that familiarity with the vessels' layout to carry himself through the corridors and various chambers whilst his thoughts were turned inwards; his allies were dead and though he had only seen B'Vor's demise with his own eyes he was certain that Rachel, Cliff and even Charlie had met similar fates and in the deepest most honest recesses of his mind he was unsure how to feel about that. As the sole survivor it meant that there was nobody else left to lay claim to a portion of the spoils and the glory that came with his victory, but there was now nobody left to truly celebrate it with and the whole affair rang hollow somehow to say nothing of the ongoing tensions between himself and Charlie which had now been resolved for better or worse.

"You've finally arrived, I was beginning to think that your extraction method was a ruse and you planned to double-cross me" Ivan was dragged from his thoughts by the silky smooth voice of Paradoxa herself, though her demeanour told him that she was anything but concerned

"Better to be certain, if Lightspeed managed to trace my teleportation co-ordinates this whole operation could be in jeopardy" Ivan explained simply, upon escaping the Lightspeed Aquabase he had been teleported to a waiting Dark Empire scout vessel which had then brought him to flagship of the vanguard fleet through several intermediary vessels to throw off any trail that the Alliance might have tried to follow.

"I see you're alone" Paradoxa noted "And now that your ability to operate from the shadows is gone perhaps there are better ways for you to serve the Empire….ways more befitting your new stature" Ivan watched as Paradoxa's eyes raked over his mutated and powerful body, taking all of him in without any hint of shame and he brazenly responded in kind until she spoke again.

"But we're getting ahead of ourselves aren't we….I trust you were successful in your mission?"

"I wouldn't have returned if I wasn't" Ivan sneered, choosing not to elaborate further until Paradoxa was forced to silently ask him to as she realised that answers would not be forthcoming otherwise.

"The physical components of Project Crucible were Charlie's responsibility and she's no longer with us" a hint of genuine sorrow crept into his voice but was swiftly forced down "However the necessary information was recovered in its' entirety. The missing components were only a way to accelerate production, the plan is still viable without them" as he spoke Ivan produced the device that contained the stolen information; the closest analogy he could find was that it was something akin to a hard-drive albeit one which was compatible with both Empire and Alliance technology.

"You've done very well….Lord Zedd will no doubt give you the honours that you deserve for this" Paradoxa's hands reached out to Ivan's shoulders and pressed him against the wall of the corridor that she had found him in and she rose a leg to hold him in place, the soft and pale, mint green coloured flesh of her thigh which bored no armour resting against his hip

"But I think that it's only right I give you the rewards that your actions have earned" Ivan made to take charge of the situation only for Paradoxa to seize his wrists "You will be remembered as a hero of the Empire Ivan" something in the mans' mind, as clouded as it was sensed that there was something was amiss as Paradoxa's face became a twisted sneer and fierce yellow eyes held nothing but sadistic glee; he struggled against her grip with no results momentarily before a pair lances of burning agony shot through his abdomen.

Then another pair, and then another.

Looking down Ivan saw that the atrophied pair of secondary arms which existed solely to carry Paradoxa's weapons and were usually tucked inside of the wing-casing like abdomen that trailed behind her had been deployed and that each of them clutched a weapon, a jagged dagger which dripped with a mixture of Ivan's blood which had been corrupted and discoloured by his mutation and the fluorescent blue toxins of one of the many scuttling lifeforms that dwelt within Paradoxa's quarters. The effects took hold in moments and Ivan could feel his innards begin to melt into a formless slurry as he collapsed forwards, blood and gore pooling around him the moment Paradoxa released her grip; with the last of his strength he forced himself to meet her gaze before the paralysis overwhelmed him completely; the insectoid tyrant stared down at the traitor with a cruel smile and some final parting words before sauntering away and abandoning the traitor to his fate.

"You should have bowed to me when I gave you the chance"

* * *

To say that normal procedure had been thrown aside was an understatement, the Aquabase and to an extent Project Lightspeed and the entire military might of the Alliance had been thrown in to a state of disarray and shock by the attack that had come from within; thousands of warships, colony ships, space stations and military bases all across Alliance space had been placed on high alert and combed the void of space for any sign of an impending attack whilst engineers and data analysts examined every function of their ships and installations to ensure that none had been compromised.

Much of this was utterly unimportant to Mercy Jackson at the moment however, the Red Aegis Ranger having found herself taken away from the surge of activity across the Aquabase by matters that were undeniably more important

"You don't need to be here" a familiar low and husky voice noted "But I'm glad that you are" Mercy and Aslaug had found themselves in the medical wing of the Aquabase which had fortunately been unaffected by the computer virus that the traitors of Strike-Squad Alpha had unleashed; in a striking divergence from protocol Kimberley had informed the Rangers that there would be no need for a debriefing following their mission on Verdant Six at present, though Tempestus had still been summoned to explain his choice to destroy part of the Aquabase in detail and the customary post-battle medical exams were as unavoidable as ever, leading to Mercy having her entire torso bandaged due to her ribs and most of her upper body being bruised with only the Power itself and her armour keeping her injuries from being more severe. Aslaug had not been so fortunate however, the weapons of one Ranger were capable of piercing the armour of another and she had been left with gashes in her right shoulder and side, just above her hip which had been already been stitched and bandaged; the people of Mirinoi were exceptionally hardy and it was clear that the Yellow Ranger would survive with a pair of new scars which she would almost certainly brag about; Doctor Kat Manx had insisted that Aslaug be kept overnight for observation and given a program of antibiotics and painkillers nonetheless, and she looked up at Mercy some of the usual intensity in her icy blue eyes was plainly absent.

"Of course I've gotta be here" Mercy looked away unable to meet Aslaug's gaze "He could've killed you and-"

"And he failed miserably, like the gutless worm that he was" Aslaug growled, her utter disgust at the mere idea of treachery clear to see and giving her enough clarity to focus for a moment "Where are the others?"

"Rensa has a concussion so he's finding things to help out with just to keep active so that he doesn't pass out, Tempestus is talking to Captain Hart….Panthera" Mercy paused and took a deep shuddering breath "I know I need to talk to her, I know I need to stop her from doing something she'll regret but I needed to know that you were okay as well and-and why did this have to get so hard" she found herself exclaiming

"Go, Panthera needs a leader and a friend" Aslaug's voice held no trace of disappointment or judgement and Mercy wanted to throw herself into the Yellow Ranger's arms and hold her but knew that between both of their injuries it would be a poor choice, instead with her heart hammering in her chest and mouth suddenly dry she laced her fingers through Aslaug's and squeezed the larger girls' hand and leaned down to plant the softest and briefest kiss against her cheek

"Thank you for being so understanding" with that she quickly departed, utterly unable to meet Aslaug's gaze. She walked as briskly as possible without breaking into a jog through the corridors of the Aquabase, her feet carrying her towards the Rangers' shared living area of their own accord until she eventually came to a halt

"She won't be there" the thought came to her in an instant and escaped her lips in a hushed whisper, a few moments of frantic thought provided Mercy with a new destination and this time she sprinted as fast as her sore and aching muscles would allow before coming skidding to a halt in front of the sealed and heavily guarded entrance to the Aquabases' armoury.

Panthera was close by, making a show of checking some wiring as part of the security inspection whilst her eyes never left the Silver Guardians that flanked the reinforced entrance.

"Panthera can I talk to you for a sec?" she smiled sweetly and hoped that she had given the guards no reason to suspect anything as she placed a hand on the Pink Ranger's shoulder and gently led her away; once out of earshot her voice dropped to a whisper and her tone became deadly serious.

"I know what you're planning. Don't do it Panthera, please"

"You want me to just sit here?" Panthera demanded furiously, everything about the way she carried herself announcing that she was rapidly reaching her breaking point and could either begin sobbing again or give in to a fit of rage at any moment.

"This won't help!" Mercy snapped "You're gonna what, steal some weapons, steal a ship and then what? We don't know where the Dark Empire have set up their base….We don't even know if Ivan was telling the truth"

"He was!" Panthera snarled "My sister is alive and she's on one of their ships!" Mercy sagged, in all honesty she believed that Ivan had been telling the truth which only made matters more complicated; the aspersions that he had cast about her own history were unsettling but she couldn't afford to be distracted by them at the moment

"Then we'll find her" Mercy promised "But we'll do it together….Panthera I can't let you do this, so please; I am begging you please don't make this harder for either of us"

"Promise me that we'll find her….whatever it takes" Mercy nodded, her own eyes stinging with tears that she refused to let fall. She may have been raised in the Aquabase for as long as she could remember but the fact remained that she and Panthera were fellow orphans and seeing her usually defiant and outspoken friend so vulnerable brought back painful memories of loneliness that Mercy had thought long forgotten.

"I will rip every Dark Empire ship apart with my bare hands and go to Acheron myself if I have to" Mercy promised as she placed her hands firmly on Panthera's shoulders "Whatever it takes" Panthera nodded silently, unable to bring her slitted amber eyes to meet the Red Ranger's as she finally spoke

"Then I'll follow your lead"

* * *

"Sit down, we have a lot to discuss" Dana Mitchell instructed without preamble as she entered the meeting room, at her command Kimberley Hart, Doctor Justin Stewart and Zebidiah Lord all did as they were told. Dana placed several manilla folders on the desk which they were sat around and too her own seat, her every movement weighed down by unspeakable exhaustion

"Things that will be discussed in the meeting are above top secret and I trust that I don't need to explain that this conversation never happened?" Dana paused for a moment and waited until the information had sunk in, under normal circumstances a meeting of such importance would be held within her own office which could almost be considered a fortress in its' own right; currently this was impossible due to the fact that her office was among the parts of the base which had been compromised and the simple fact that it would offer no privacy until a new door was fitted, Dana having used the axe of the Titanium Ranger to escape after being locked in. She noticed the way that eyes were beginning to linger of the Morpher which had once belonged to her brother adorning her wrist and cleared her throat before speaking again

"Our first order of business is that of our security, Justin has the virus that the traitors used been eradicated"

"It has" the former Blue Turbo Ranger nodded "It was less of a virus and more of an artificial intelligence. Once I managed to figure out the pattern of which systems it attacked and how it was doing it I created a network of dummy files that are programmed to self replicate. I basically gave it some bait that it couldn't ignore and lured it a remote system which has now been isolated and is being moved off site"

"So it's not dead then?" Zebidiah snarled irritably

"It was never really alive" Justin shrugged "I'm having it sent to Doctor Sterling. Grace has the time, resources and people to properly make sure that nothing like that thing can be used again. The countermeasures she makes will be sent out to all Lightspeed and Alliance bases; in the meantime I'm having every file it touched scrubbed and remade from scratch"

"Good, well thought out" Dana nodded, glad that she could trust those under her to act quickly and efficiently on their own initiative.

"Do we have an accurate reading of the damage….and casualties?" Dana directed this next question to Kimberley whose head sunk as she answered

"In total thirty two members of staff were killed, fifty inured including the Rangers although they're expected to make full recoveries. The damage to the Aquabase is largely minor, though we will check the structural integrity in the area where a tank was destroyed and there is obviously the destroyed walkway-"

"Which I understand was tactically the safest choice that the Blue Ranger could have made" Dana interrupted

"It was" Kimberley agreed "The two specialists they were facing would have been able to overwhelm them if allowed to continue working in tandem"

"Then it was the right choice" Dana repeated before turning to Zebidiah "Which leads to my next question, what the hell were those drugs that Strike-Squad Alpha were using?"

"Not drugs, something far more abhorrent" Zebidiah's voice echoed and became a rumbling snarl whilst the air crackled around him as waves of arcane magic radiated from his body

"They injected themselves with raw Acheron genetic material, material that had not been bonded to any other species or hosts and was still in a gestation phase; the only way that kind of material could be harvesting is through the killing of unborn Acheron children" Zebidiah explained, his voice trembling with furies "I understand that to the rest of you my people are nothing but monsters and it means little, but I had hoped that there were some depths my second born would not sink to….It seems I was wrong, if his Commanders have enough of a supply to hand Acheron genetics out to their spies then many, many children must have been sacrificed" the sight of the man who had once been Lord Zedd so openly distraught was a chilling one that only gave further weight to his words

"That's….that's obscene!" Kimberley breathed out; giant monsters and alien invasions had been a part of her life since she had been a teenager but this revelation was terrifying in a different way.

"I see" Dana breathed out, utterly unsure of how to respond and privately just as disgusted as Kimberley; she had planned to become a doctor before she had become a Power Ranger and the callous disregard for all forms of life that the Dark Empire showed was unsettling on many levels. She quickly decided to move the conversation forwards and change the subject to something which urgently needed to be discussed.

"Beyond Specialist Morales choosing to steal some weapons seemingly for her own amusement it seems Vault Six was broken into with one specific goal in mind; they knew exactly what they were looking for" the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger paused for a moment, knowing that her next words could change the war forever "They were looking for Project Crucible"

"Oh shit!" Justin sputtered

"How could-" Kimberley found herself quickly interrupted by Zebidiah

"One of the traitors survived, give her to me and I will have answers! I will tear her mind asunder piece by piece until her secrets are revealed!"

"No!" Dana barked firmly "We will not resort to torture, mental or otherwise. That's final Zebidiah!" she added, sensing that the former tyrant wished to argue and weigh the life of one traitor against those who would be lost in the coming battles; Dana would hear none of it, reasoning that the moment that the ends began to justify such means the battle was already lost, they had become the enemy.

"We need to find the Vanguard Fleets' base of operations" Zebidiah finally stated "If you won't allow me to learn what they're planning then we need to uproot them before those plans can take form"

"We still have no leads, they attack from everywhere" Kimberley pointed out; Justin however remained silent for several moments, clearly deep in thought and when his eyes met Dana's she seemed to sense what he would say before he finally spoke.

"They're going to use Project Crucible, we know that's what they're going to do….We've kept this secret for too long already Dana, we should tell-"

"No" Dana shook her head, everything about her expression making it clear that she would hear no argument on this matter before finally softening "I understand your concerns Justin, I share them but now is not the time, it will do more harm than good"

"Unless this all blows up in our faces" the scientist countered

"This discussion is over Justin" Dana's words came out harsher than expected, she gestured to the various items of paperwork "We have more immediate problems to concern ourselves with" sensing that to argue further would achieve nothing Justin relented and the four of them mentally prepared themselves for what would certainly be a long meeting that would take most of the night.

* * *

"I think we should shoot her" a voice mused, every syllable dripping with malice

"And tell the Vice-Admiral what?" a second voice snorted "They kept her alive for a reason-"

"It'll be worth it" the first voice retorted "You didn't see the bodies….Besides two of her friends went after the kids, that's crossing a line"

"I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying be smarter about-" the second voice came to an abrupt halt and Charlie who had been conscious for at least ten minutes but had been regulating her breathing and keeping her guards from noticing that fact felt the atmosphere in whatever room she was being held in change suddenly; the reason became apparent as a gruff voice that she would recognise anywhere spoke

"You're both dismissed, wait outside" without a word of dissent the pair of guards left the room and Charlie could feel Anubis Cruger's presence looming over her.

"Open your eyes Charlie" he growled "I know you're awake, being a coward as well as a traitor is beneath contempt" Charlie's eyes flew open at the insult as she tried to rise only to be rendered unable by both the blinding pain in her chest and the restraints that had been placed on her. Taking a moment to gather her wits and survey the situation she realised that she was not in the medical wing of either the Aquabase or the Moonbase, instead she seemed to have been placed in the solitary confinement cell of the Aquabase brig which had been hastily fitted with the hospital equipment needed to keep her alive, the two armed guards evidently intended to inform the medical staff in her condition changed at all; her hands had been cuffed to the frame of the metallic slab of a bed she was laid on and, in a display of over kill thick bands of steel reached across the width of the bed perhaps six inches above her chest and midsection to keep her from rising. As well as her restraints Charlie had several sensors and machines attached to her body whose rhythmic beeping filled the room, casting her eyes around allowed her to a tube inserted into her side draining the fluids that would otherwise have built up in her punctured lung.

Turning her gaze back towards Cruger to glowered down at her, lips peeling away from sharpened teeth in a snarl whilst his fingers tightened around the grip of his his sword Charlie decided that she could cope with the pain but the confusion was anathema to her, yet she couldn't bring herself to ask the question she needed to know the answer to outright

"If you're planning on killing me you could've saved yourself a trip….those guards are weak willed, give 'em a day and they'll give in to temptation"

"I'm not here to kill you" Cruger bluntly informed her yet he said nothing more and Charlie cursed him as he realised that was going to make her ask the question

"Why didn't you kill me?" she finally ground out

"Because I'm not the villain you've convinced yourself I am" the alien who had been a leader, teacher and something of a role model to her answered sadly, quickly adding "And for more practical reasons, you have information"

"I won't talk"

"It might not be a question of your fortitude" Cruger gave a barely perceptible shrug as let that particular statement hang in the air for a moment "Either way, I wanted you to know that you'll be given a military trial and sentencing"

"The verdict has already been decided, the punishment is to be kept alive for as long as I'm useful and then killed. Spare me the act Doggie this isn't a kindness-"

"You're right it isn't" Cruger nodded "It's justice, actual justice Charlie and not whatever bastardised beliefs you were following" the former specialist remained silent, her future was all but certain and it held no promise of anything but solitude and misery but there was tiny ember of hope remaining and a final answer that she needed but could once again not bring herself to ask outright and instead sought a way of fishing for information

"So does the Aquabase have enough solitary cells for the five of us?….It might be smarter for you to move us all to different bases"

"That would have been the plan if your team had survived" Cruger assured her, crushing the last of the traitors hopes before delivering a final blow "Rachel, Cliff and B'Vor are dead. Ivan ran"

"He what?"

"The moment he saw B'Vor go down he started trying to escape, he had no intention of waiting for you Charlie" Cruger allowed himself the faintest smile; normally such petty cruelty was beneath him but all things considered he decided that he could allow himself a small indulgence

"I wonder Charlie" he continued softly "Do you think the Dark Empire are going to make any effort to rescue you?" receiving nothing but silence as an answer Cruger turned and left, abandoning Charlie to her fate and her own thoughts which began to pick at her mind the moment her cell door slammed closed.

* * *

As Aslaug made her way through the corridors of the Aquabase, giving nods of acknowledgement to the Silver Guardians she passed of which there were more than usual she allowed her mind to wander; privately wondering how it was that a society which professed to be so much more advanced than her own had managed to make the art of tending to injuries so tedious, on Mirinoi she would have been tended to with a needle and thread, some of the mosses that grew in the forests and prevented wounds from festering and some snow to numb the pain yet here on Earth it took hours of forced idleness and being worried over by people who spoke jargon that the Yellow Ranger was certain that they were inventing as they went along to achieve much the same result.

Eventually however she had been released from the medical wing of the Aquabase and was making her way towards the Ranger's shared living area when she caught sight of a clock and realised that unless she was reading it incorrectly, which had been known to happen owing to the difference in both the way her own people kept track of time and the length of a day on Mirinoi, then it was the early hours of the morning.  
"An entire day wasted" she grumbled as she continued trudging along, realising just how long that day had felt; it had only been that morning that they had deployed to Verdant Six to deal with the Dark Empire's latest incursion and it had only been the previous evening that the Rangers had spent camping.

Suddenly the memory of her wrapping an arm around Mercy's shoulders and the Red Ranger leaning into her comfortably came unbidden into Aslaug's mind, closely followed by the more recent memory of Mercy holding her hand and the shorter girls' lips against her cheek; whilst Aslaug made no effort to push the thoughts aside she also made no effort to examine her feelings and was simply content to let them be, enjoying the warm and vaguely fuzzy feeling that they gave her until she reached the Ranger's living area.

She entered silently and was only slightly surprised to see that her fellow Rangers were still awake, she had expected Rensa to be awake if not the others; the Black Ranger had been advised by the doctors not to sleep and his own physiology allowed him to remain awake for longer than most, presumably the effects of been born and raised on a world where a natural food chain had been replaced with irradiated wastelands populated solely by super-predators. Mercy, Tempestus and Panthera had obviously elected stay awake to keep Rensa company which Aslaug would have no trouble believing was something that Mercy had suggested and currently the Pink Ranger was staring impatiently into the microwave with her tail swishing behind her as she watched her food cook whilst Rensa sat between Mercy and Tempestus as the three of them watched a movie with the lights dimmed

"What is that odious stench? Smells like teenagers!" Mercy mimicked the voice of the villain of the movie, which purported to be based on events involving the original Power Rangers which the Red Ranger idolised so much; Klo had curled up at her feet and both Mercy and Tempestus gently nudged Rensa at odd intervals to make sure that the Black Ranger was still awake.

Aslaug was utterly captivated and found herself utterly unsure of how to process her current feelings; she had shared tents with both both young men and women her own age after battles and during extended hunting parties with her tribe but those had always been heady and almost frantic affairs whilst what she felt for Mercy was undeniably yet indefinably different, it was softer somehow and Aslaug found herself smiling warmly as she thought about falling asleep next to the Red Ranger and wrapping an arm around her.

Those thoughts were soon intruded upon as she felt a presence next to her, annoyed at herself for being startled she realised that Panthera had silently crossed the living room without being seen and was currently treating her to a knowing and impossibly smug smirk; it would seem that despite her personal problems and the revelations that had caused them the teal skinned young woman was managing to return to usual standby of tormenting her team-mates in the way that only a younger sibling could. Panthera's smirk widened into a broad smile that displayed her sharp teeth as she prepared to deliver what would no doubt be a scathing and in her mind hilarious commentary and Aslaug and Mercy's interactions.

Aslaug merely whistled and Panthera had barely a fraction of a second to leap aside, hissing and spitting out a slew of curses in a mixture of languages from various worlds as Klo thundered towards them, the gigantic alien wolfhound rearing up onto its' hind legs to playfully lick and Aslaug's face whilst the other Rangers, who had finally been made aware of her presence laughed at the antics.

Aslaug caught sight of Mercy playing with a lock of her curly hair absently and smiling sheepishly as she tried to pretend that she hadn't been staring and found her cheeks colouring as the warm fuzzy feeling returned.

Privately she realised that if this was how things were to continue that Panthera's taunting was deserved.

* * *

Unus, the largest of Triforia's three moons and the base of operations was large enough that it had its' own atmosphere which though a combination of simple luck and the mutability of Acheron genetics was breathable, at least for Paradoxa and several other members of her fleet and as such the insectoid warlord often ventured outside of the Heliothis and out onto the moon to oversee the mining operations and bask in the glow of the Dread Forge as it produced wave after wave of mindless footsoldiers, to her it was calming and allowed her to concentrate. Currently she was using that concentration to formulate new plans of attack and ways to land crushing blows on the Alliance as she watched construction continue on the teleportation gate that Lord Zedd had ordered the construction of, it was far too small to transport even a single vessel and she had little clue as to what use it could be in the grand scheme of things, though she knew better than to question.

Her concentration was broken as the familiar pain of barbed tendrils boring into her mind washed over her, making her grit her teeth as twin sources of agony took root between her eyes; Lord Zedd was contacting her and his summons could not be denied.

"My Lord" she greeted, betraying none of the pain that engulfed her as she dropped to one knee and bowed the moment her masters' holographic form became visible before her; his looming stature commanding and oppressive even when intangible.

"I have received the information that your spies acquired" Lord Zedd's voice boomed out and those engineers working on the teleportation gate quickly fled, frightened of overhearing something above their station which they may be silenced to contain.

"Present your agent to me Paradoxa" the tyrant ordered "They have done a great work for the Empire and will be honoured"

"The honour must be for their memory alone my Lord" Paradoxa answered, attempting to sound mournful whilst not daring to look up and meet Lord Zedd's eye as she lied "Ivan Komarov of Earth was fatally wounded in battle, bringing us the information we sought was his final victory"

"A shame but so be it" Lord Zedd rumbled before quickly turning to more important matters "What of your teleportation gate?"

"Progressing faster than expected my Lord" Paradoxa answered confidently "It will be ready for use within a matter of days"

"Excellent" Lord Zedd's rumbling voice was almost a purr of satisfaction before quickly becoming harsh and threatening once again "This Project Crucible is a bastardisation of the Acheron way and I will have the head of the simpering coward that masquerades as my father for his part in it, but it may be useful however and you will have a part to play"

"I am at your command my Lord"

"My own scientists will be examining this human technology to learn how it is that they have done what we cannot, a proof of concept will be sent to you through your teleportation gate once it is ready….I already have an ideal testing ground in mind for this weapon"

"If I may make a suggestion my lord?" Paradoxa dared to offer her own input, Lord Zedd merely nodded; the insectoid who knelt before him had a certain cunning and ruthlessness about her that it would be senseless to waste.

"I estimate that my teleportation gate will be able to be used five times before our supply of Horusite crystal is depleted; if it pleases you my Lord I believe I have a potential candidate for this experiment"

"And what does this candidate have to offer?" Lord Zedd demanded

"Their very presence would sow discord amongst the Power Rangers" Paradoxa offered simply, momentary confusion washing over her as an odd sound assaulted her ears, only for her to realise that Lord Zedd, despoiler of the galaxy and supreme overlord of the Dark Empire was laughing

"An interesting proposal Paradoxa, send me your candidate….the Rangers shall be made to suffer.

**Authors Notes:**

And that's the Fourth Arc of the story done.  
Arc 05 is gonna be a cross-over with Masked Rider/Kamen Rider (Although because I don't actually watch the show, I just like the armour designs and just due to the nature of the plot the Riders themselves will be out of characters/Straight up OCs)  
Also, as I mentioned in the notes of the last chapter there might be a break of a week or two because I've just finished arcs of this story and my RWBY story so I've got a lot of planning to do.

Anyway, let's summarise:  
Can't even really use human as an insult when they've been mutated to the point where they don't look human any more.  
"_The Captain" _not Lady Paradoxa, that's just Gibil being Gibil when he calls her that.  
Yes I made the teleporters used by the Dark Empire grim-dark for no reason other than aesthetic, I've also got the idea that there's are more based on a mix of magic and science where the Alliance just uses raw science.  
Ivan and the rest of A-Squad were never allowed off of the Heliothis, which means that they don't actually know where the ship is; so Charlie can't give them away.  
Ironically thinking about his dead team-mates after being mutated is the most humanising moment Ivan has had.  
Ivan's escape plan makes sense.  
So the Dark Empire have pulled off a win this time.  
Y'all thought we were gonna go full monster-fucker this early in the story? Nope.  
And that's Ivan gone; that's why you don't wanna be a traitor kids, the people you're working for will get rid of you before you can sell them out as well.  
Seriously, one security breach of that scale is gonna fuck up everyone's day.  
The doctor WILL see you now, whether you want to be seen or not.  
So Mercy and Aslaug are both fine.  
Also, one Ranger's weapons can pierce another Ranger's armour….which is why so many villains have tried to make evil Rangers; which is totally not foreshadowing that's going to become relevant.  
There you go, have a cute bedside scene.  
Yes Panthera was going to go full one woman army.  
And yes the aspersions Ivan cast about Mercy will be addressed in the coming storylines.  
Mercy and Panthera are both orphans, Rensa has very little concept of family beyond Andros, Tempestus is adopted….Honestly Aslaug is the only Ranger with a family.  
Justin made sure that the Empire can't pull off another cyber-attack so easily.  
That's a pretty nasty body count.  
So yeah, the Dark Empire are even more fucked up than you thought.  
So what is Project Crucible, why are mission control so worried…..who does Justin think should be told something; the plot thickens.  
They took no chances with Charlie.  
"_It might not be a question of your fortitude"_ despite what Dana says the option to break Charlie's mind is not entirely off the table, it's unethical but wars rarely are.  
Ironically Charlie has gotten herself into the exact position that she managed to convince herself that the Alliance had left her in and she's got nothing to show for it.  
Aslaug's approach to health and safety would be at home in some of the engineering firms I've worked at _"Slashed yourself open? Just wrap some tape round it, should be fine"  
_Just one of those world building things that I wish Sci-Fi would touch on more; people who've found themselves on a different planet are gonna lose track of time at some point because there's a different amount of hours in a day.  
So Rensa can stay awake for way longer, Mercy is the sort of person who will stay awake just because her friends can't sleep and Panthera comfort eats.  
"_What is that odious stench? Smells like teenagers!"_ look, if I'm not putting Ivan Ooze in this story then I'm gonna throw an homage in and it makes sense that there would be movies about the Power Rangers in a world where they were real….Also I have some fond memories attached to that movie.  
There you go, Aslaug is just as much of a hopeless dork with a crush as Mercy; enjoy.  
Of course Panthera's a little shit, she's a younger sibling.  
So Paradoxa wasn't supposed to kill Ivan, she made that call on her own and lied about it….We might have a little upstart on our hands.  
So Project Crucible was based on Acheron technology but does something that Acheron has never managed, it's all getting exciting.  
Lord Zedd has a testing ground in mind….Is it even a spoiler at this point if I say Edenoi.  
I'm sure you're all smart enough to guess who the candidate Paradoxa referred to was.

Thank you to SumoSnipe for their review on the last chapter.  
Hard to swim….Hard to hold your breath when you can't close your mouth as well.  
Now pressurised blood fountain, some anime antics are being left on the shelf.  
Good look killing that particular Spell caster.  
You got your bedside scene; Mercy took some hits but she's wearing Ranger armour which honestly protects against pretty much anything, Rangers get attacked with flaming swords, solid steel fists and all kinds of lasers and they're usually completely fine under their armour.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	18. Pseudo Alternative (Arc 05)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 17 – Pseudo Alternative**

The Vanguard Fleets' base of operations upon Unus, the first moon of Triforia was almost perpetually dark, the regular cycle of day and night interspersed with equally regular eclipses caused by Triforia itself passing in front of the star it orbited. Instead Paradoxa's small fiefdom within Alliance Space was lit by a mixture of floodlights, primitive lamps and torches whose flames burned various colours and the unearthly light of the Dread Forge; the latter being the insectoid warlords' current destination as she strode across the mineral rich moons' dusty surface.

"Lady Paradoxa" Gibil stooped into one of his customary, comically low bows that brought his muzzle low enough to brush against the dusty ground.

"Progress report" she ordered simply, neither condoning or rebuking his overblown genuflections and casting her eyes over the Dread Forge itself which let out a sound that was partly the hiss of pressurised steam escaping and partly a cacophony of tortured screams as the souls of Triforian mages bound to the machine were manipulated and the magic forcibly twisted and compelled.

"You came at the perfect time Lady Paradoxa" Gibil announced excitedly as he hopped from one foot to the other and flailed his hands animatedly as the latest batch of Putties were released from the Dread Forge

"I experimented with this batch, nothing but the finest for-"

"Show me" Paradoxa cut him off, knowing all too well that if allowed to begin rambling her imp-like minion would do so almost indefinitely

"Of course my Lady" Gibil bowed once again and began scurrying towards the new Putties with Paradoxa a step behind him

"Much improved from the standard template, more durable, more….stabby" Gibil doubled over and began giggling uncontrollably at the word, allowing Paradoxa to inspect the automatons herself without his chattering interference. The new Putties were no taller than their standard counterparts yet their stature appeared more imposing due to their posture, they stood upright and lacked the odd hunched and flailing gait of regular Putties and whilst the expecting warbling cries escaped them they were several octaves lower and had a distinct bass-note about them; the most striking difference however were their arms, these new Putties had thick layers of plating adorning broad shoulders shoulders and thick upper arms and a curved slab covered in irregular jutting spikes comprised of the grey material that their bodies were comprised of took the place of their left forearm, creating a shield whilst their right hands gave way to a long and broad blade with serrated edges, though it was admittedly limited in its' range of motion by the way it grew from the wrist.

"Excellent work Gibil" Paradoxa saw no reason not to praise her underling, these new Putties would almost certainly serve her well; she saw the expression of purest joy and pride forming on his face and quickly added "Now make more of them. Lord Zedd will soon have-"

Without warning pain ripped through her skull and Paradoxa fought to prevent herself from being brought to her knees by the sensation of tendrils worming through her mind; as if he had heard his name spoken aloud Lord Zedd was contacting her and she was powerless to do anything other than produce her holographic communicator and answer the summons.

"My Lord" Paradoxa dropped into a low bow on one knee and sensed that behind her Gibil had done the same.

"Rise" the rumbling snarl of her masters' voice commanded and Paradoxa quickly returned to her feet to face the translucent blue and flickering form of Lord Zedd whose fearsome and armoured from still towered over her.

"The candidate you provided for use in experimentation has proven to be most useful" he continued, an immensely satisfied undertone to his words "They will serve as a proof of concept, I leave the task of unleashing them upon our enemies to you"

"It would be an honour my Lord" Paradoxa's face morphed into a calculating smile, Lord Zedd seemed certain that this new project that was being worked on by his most trusted mages and scientists on Acheron would tip the scales in their war against the Alliance and her mind was suddenly filled with visions of her standing at the tyrants' right hand as their forces laid waste to their enemies.

"The specimen will be returned to you momentarily" Lord Zedd informed her bluntly "You are to launch your first attack upon Edenoi"

"Edenoi? My Lord….they are not part of the Alliance" Paradoxa fought hard to keep any hint of impertinence from her voice

"Nor are they part of my Empire, there is no neutrality in the face of conquest" the tyrant replied simply, as though the answer were obvious "More importantly they have their own protectors; they don't utilise the Morphing Grid that gives the Rangers their powers but they are comparable in some ways, breaking the world is a good test of the specimens' abilities and bending Edenoi to the will of Acheron will be an undeniable victory"

"I submit myself to your wisdom my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head and accepted that the reasoning made sense, not that she would dare question it even if it were patently insane.

"I leave this in your hands" with that simple dismissal the hologram flickered out of existence and Paradoxa blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the absence of the light it cast.

"Come Gibil, let us see what Lord Zedd's personal flesh-crafter can create" with that began marching away from the Dread Forge with Gibil wringing his hands and muttering out a slew of curses and oaths as he trailed behind her; eventually the pair reached the teleportation gate which her engineers and the swarm of slaves and their overseers had finally completed, the ring of twisted blades and spires of some dark coloured metal whose rune-etched surface crackled with arcane energies was surrounded by a loose scattering of her underlings which served to assure Paradoxa that the specimen had indeed been delivered to them.

"Leave me and say nothing of what you have seen" she demanded her underlings, mostly those stationed at the teleportation gate to oversee its' use quickly departed; leaving a large stasis pod of some sort that they had been gathered around behind them. Panthera reached the pod and ensured that its' exterior was undamaged before allowing herself to peer into the darkened but still translucent window of the pods' upper canopy.

"This is stupendous, truly a work of art, those who work in our Lords' personal laboratories are masters of their crafts and I bow to their skill" Gibil's rambling was reduced to a hushed and awestruck whisper which Paradoxa found herself wholeheartedly agreeing with; regardless of what the specimen had been previously they now radiated power that sent shivers down her spine even whilst they were subdued.

"Return to the Dread Forge and triple the amount of your new Putties" she eventually demanded "The specimen should receive proper support"

"At once Lady Paradoxa" Gibil snapped to attention "If it pleases you I could prepare-"

"No" the insectoid interrupted before pausing for a moment as she considered her options, Edenoi was well defended and she was loathe risk her finite amount of ships to deploy the specimen to the worlds' surface; her other option was using the teleportation gate a third time which would only leave two uses remaining unless she could find an additional power source for it. Eventually she made her decision, one of her ships had been damaged recently during a skirmish with the Alliance and its' captain had survived despite their failures; an Acheron hybrid like herself

"Send word to the captain of the Wraith" Gibil ordered as a smile tugged at her lips "They're to cede command of their vessel to their first mate and prepare to accompany the specimen to Edenoi"

* * *

It had been several weeks since Strike-Squad Alpha had revealed their true loyalties and launched their ultimately ill-fated attack on the Lightspeed Aquabase and the situation within the facility had slowly returned to normal with day to day life continuing to go on, though the plethora of new faces that the Rangers had seen around the Aquabase served as a reminder of the event, especially to Mercy who had been raised within the Aquabase and knew many of those who had been slain by the traitors by sight at least. The return to normality included several attacks from the Dark Empire which the Power Rangers had been called into defend against as Paradoxa seemingly refused to allow the Vanguard Fleet to sit idle; an Alliance spaceship carrying supplies to a research station orbiting an inhospitable world had been attacked by a Dark Empire boarding party led by a crab-like monstrosity which Mercy had dubbed _'Crushtacean' _and even now the Zords were being repaired after another battle, this one on the surface of a moon which house several Alliance shipyards and a training facility for spaceship pilots and captains; the monster leading the attack being some bovine horror with enormous horns and a body that seemed to be comprised of more armour and mechanical parts than living flesh which Justin had named _'Bullwark'_.

Currently however the Rangers were back within the Aquabase and whilst none of them were considered cadets or students any more and were granted a considerable amount of freedom they were still expected to train their minds and bodies to maintain peak performance; which was one of two reasons that Panthera had found herself in the gym, the second reason was that she needed a suitable release for her mounting frustrations. The teal skinned alien had spent much of her time trying to find a lead that would point her in the direction of her sister, whom she had been given fresh hope of finding alive; she had contacted her allies within the Galactic Smugglers Guild and traded favours with several Lightspeed personnel and individuals of far less repute in the hope of learning that she had been aboard a Dark Empire ship that had been seized, whilst Rensa had managed to contact Andros and ask the Red Astro Ranger if any members of Panthera's species had been found on any of the Prison Worlds or labour camps that his cell of insurgents had liberated.

So far their efforts had yielded nothing and the Pink Ranger was beginning to grow agitated.

Which was why she was currently inside one of the boxing rings within the gym engaged in a full contact sparring match with Aslaug, the Yellow Ranger being one of very few people willing to test themselves against her.

"At least fight back!" Panthera snapped as the larger woman blocked a maelstrom of jabs seemingly without effort and quickly sidestepped the turning kick that followed them before finally being forced back a step and letting out a wince of pain as Panthera's elbow collided painfully with her hip

"If you're sure" Aslaug grunted as she deftly countered Panthera's savage backhand by catching her wrist and promptly elbowing her in the chest hard enough to stagger her without releasing her grip; her subsequent attack was something she had employed countless times on her home world of Mirinoi where wrestling matches and similar contests of strength were commonplace amongst her people, she used her grip on the smaller woman to pull her off of the ground and over her shoulders in something approaching a fireman's carry before lifting Panthera overhead and simply slamming her into the admittedly soft floor of the ring.

"Calmed down now?" Aslaug chuckled as she held out a hand, Panthera took a moment to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her and glowered at the offered hand for a moment before sighing and accepting it.

Mercy had been watching the sparring match with rapt attention from close by and if questioned she would state that as the leader of the team it was her duty to make sure that the other Rangers took due care in any sparring matches, in reality Aslaug's casual strength and the bulging and well defined muscles of her arms, shoulders and back that were left on display by her tank-top had left the Red Ranger's mind utterly blank as she chewed at her lip. In the weeks following Strike-Squad Alpha's attack she had found herself becoming physically closer to the Yellow Ranger, casually lacing her fingers through Aslaug's or nuzzling into the larger woman though she had yet to muster the courage to kiss her again, on the cheek or otherwise and as the Pink and Yellow Rangers exited the boxing ring so that a pair of cadets could settle a grievance under the watchful eye of an older student Mercy found herself muttering under her breath and fidgeting as she tried to work up the nerve to take the course of action she had decided on, falling still as both Aslaug and Panthera drew close and mentally chiding herself for her utter lack of courage in the face of something that should be simple

"I think we're finished for the day" Panthera declared as she massaged her own shoulder, Mercy nodded

"I'm just wrapping up as well" she swallowed, noting that her mouth had suddenly become very dry "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"I had no plans" Aslaug answered simply, Mercy forced herself to ignore the smirk tugging at Panthera's lips and the glint in her amber eyes and pushed onwards despite her nerves

"Do you, um….do you wanna go out? Maybe get dinner and see a movie or-"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Mercy's stomach plummeted as the response came from behind her; she hadn't realised that Tempestus and Rensa who had spoken had made their way across the gym to join them, the Black Ranger currently wore a wide and toothy smile at the idea

"It would be groovy" Tempestus agreed, eager as always to expand his knowledge of Earths' pop-culture; Mercy quickly glanced to Panthera in the hopes that the Pink Ranger would come to her aid and spare her any awkwardness or embarrassment only for the mischievous smile she wore to quickly disabuse her of the notion.

"Okay, let's hit the showers and get changed" Mercy fought the urge to let out a defeated sigh as her efforts collapsed in front of her and even as she kept a bright smile on her face she fought the urge to scream in frustration.

* * *

The world of Edenoi was outwardly a largely barren one, its' people having risen to sapience and forming societies long after the planets' sun had scourged and irradiated much of its' surface. The pale red skies were regularly ravaged by tumultuous dust storms that tore through the desolate landscape which was comprised mostly of open plains and wastelands with countless mountains, cliffs and canyons denoting where great rivers had once flowed.

A trio of figures made their way through a vast expanse of almost entirely barren land, the scorched and blasted earth cracking beneath their feet with the only other form of life to be seen being particularly hardy trees and bushes whose deep root systems tapped into the subterranean rivers and lakes which most life on Edenoi relied on. Despite the dustiness of the stagnant and mercifully still air the trio pressed onwards with no sign of discomfort, this was after all their home and its' choking, inhospitable atmosphere was the one they had been raised in.

"Stay focused, any sign of movement could be our target" the figure at the lead of the trio advised warily, he was a man who appeared to be in his mid twenties though he carried himself in a way that spoke of hard-earned experience; tall and lean with a deathly pale complexion and gaunt face whose hollowed cheeks and dark-ringed, almost sunken eyes gave him a naturally weary appearance, his black hair reached low enough to almost obscure his left eye, yet it failed to hide the gemstone embedded within his forehead whilst reaching his shoulders at the back and sides. The man was dressed in simple tan and cream clothes which were loose fitting and adorned with several onyx and gold coloured embellishments to denote that he was of some rank or importance whilst around his waist was a belt which stood in stark contrast with the rest of his attire, as wide as his hand and comprised of a glossy yet metallic black material and featuring a bulky contraption at the front which featured a bright red lever and what appeared to be a silver wheel of some sort. This was Sento, first son King Dex and Prince of Edenoi.

"You say that as though you were offering some great insight and not the most obvious thing in the world" one of the two younger men trailing behind him noted with a soft chuckle, the third and final member of the group merely shaking his head disparagingly at the comment which would no doubt lead to bickering; the reason for the lack of deference to Sento's status was a simple one, these were his two brothers who shared his title of Prince.

The more taciturn of them was Takeru whose complexion was slightly darker than that of his older brother and whose unkempt hair had a coppery hue to it, his face seemed to be set in a permanent glower and his clothes, whilst of a similar design to those Sento wore were almost entirely black with the only real colour coming in the form of his own belt which was a vibrant orange colour and featured a smooth, silvery container at its' front which seemed to shine with some inner light and featured a design resembling a stylised eye and a handle at its' right side. The third member of the group was the youngest of the brothers, Emu who was still only a teen; his dark hair was wavy and his complexion seemed to be somewhere in the middle of his two brothers' whilst his clothing was a little more form fitting to allow for the harness he wore which featured a plethora of medical supplies, he too wore a belt though his was a visual onslaught of neon green and pink.

"Just pay attention, this isn't like the training simulations" Sento countered, the jibe at his youngest brothers' lack of experience drawing an annoyed pout from Emu

"Both of you pay attention" Takeru grumbled "Whatever attacked that village will hear you coming from miles away" the comment was sobering and caused the three Princes to focus on the task at hand, a small of village of moisture farmers had been all but obliterated the night before with those who has escaped the carnage ranting about stone men and unspeakable monsters whose claws could tear an Edenite to shreds. King Dex, the former Masked Rider had fallen into a heavy and tense silence before explaining to his sons that whilst these were no remnants of the alien invaders that had once plagued Edenoi he still had his suspicions about their identities; as such the three of them had been dispatched to learn what they could, with Emu leading a team of doctors and as the sun began to set on the bleak landscape they had made their way towards a nearby mountain, expecting to find their quarry skulking within the system of caves in contained.

"The wind is picking up" Sento murmured as they continued "And night will fall soon"

"If you want to go home then just say" Emu offered with a cocky grin

"I just don't want to be hunting in the dark, especially not in a dust storm" the eldest Prince countered with an exasperated sigh "We won't be able to see or hear"

"He's right" Takeru admitted, albeit begrudgingly only to come to a halt and gesture to something ahead "There" his voice dropped to a whisper and his brothers followed his gaze, falling silent and bracing themselves at the sight of a dozen figures whose steady advance had been obscured by the haze and dust ahead.

"They're armed" Takeru noted, nodding to the shields and blades that these newcomers carried

"They're stone men" Emu added, his previous cockiness replaced by a nervous energy as the sound of low warbling, like an electronic bassline reached them.

"Then these are who we're looking for" Sento strode several paces ahead and addressed the figures who now drew so close that the glow of their red eyes could be seen through the dust

"HALT! YOU ARE INTRUDERS UPON EDENOI! YOU WILL SUBMIT TO THE AUTHORITY OF KING DEX AND ACCOMPANY US TO BE QUESTIONED!" the only response was a shift in the tone of the warbling which suddenly became agitated.

The the Putties charged.

"Then they leave us no choice" Sento grinned savagely, the expression making it clear that this was the preferred outcome. Turning and nodding to his brothers he drew two capsules of faintly glowing red and blue liquids from within his clothing and fitted them into the device fitted to his belt.

"Are you ready?" he called to his brothers

"Let's go" Takeru nodded calmly, the eye-like sigil within his own device beginning to glow as he grabbed the handle at its' side.

"Let's game" Emu grinned as he slotted a key like device into his own belt and pulled the lever which laid over it; then, as the Putties burst through the swirling beginnings of a dust storm the three of them spoke in unison.

"Ecto-phase activate! Henshin!" the Putties were forced to a halt by the flash of blinding lights and wave of concussive force that burst from the three Princes and a moment later the automatons were reduced to noises of utter confusion as the limited intelligence they were endowed with struggled to comprehend the site before them.

Sento wore a suit of form fitting armour that was predominantly black with plates of jagged and mismatched armour laid over it, deep metallic crimson on the right arm and left leg whilst the opposite limbs were covered in a royal blue with the two colours meeting in a series of diagonal slashes across his chest; his helmet featured visors which resembled insectoid eyes and mismatched antenna whilst continuing the asymmetrical theme and colours. He had become Masked Rider Build.

Takeru wore a striking suit of armour, it's glossy black surface adorned with silver sections at the wrists, knees and ankles whilst details picked out by vibrant orange lines that seemed to glow ran across its' surface; he wore a wide breasted and hooded black cloak with orange lining which hung open to reveal the eye insignia from his belt repeated on his chest in white; his helmet was bright orange and featureless save rounded and pitch black visors over his eyes and a single silver horn protruding from the forehead. He had become Masked Rider Ghost.

Emu's armour was a shockingly bright shade of pink whilst his lower limbs were black and details were picked out in a vivid green across the suits' surface whilst his knees, shins, forearms and chest were given an extra layer of protection by plates of a bright silver, the chest of his armour featuring a plethora of buttons and controls in several colours; his helmet featured a silver plate over the mouth and a single visor picked out in the same colour within which a pair of orange eyes white pupils could be seen forming on a digital screen, finally the helmet featured a quartet of bright pink quills which slanted to the left. He had become Masked Rider Ex-Aid.

"Let's do this" Sento nodded before springing into action at the same moment the Putties chose to renew their attack, he moved so fast that his body became a blur as he collided with the first Putty before it could bring its' shield up to cover its' chest, delivering a trio of punches at lightning speed that shattered the automaton in its' entirety

"The circular plate on their chest is a weak point!" he called out to his brothers as launched a kick at another Putty, this one managed to defend and so instead he leapt onto the things shield and kicked off, seizing the sword of a third and using it to parry the fourth before weaving beneath their guards with a series of heavy punches and spinning kicks that destroyed them both, leaving on the second of the four Putties remaining. Beneath his mask Sento smiled

"Voltech finish, Rider kick!" he exclaimed the words as he sprinted, the ground sparking at his feet before he leapt into the air and delivered a flying kick; the Putty once again tried to block but it was futile, the attack tore its' stony body asunder without resistance and Masked Rider Build landed on the ground amidst a shower of rubble and debris.

Takeru had manifested his sword, a broad bladed and doubled edged thing which he swung one handed as though it weighed nothing at all, he parried the wild slash of the first Putty to draw close to him with ease and promptly seized its' wrist which allowed him to use his sword to force the things' shield away from its' chest before delivering a high kick to the now vulnerable area. A spinning slash decapitated a second Putty and whilst its' body continued to flail it was left unable to defend itself and promptly destroyed; a further two automatons rushed towards him and Takeru sunk his sword into the ground and simply tackled the first, wrapping his arms around its' waist and lifting it into the air before slamming it into the ground and driving his knee into its' chest; as the next Putty reached him he managed to grab its' sword arm and violently twist the limb so that the flailing automaton was impaled on its' own blade, rising to his feet he brushed off the fragments of shattered Putties that now coated his armour and made to retrieve his sword.

Emu flitted from one opponent to another faster than the eye could see and fought like a man possessed, leaping over a Putties' attempt to stab at him and kicking it squarely in the chest whilst inverted. No sooner had his feet reached the ground than he had sprung into the air again and leapt over a second Putties' attempt to bludgeon him with its shield, his two-footed kick struck the thing in its' face and hurled it back and left it in a crumpled heap on the ground; sensing movement behind him he turned and grabbed a third Putty and quickly hurled it over his shoulder to land on top of its' cohort in a tangle of flailing limbs and with a roar of exertion he dropped to his knees and drove his fist through both of their bodies

"And now for you" Emu beamed behind his mask as he rose to his feet and prepared to deal with the final remaining Putty, only for the thing to explode and the sinister form of Masked Rider Ghost to be revealed behind it, sword outstretched

"Maybe one day you'll be fast enough" Takeru noted, proving that despite his earlier stoicism he was not above taunting his younger brother.

"Good work" Sento nodded to them both approvingly, yet before either brother could reply something lunged from the dust clouds. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Takeru as he watched a mass of blue skin stretched over coiled muscles and clad in some form of armour collide with Emu with all the force of a meteorite and a feral roar; Masked Rider Ex-Aid was flung back several dozen feet yet the thing was on him in an instant, its' clawed limbs striking his armour with thundering blows whilst the youngest of the three Princes' cries for help rang out.

Takeru wasn't even aware that he had started to move when he heard a war cry spilling from his lips

"Omega drive, Rider kick!" he leapt into the air and his lower body became a nexus of fiery orange light as he delivered a punishing blow to the new attacker and sent them hurling through the air; wherever they landed they had been hidden once again by the dust kicked up by the increasingly violent winds and their snarls echoing into the distance informed all three Masked Riders that whatever the thing was, it had retreated.

"Are you hurt?" Takeru demanded frantically

"I don't think so" Emu panted out, clutching at his own body nervously and realising that whilst he was unharmed vast sections of his armour and helmet had been torn away by the monsters' claws, the animated eyes adorning his digital visor having faded as it was breached; he quickly turned to Sento and made the only suggestion he could think of

"We need to contact father"

"It's being done" the eldest brother assured him, desperately trying to maintain some level of calmness despite the situation "Father, we encountered what we believe to be the attackers the villagers spoke of….Whatever the thing was it was radiating some kind of power and a force that I've never seen before. I'm transferring the readings to you now" several moments passed before the voice of King Dex sounded in the helmets of all three Masked Riders

"You may not have seen this power before, but I have" his voice was grave and shocked despite his best efforts to hide it, with the faintest tones of an underlying fury that was kept firmly in check

"Come home" he instructed "All of Edenoi is at risk and I must speak with some old friends"

* * *

Captain Kimberley Hart made her way through the Lightspeed Aquabase at a brisk pace, her feet carrying her along the familiar route to conference room one where Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell had urgently requested her presence. Possible scenarios ran through the former Power Rangers' mind as she tried to make sense of the situation with the almost total lack of information and context at her disposal, her only real clue being that conference room one was usually chosen for long range interplanetary communications. Eventually she reached the reached the entrance and found it flanked by a pair of armed and armoured Silver Guardians whose presence indicated that whatever Kimberley would find beyond the door ahead was of utmost secrecy, they silently nodded and allowed her entry without comment.

"Greetings Kimberley, it's been quite some time" Kimberley came to a halt and blinked in surprise several times as she registered the sight that had greeted her. Whatever theories and expectations her mind could have crafted would never have included the sight of the Masked Rider, the Power Rangers former ally who had since ascended to leadership of his people; his once dark and curly locks having become mostly silver in the intermittent years and now cascading over his shoulders whilst his face had grown lined and worn by the responsibilities he bore and the gem within his forehead seemed to pulse and crackle with some ethereal power, he wore flowing white robes and a suit of exquisite ornamental and stylised black and gold armour which bore some similarities to his transformed state; though despite the changes in his appearance Kimberley recognised him instantly

"Dex?"

"King Dex!" a voice beside Dex snapped and Kimberley suddenly became aware of the presence of three young men stood beside the throne that Dex occupied and immediately noticed the resemblance between them and had guessed their identities before the King of Edenoi spoke again

"We're among allies….Forgive my sons, they have reason to be wary" Kimberley turned to Dana Mitchell who stood with her hands clasped together behind her back and wore an expression that gave little away but Kimberley recognised as one of tension and mild annoyance

"What's going on?"

"That remains to be seen" Dana answered tonelessly "King Dex contacted the Aquabase directly and forewent all official channels, he then specifically requested your presence" Kimberley fought to mask a wince, remembering that whilst Dana was her superior officer and the head of Project Lightspeed as a whole, Kimberley was her predecessor as a Power Ranger which in many circles changed the dynamic of power regardless of official ranks and titles.

"I meant no disrespect" Dex bowed his head as he saw the interaction between the two former Pink Rangers and sensed his faux pas

"None taken" Dana sighed, sweeping the admittedly petty situation aside "How can Project Lightspeed, defenders of the Alliance of worlds help the King of Edenoi?" the fact that Edenoi had chosen to remain outside of the Alliance despite the history King Dex had with Earth and its' own defenders was something of a sore point which Dana found unable to entirely ignore; if Dex was bothered by this in any way he didn't show it and instead silently gestured to something out of sight which Kimberley realised with a start was an Alpha droid as it made its' way into view, the things' gunmetal chassis and utter lack of personality making an entirely separate entity from the Alpha Five that she had known.

"A settlement of Edenoi was attacked last night by enemies we believe to be from the Dark Empire you are currently at war with" King Dex took a collection of images and documents from the Alpha droid and displayed them to Kimberley and Dana

"Putties" Kimberley nodded "These look like a new design though"

"My sons' who have taken up my mantle as Riders of Edenoi investigated the village early today and were attacked by not only these Putties but by a being whose attacks clearly harnessed the power of your Morphing Grid" Dex's expression hardened as Kimberley was left utterly numb by shock and dread

"I would hate for our peoples' to be at war with one another, Earth was a home to me" Dex continued "So Kimberley I need you to explain to me, one old friend to another how it is that Lord Zedd's forces came to possess your weapons?"

"Treachery within our own ranks" Kimberley answered honestly, words heavy with sadness as the faces of those killed by Strike-Squad Alpha flashed before her eyes. The frank admission made King Dex and his sons visibly startle, if only startle

"Some weeks ago we were attacked from within by a group of our own soldiers, specialists….some of our best, they felt that they had been wronged and betrayed and in return attempted to steal information regarding the creation of Power Rangers and pass it on to the Dark Empire, one of them escaped" Kimberley explained further, subtly making eye contact with Dana and silently assuring her that the situation was in hand; whilst Project Crucible was not tied to the Morphing Grid itself no specifics needed to be given and it was all but certain that the stolen technology had been incorporated into this new foe.

"My youngest son could have died" Dex murmured, his voice filled with a deep and visceral fight "Edenoi has been at peace since my return, my children were not raised on warfare they way we were Kimberley" the former Pink Ranger took a moment to examine the young men beside the throne and saw that whilst each of them wore a transformation device they seemed to lack something in their bearings that she saw in her fellow Rangers and King Dex himself; it was clear that whilst their pride would likely make admitting the fact painful they lacked the experience needed to handle the threat that had come to their world

"Perhaps it's for the best that they weren't" Kimberley offered gently before Dana chimed in

"The Alliance however is willing to aid Edenoi. We ask nothing in return….the Dark Empire are an enemy that should be fought wherever they're encountered" King Dex remained silent for a moment, a small smile tugging at his lips as he realised what form the aid would take and eventually he nodded

"I'll have the Royal Palace ready to receive them…..it will be like old times in a way"

* * *

Mercy was not entirely sure how it had happened but Rensa had managed to convince them all that a sci-fi horror movie was the best of all the options available at the movie theatre that they had visited and currently the Black Ranger was currently trying to stifle his laughter at the fate of some unfortunate secondary character, his own home world apparently so indescribably bleak that humanities' attempts at inducing fear were simply hilarious to him; beside him Panthera shook her head and muttered complaints at the woeful inaccuracy of the science whilst trying to get Tempestus to side with her, the Blue Ranger himself simply looked ill; the purple ridges adorning his skull becoming several shades paler.

Mercy noticed none of this as she was utterly distracted by Aslaug's presence beside her, the Yellow Ranger watched the movie with rapt attention; the people of Mirinoi passed their traditional stories on orally around campfires and Aslaug seemed to see television and movies as a natural extension of that idea and found it fascinating. Mercy caught herself staring at the larger young woman's icy blue eyes which were currently keenly focused and found herself unable to look away, instead she tried something which she knew any of the former cadets she had been raised with would have laughed at her for even considering given how cliché it was; she yawned and stretched her arms above her head before attempting to rest one of them around Aslaug's shoulders, though the height difference between them made it somewhat awkward.

Then her communicator began to bleep and chirp

"Shh!" a disgruntled voice from behind her demanded, followed by several irritable accusations and mutterings and Mercy quickly rose to her feet and led her fellow Rangers out of the darkened room and into the currently empty corridor between movie screens

"Mercy here" she answered upon seeing that the coast was clear, trying her best to keep an annoyed sigh out of her voice.

"Sorry to interrupt date night kids but we've gotta bring you in for an emergency briefing" the voice of Doctor Justin Stewart informed them, his framing of their trip to the movies enough to make Mercy blush

"What about cameras?" she asked, quickly getting her emotions under control and considering more practical issues

"We've got it in hand" Justin assured her "Stand by for teleportation" Mercy had no chance to do more than cast a quick glance to the other Rangers before the five of them vanished in streams of coloured light.

When Mercy's body reformed, a fraction of a second later it was in the familiar setting of the miniature command centre which Justin's laboratory and workshop doubled as and beside the scientist himself stood Kimberley, though Zebidiah Lord was nowhere to be seen; whatever apparent emergency they had been summoned back to base for not requiring his attention.

"What's the situation?" Mercy demanded, standing stiffly to attention in the presence of the former Pink Ranger as usual.

"Make yourselves comfortable, this may take some time to explain" Kimberley suggested as she gestured to the various seats and empty crates scattered around the workshop and nodded to Justin who brought up an image of planet whose brown surface seemed rocky and lifeless despite the lights of several cities being visible. Once the Rangers had taken seats Kimberley spoke again

"This is the planet of Edenoi"

"Neutral territory, ruled by a Monarchy and has some impressive natural resources despite how it looks; I've heard of it" Panthera nodded, her past life as a smuggler coming to the fore.

"The Power Rangers were involved in the resistance against an attempt to invade it weren't they?" Tempestus asked, seeing all eyes turn to him he quickly added "My father told me"

"Yes, Billy and I aided the resistance effort led by the current ruler of Edenoi, King Dex when he was still a Prince" she paused for a moment before adding "What is not so well known is that when Edenoi fell to Count Dregon's Armada Dex spent some time on a refugee on Earth; fighting the Armada whilst the Power Rangers dealt with Lord Zedd's forces"

"He also did a lot for the field of astrophysics" Justin noted almost conversationally and even Kimberley did a double-take, having almost forgotten that the Stewart family whom Prince Dex had been placed with by a secret government agency which had since been subsumed into Project Lightspeed were in fact relatives of Justin's.

"Has the Dark Empire attacked Edenoi?" Mercy asked, sensing the direction that the conversation seemed to be heading.

"They have" Kimberley nodded "Though it's more complicated than that"

"Edenoi might not have a standing army but it's far from undefended; all three of King Dex's sons are what Edenites call Masked Riders….effectively their equivalent to Power Rangers, though they use a power source native to Edenoi rather than a connection to the Morphing Grid"

"And there's the problem" Kimberley sighed, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the news that she was about to give "When Strike-Squad Alpha attacked Ivan escaped with information Lightspeed had gathered detailing the creation of Power Rangers; King Dex has claimed and provided data which corroborates that the Dark Empire has created a monster that taps into the Morphing Grid when it attacks"

"They've made a Ranger?" Aslaug asked, brow furrowed as she considered the idea

"No" Kimberley shook her head "It's not a Power Ranger but it's power comes from the same place as yours, but what it means is concerning; we have to respond swiftly and deal with this pseudo Ranger thoroughly enough to dissuade the Dark Empire from continuing their research"

"This looks like a field test" Justin noted "They specifically attacked a planet with defenders similar to Rangers for a reason….they want to see how it handles them"

"So you want us to hunt this monster down" Rensa gave a crooked smile which showed his sharp teeth

"We'll introduce Paradoxa's new toy to the real thing" Mercy beamed, chest puffing up with pride and bravado despite the severity of the situation.

"It should be a worthy adversary" Aslaug agreed

"You deploy to Edenoi first thing tomorrow morning" Kimberley informed them "Once there you will be acting outside of Alliance jurisdiction and working alongside King Dex and his sons"

"We'll make you proud Captain" Mercy promised, Kimberley gave her a weak smile

"I'm sure you will, now go get some rest Rangers. You're going to need it"

**Authors Notes:**

Seems that I didn't really need a break after all.  
I did promise you a crossover with Masked/Kamen Rider did I not?  
And I promise it's not a crossover for the sake of doing it, this arc is vital to the plot and ties the plot lines of the last arc with the arc that comes next….which is a very big secret that I'm giving no spoilers for.  
The theme for naming these chapters is "Riders that are or were villains" and the chapters in this Arc will be titles _'Pseudo Alternative' 'Hijack Form' 'Rogue'_ and _'Bravo'  
_In case it isn't clear the Masked Riders may have the names of canon Kamen Riders but they are effectively original characters made to fit an extension of the Masked Rider universe.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
It actually hadn't occurred to me what a day night cycle would be like on the moon Paradoxa's base is on.  
Gibil is always a pleasure to write.  
So now we've got new Putties, armed and slightly armoured and they speak in sub bass.  
"_There is no neutrality in the face of conquest"_ or to quote Jack Spicer _"I wanna rule the world, not a little corner of it, not Fiji, all of it!"  
_I feel like the premise of this crossover makes sense, the Masked Riders are a great stand in for the Power Rangers in field tests.  
'_Crushtacean'_ and _'Bullwark'_ I'm not sorry at all.  
The Rangers might not be cadets/students but come on, Lightspeed is still gonna make sure that they're training almost daily.  
Obviously Panthera has been using all of her contacts and tricks to try and find her sister, what did you expect.  
Aslaug kicks ladies asses and makes 'em say thank you, Tumblr would be proud.  
Mercy is just thirsty.  
A moment of silence for Mercy everyone, she worked up all that courage and asked her crush out just to get expertly cock-blocked by the baby brother and literal feral child of the team.  
So Edenoi in typical Power Rangers fashion never really had much of a backstory and its' people/culture were "Whatever was needed at the time" in Masked Rider if mentioned at all, so I'm handling things myself; the main thing I had to go on was that the entire planet is a barren rock.  
Sento, Takeru and Emu's appearances are obviously based on their Kamen Rider counterparts but because I haven't actually watched the show I'm winging it on their personalities, but as I said considering that Power Rangers shares a universe with Masked Rider and not Kamen Rider they're effectively OCs anyway.  
Emu having the medical supplies and leading a team of doctors is a nod to Masked Rider EX-Aid.  
Couldn't decide if I wanted the Masked Rider or Kamen Rider transformation call, so I combined them.  
I watched a video of Kamen Rider Build fighting Rogue and his fighting style is just straight up punching with very little else thrown in, so he kinda hand to lead off with that in this fight scene.  
And yes I went straight for the Rider Kick.  
That moment between Ghost and Ex-Aid….it's a sibling rivalry thing.  
And now we've had our first look at _'The Specimen' _blue skin and clawed hands…..I'm not even attempting to be subtle.  
"_P__ower and a force that I've never seen before"_ no one, will ever take them down, the Power's on their…..You know what I did here.  
Whichever one of the Princes got pissy about Kimberley not addressing King Dex properly, they didn't mean anything by it.  
That must happen with the Power Rangers right? Ones who have actual ranks and authority just being completely sidelined when one of the original Rangers show up.  
Alpha Five was canonically a gift to Zordon from King Lexian so of course there's gonna be Alpha droids' on Edenoi.  
And there it is, that's what Lord Zedd's experiment was….he now has access to fighters that can use the Morphing Grid, but note that I specifically said that Project Crucible wasn't related to the Morphing Grid itself. The plot thickens.  
Sento might have had some experience, probably clearing out the last dregs of the Armada but that's lightwork compared to the Dark Empire.  
New Headcanon, Rensa thinks horror films are hilarious.  
Yes Mercy just tried the most cliché move ever, because Mercy is a dork.  
Communicators going off at the worst times is a trope that could be played for comedy more than it is.  
Of course Panthera and Tempestus know about Edenoi.  
Okay so the Stewart Family that Dex was living with on Earth being related to Justin Stewart is not canon but it's something I thought of whilst writing the chapter and now I'm running with it.  
I'm just gonna say this here, the Ecto-phase that the Masked Rider used is never actually explained in Masked Rider; it's just there so I'm saying that it's powered by something native to Edenoi and overall I'm getting a vibe for how I want to write the planets' culture, which is somewhere between Wakanda and the Jedi Order.  
Kimberley and Justin aren't stupid, they know what Lord Zedd is trying to do by attacking Edenoi.  
So as of next chapter it's five Rangers and three Masked Riders against One Acheron Hybrid, whatever Putties the have left and 'The Specimen'….should be an interesting match up.

Thank you to SumoSnipe and Jen425 for their review on the last chapter.  
The thing with baddies is unless they're an edgy fifteen year old they don't think of themselves as the baddie.  
Yep feelings, a fate far worse than being captured.  
That was the plan, enjoy the song.  
Ah you're learning a lesson that all readers of my multi-chapter fics learn...The seeds I sow will grow into Triffids given time.  
You were so so close with your theory.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	19. Hijack Form

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 18 – Hijack Form**

The Atramentous were a species which hailed from a world utterly without sunlight, its' obsidian skies stretching out above an endless expanse of canyons, craggy cliffs which reached unthinkable heights and vast plains of bioluminescent flora that served as the basis of the worlds' ecosystems. The Atramentous had been the apex predator of their world, clans of winged terrors that descended from the darkness without a sound and hunted down anything that drew breath until change had come in the form of the Dark Empires' invasion of the world.

The atmosphere that prevented light from reaching the surface of the world also had the effect of scrambling all forms of transmission to and from the planet which, to the Lord Zedd of the time had made it a suitable place to place several hidden bases; as a natural consequence of this the Atramentous had needed to be dealt with and had initially been relocated to other worlds within the Dark Empire. Their abilities and ruthlessness had at first been seen as qualities to be preserved and encouraged until it had become painfully apparent that the species as a whole was unwilling to submit itself to the rule of any land-dwellers, instead the Atramentous had been wiped from the face of the galaxy with the exception of prisoners who kept to provide genetic material for blending with Acheron biology and creating hybrids.

Geryon Nox was one such hybrid.

He stood at six feet tall despite a hunched forward and skulking gait, though the crest of swept back bony spikes jutting from his spine gave him a more imposing stature and his skin was midnight black and leathery with a mane of coarse and shaggy crimson fur adorning his neck and back. He stood on digitigrade and birdlike legs which seemed oddly spindly when compared to the rest of his lithe yet powerfully muscled form; bony things ending in a trio of hooked claws with the innermost digit of each foot raised off of the ground. Like all members of the Atramentous species Geryon Nox sported four arms which doubled as bat-like wings, the impossibly long digits each ended in a cruel talon and the species were capable of using one pair of wings for flight whilst using the other to skewer their prey though currently all four limbs were folded at his sides; his head too was vaguely bat-like though twisted and exaggerated in horrible way, his entire skull was rounded and sloped forwards into a large and flattened snout and a mouth which could distend far enough to swallow prey whole and was filled rows of hooked fangs which pulsed and shifted to drag said prey down into his gullet; the mouth also helped with echolocation as a series of nearly undetectably high pitched noises escaped him in a constant stream which fed information back to the oversized and constantly rotating ears adorning his skull. Most Atramentous were entirely eyeless, though Geryon Nox was an exception however and sported two milky white eyes on either side of his streamlines skull though it was arguable how much use they actually were. He was clad in ragged black robes which gave him the appearance of some deathly spectre and sparingly applied armour plates in areas that would not hinder movement or add much additional weight.

His high pitched clicking sounds took on an annoyed quality as he bowed before a hologram projector, though this was quickly reversed as the form of Paradoxa flickered into view.

"Captain Nox" the insectoid nodded curtly as she addressed her fellow hybrid, though it did nothing to lessen the backhanded insult; Geryon had captained the Wraith and his ship had been critically damaged in battle with the Alliances' forces, his captaincy was effectively stripped and this mission was to be either his penance or his death sentence.

"Captain Paradoxa" he nodded in return, his voice being a surprisingly deep rumble as he possessed an entirely separate set of vocal chords for both speaking and echolocation.

"Status report?"

"Our location is secure, though a dozen Putties were lost….a third of our total forces" Geryon explain; he had made his temporary lair within a cave network left by a long forgotten mining operation within the side of a deep canyon which he was perfectly capable of simply gliding from and both the remaining Putties and the ominously named specimen that he had been sent to Edenoi to test could easily climb their way out of.

"Your plan to draw out the defenders of Edenoi proved successful?" Paradoxa asked, seemingly cautiously hopeful "Did the specimen engage them?" before he could answer Geryon sensed movement behind him, within the echoing confines of the cave he could almost see the specimen as slunk through the shadows behind him, still gnawing on the bones of one of its' kills. The creature let a low purr of contentment as Geryon stroked its' fur gently as he answered

"The specimen proved most impressive Captain, the planets' defenders were forced to retreat after one of their number was injured and their armour damaged-"

"But they live" Paradoxa countered smoothly

"For the moment"

"The testing is inconclusive until I see corpses Captain Nox" Paradoxa's voices dripped with contempt as she used his title "Do not allow your fleeting and minor accomplishments to lull you into a false sense of security….You do not have the luxury of reinforcements or air support should you fail, why should the Vanguard Fleet waste a second ship on you after all?"

"Testing will continue Captain Paradoxa" Geryon assured her stiffly, keeping the fury building in his chest from creeping into his voice as he became frighteningly aware of the fact that the insectoid warlord could simply choose to leave him behind on Edenoi once he'd outlived his usefulness to her.

"See that it does" Paradoxa replied bluntly before ending the transmission, the hologram vanishing and sending the cave into darkness once again Geryon Nox pondered his next move, the sound of warbling Putties and flesh being peeled from bone filling the cave as he did so. He would move out once night fell but there were many small and disconnected settlements in the area and eventually he reasoned that he would have more chance of proving the specimens' abilities if he used his remaining forced to attack several places at once, forcing the Masked Riders to split up and cut themselves off from aid.

"Soon we'll return to the fleet with my honour restored" he chuckled as he continued stroking the specimen "Perhaps I'll feed Paradoxa to you when we do"

* * *

"Is something funny Specialist Jackson?" Dana's voice was enough to make Mercy snap to attention and shamefacedly look anywhere but at the Vice-Admiral who had caught her in the midst of a rare instance of unprofessionalism or lack of focus

"It's just that….with all these rules I realised it kinda feels like a field trip and not y'know….fighting the Dark Empire" the briefing was being held in the long range teleportation chamber which had been repaired following Strike-Squad Alpha's treachery, though the walkway that Tempestus had destroyed was yet to be fully repaired and Dana had been joined by Kimberley and Zebidiah Lord, both of whom visibly struggled not to laugh at the Red Ranger's comment. Mercy braced herself and prepared to reprimanded only to be pleasantly surprised and relieved when Dana merely chuckled

"Be that as it may, it's important information that it would be in everyone's best interests for you to take to heart" Mercy nodded in understanding and tried to focus once again, despite the amused expression Aslaug wore making it very difficult. The Rangers had been awoken early and prior to deploying to Edenoi the five teens had been given an exceptionally dense primer on Edenoi, its' cultural norms and customs as they related to the Royal Household by the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger who now wore the Titanium Morpher as well as several stern reminders that as much as a search and destroy mission they would also be acting as diplomats and their conduct would reflect both Lightspeed and the Alliance as a whole. Before Dana could say any more Kimberley answered a brief message on her communicator and cleared her throat as she stepped forward to interrupt

"Doctor Stewart has transferred mission control systems to Edenoi" she then turned to the Rangers "Whilst on the planet your communications and teleportation as well as general operational oversight will be handled through the Royal Palace rather than the Aquabase when morphed, although your communicators should function as normal, understand?"

"We understand Captain" Mercy assured her, Kimberley nodded and turned to Dana

"We're standing by for your order Vice-Admiral"

"Good luck Rangers" Dana nodded "And may the Power protect you" the words became distorted and echoed in the Rangers' skulls as their bodies were consumed by beams of coloured light.

The teleportation process was the same as it always was, a flash of light and air rushing out from the epicentre of the teleportation stream as the travellers' skin prickled and they were subject to a moment of disorientation that no amount of experience would overcome as they were transported unfathomable distances and into entirely different climates in the blink of an eye.

The first change to be noticed was the temperature; the Aquabase was kept uniformly cool and largely sterile whilst the Royal Palace of Edenoi was as warm as anywhere else on the desert planet and the hazy air had a claustrophobic quality to it which immediately brought a sweat to Aslaug and Rensa's brow and left Tempestus's mouth suddenly dry. The throne room that they had been teleported to was a vast and cavernous structure, part of a palace that was in equal measures built overhanging a cliff which loomed over what had once been a sea and within the hollowed out stone itself. The room, which seemed far too large for such a simple description was clearly ancient and featured artistically sculpted pillars and statues depicting some ancient insectoid deities and various warriors whose helms were styled to evoke those same deities; at the same time the throne room was a marvel of technology that rivalled the Aquabase with ease robed palace guards and Alpha droids standing silently side by side whilst the members of the royal court went about their business dressed in cloaks and garb that gave the air of primitive peasants whilst carrying data-pads and tools that would be at home on an Alliance spaceship, the old and the new existing side by side in a way that Tempestus in particular found comforting; it reminded him of Aquitar.

"Power Rangers of Earth….although I see faces from many worlds. Welcome, I am King Dex of Edenoi"

"We are at your service" Mercy stooped into a low bow before giving a quick salute, whilst beside her the other Rangers gave gestures of similar meaning from their native cultures

"I'm Specialist Mercy Jackson of Project Lightspeed and Earth" the Red Ranger introduced herself to the King of Edenoi before gesturing to her time "Aslaug, heir to the Frost Claw Tribe of Mirinoi, Tempestus of Aquitar, Panthera Cato of Felix and Rensa-Kage of Dread"

"Greetings Rangers, come step forward" King Dex rose from his throne, an ancient yet meticulously maintained thing that could be considered a structure in its' own right crafted from stone and metal that had been modernised as much as the rest of the royal palace, its' arms featuring a multitude of screens and control panels. The Rangers stepped forwards and Dex gestured to the three young men who stood at his right hand

"My sons, Princes Sento, Takeru and Emu"

"Like the bird?" Panthera asked, raising an eyebrow and trying to mask an amused snort

"No not like the bird" Mercy hissed as she glared at her friend, desperately trying to compel the teal-skinned alien to show some respect for authority for once. Mercy's attention was drawn to Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger surreptitiously nudged her arm and gestured towards the middle of the three Princes, a man clad in all black wearing a scowl whom Mercy noted was paying exceptionally close attention to Panthera, following the Pink Rangers' every movement with open distrust

"We didn't mean to offend-"

"You look familiar….which is odd considering I've never met a Felixian before" Takeru stated, the clear yet undefined accusation being levelled at Panthera who merely rolled her shoulders back and tensed, Mercy's heart hammering in her chest as she watched the Pink Ranger's fingers drum against her thigh and remembered clearly the throwing knives that she carried

"Odd considering I've never been in this sector before" Panthera countered calmly "And It's Felidae when there's just one of us, Felixian is a group….it's like calling humans Earthlings, it's just rude" Takeru took a single step forwards before being halted by Sento; the eldest Prince wearing a furious expression. At the same time both Mercy and Tempestus tightly gripped Panthera's arms whilst Aslaug firmly held Rensa in place to prevent him skulking around the side of the room.

"Enough!" Dex boomed, anger written plainly on his face as he turned to his sons "We are amongst allies! I fought along their predecessors as you will fight alongside them….they come here to aid our people and this is how you receive them?"

"My apologies Father" Takeru bowed his head whilst Dex remained silent, silently making it clear that the conversation was not over; Panthera seeing the tension in her friends' faces decided to speak up

"No offence taken your highness, trust me it's not the worst welcome I've had" despite his earlier annoyance King Dex cracked a small smile at the comment, as did his youngest son. Sento wrapped an arm around Takeru's shoulders and led the middle child of the family away from the throne as the Rangers finally reached it

"I apologise for him" Dex sighed before gesturing to Emu who had remained behind "His younger brother was very nearly injured in the fight against the Dark Empire's new monster, it's clearly had an effect on him" Panthera's expression softened upon hearing the explanation; she could appreciate the situation

"Do we have any idea we're dealing with?" Mercy asked, remaining as businesslike as possible "Other than something that taps into the Morphing Grid?"

"Unfortunately not" Emu spoke up "It was on me too fast, none of us got a good look at it before Takeru got it off of me and it vanished"

"Teleported out?"

"No" King Dex shook his head "There were no energy readings to indicate it"

"Then it's still in the area" Aslaug mused

"We can hunt it down" Rensa flashed a grin full of sharp teeth as he followed her train of thought; Mercy remained silent and gave an approving smile as her team-mates added their own input

"The attacker targeted a village before you encountered it, are there others nearby?" Tempestus asked

"There are" King Dex nodded

"Then it may be best for us to split up"

"Groups should be a mix of my brothers and your team" Emu suggested "That way we have people who know that land in each team"

"Agreed" Mercy nodded, pleased that she could seemingly get along with at least one of the Edonian Princes "When do we move out?"

"The attacks have come at or just before nightfall" Dex answered "It would be best for you to be in position at dusk" the Rangers each silently nodded in agreement

"Until then I'll give you a tour of the Royal Palace" Emu offered

"Sounds like a plan" Mercy grinned giving one last respectful bow to King Dex as the Rangers were led away

"I'll see where Sento and Takeru went" the Prince, seemingly of a comparable age to the Rangers chattered "I promise you that he's not normally so insufferable….well not quite" the group proceeded through the spacious halls of the Royal Palace, Mercy smiling as she felt Aslaug's hand slip into hers though she was unable to give all of her attention to the towering girl as she felt compelled to keep half an eye on Panthera, lest the former smuggler do something to earn the ire of their new allies such as steal a priceless artefact.

"How are we going to be searching for this beast?" Aslaug asked, getting the attention of everyone present "We don't know where exactly to teleport to and it seems as though there could be a lot of ground to cover"

"Oh don't worry about that" Emu gave a comically wide smile and a conspiratorial wink "We have our means of getting around"

* * *

"OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME!" Mercy yelled as she rocketed across the blasted surface of Edenoi at impossible speeds.

Days were shorter on Edenoi than on Earth due to the speed at which the planet rotated yet it had still been several hours until the Rangers and Masked Riders had departed for their mission, in that time the two groups had learned a little of each others' exploits and history; Mercy being impressed with Sento's strategic mind while he was in turn impressed with her ability to inspire and work under pressure. Tempestus had earned himself the respect of each of the Riders with his technical skills only to be left awed along with the other Rangers upon learning that the Ecto-phase Drivers, the transformation devices that each of the Riders wore had been made by the Princes themselves; it had been explained to them that venturing into the deep caverns which housed the necessary crystals and crafting ones' own Driver was a right of passage amongst the ancient order of warriors to which the Royal Household belonged, and that one of the main reasons that King Dex no longer used the powers that had allowed him to defend both Earth and his home world from Count Dregon was that he had inherited them rather than create his own Ecto-phase Driver, a perceived slight against his own honour even if nobody else believed it to be so. Takeru had remained taciturn and glowering, which had only earned him several needling comments from Panthera though the middle child's demeanour had been off-set by Emu, the youngest Prince chatty and exuberant, seemingly happy to have more people who could relate to the responsibilities he bore.

Eventually the time had come and the Power Rangers and Masked Riders had transformed into their armoured states, each group being silently impressed with the other before being split into two groups; it had been decided that Mercy and Aslaug would travel with Emu and Takeru to the mountains that the Masked Riders had been venturing towards in their previous encounter with their quarry, whilst Sento would take Tempestus, Panthera and Rensa towards another settlement near to a vast canyon and the two groups would meet in the middle point between the two landmarks; when reiterating her question of how they would be travelling Aslaug was treated to a sneering answer from Masked Rider Ghost, the arrogance of which was revealed to be almost warranted.

The Masked Riders had jet-bikes.

Mercy sat behind Ex-Aid, holding onto the youngest Prince as he rode a machine whose chassis was almost skeletal in design, though any utilitarian aspect it may have had was lost beneath a colour scheme that was predominantly a shockingly vibrant yellow with glossy black and gleaming chrome details; over all the thing could best be described as an artists' interpretation of a futuristic dirt-bike, whose wheels had been replaced with some kind of anti-gravity generators which allowed it skim above the ground. Aslaug rode with Ghost, whose own bike was entirely black and sported a bulkier, more armoured frame with the front of the vehicle being streamlined and at the same time stylised to resemble the horned and skeletal features of some ancient Edonian mount that Riders' that had come before them had rode into battle; on a whim Mercy opened a private comm channel to Aslaug, the wind howling around them as they travelled making conversation impossible otherwise

"Are you loving this as much as I am?"

"I promise that should I ever return to Mirinoi I will introduce my people to these machines" Aslaug answered, her attempt at a solemn tone ruined by adrenaline fuelled giddiness.

"We've got something up ahead" Ghost finally broke his silence, his voice sounding within the helmets of his allies

"Our target?" Mercy asked, hopeful yet apprehensive

"Doesn't look like it" Ghost murmured as he checked the longer reaching sensors of his jet-bike

"Multiple contacts" Ex-Aid added as he followed suit "The stone men from before?"

"Putties?" Mercy almost chuckled "Shouldn't be a problem" Aslaug nodded in silent agreement and within seconds the jet-bikes had crossed the several miles between themselves and the supposed target, Mercy taking stock of the opponents that greeted her as her mount came skidding to a halt

"These look new" she noted before hopping off of Ex-Aid's jet-bike "Doesn't matter though, they'll still go down"

With no more to be said the four of them sprung into action.

Mercy manifested her katana in a pulse of crimson light and surged into the swarm of Putties that stood against them, sparks flying as she parried the blows of four of the automatons and forced them back step by step until they slowly began to surround her; only for the Red Ranger to unleash a maelstrom of destructive blows. She parried the wild slash of the Putty in front of her and as it raised its' shield to its' chest she simply slashed under its' guard and removed one of its' legs and waited for it to flail its' arms in attempt to remain upright before launching a spinning heel kick at its' chest. She used the shattering body of the first Putty to leap onto the second only for it to raise its' own shield which she landed on and used as a springboard to deliver a flying kick to the face of a third Putty which sent the automaton spinning and allowing Mercy to drive her sword through its' unprotected back, shattering its' weak point from behind; from there she launched a wide arcing slash at the fourth Putty, parrying its' bladed forearm as she dropped into a low spinning sweep that kicked its' legs from under it before driving her elbow into its' ribs as she rose to her feet.

Leaving only the second Putty remaining

Mercy made to charge the automaton only to have to roll aside as something hurtled passed her and collided with her target and shattered its' body entirely; she quickly realised that the projectile was in fact the armless form of another Putty which she destroyed with an axe-kick to the torso before turning in the direction the thing had come and finding Ghost with his own sword drawn as he fought a trio of Putties, one of their number being brutally bisected as he ducked beneath its' stabbing attack and slashed upwards. One of the remaining two attempted to bludgeon the Rider with his shield only for him to sidestep around the attack and drive the pommel of his weapon into its' chest before preparing to launch a vicious spinning kick at the final Putty, only to be brought to a halt by the sight of its' body crumbling from a point of impact and Mercy standing over it triumphantly

"Some warning perhaps?" Ghost asked pointedly

"Sure just let me know when you're throwing things" Mercy countered

"Don't stand in the way" he replied, though there was a hint of a bemused chuckle in his voice.

Aslaug cleaved two Putties in half with a single powerful swing of her axe whose blade glowed yellow as a wave of pure concussive force rushed outwards from the blow, leaving two Putties remaining of the dozen that they had encountered. Aslaug made to bring her axe to bear for another attack only to feel an unfamiliar weight land on the blade, she turned just in time to watch as Ex-Aid somersaulted off of her weapon and delivered an axe-kick to the skull of the nearest Putty, following up with a knee to the face which sent it staggering back and a punishing kick to the torso which reduced it to shattered fragments; the final Putty placed its' shield over its' chest and Ex-Aid merely shifted his weight before breaking into a full sprint and leaping into the air as he charged the automaton

"Critical strike, Rider kick!" the Putty simply exploded, leaving nothing behind but a fine dust which soon blended into the rest of the surface as Edenoi as Ex-Aid rose from the crouch he had landed in and turned to Aslaug, the animated eyes adorning his helmet winking at her as he spoke

"Mercy mentioned that she used a similar move before, I wanted to try it" Aslaug said nothing, merely nodded in understanding, she would have greatly preferred to be given warning considering that she had never fought alongside the young Prince before but decided that it wasn't worth the argument.

"Okay, they're definitely a little tougher than normal Putties" Mercy noted as she and Ghost made their way over to them, voice filling with pride at her own wit as she added "They need a name, I say we call 'em Claymores"

"I'm sure Justin will be pleased" Aslaug chuckled softly

"Focus!" Ghost snapped "They weren't out here for no reason" despite her annoyance at his tone both Rangers admitted that Takeru had a point, Mercy nodded to Ex-Aid

"Emu, can your jet-bikes' scanners pick up anything else nearby?" the youngest Prince quickly rushed to his vehicle and put the idea into practice, panic creeping into his voice as he spoke

"One signature detected, its' moving around us"

"We're being stalked….it's been hunting us" Aslaug noted, raising her axe

"Form up" Mercy whispered, reassured by the Yellow Ranger taking her now customary place at her right hand.

Eventually something stepped out of the dust and haze, prowling on all fours only to rear up onto its' hind limbs as it neared them; leaving Mercy and Aslaug stunned and horrified as it did so.

The specimens' face, upper torso and legs had been encased in armour made of some dark metal that had clearly been shaped to evoke the Power Rangers own armour, countless cables, blinking lights and vials adorned the vest like armour that encased her chest, for she was clearly female. She stood at a little over seven feet tall and a tail swished behind her, a mechanical replacement covered in barbs to replace what had been amputated; her forearms had been similarly replaced and the specimens' hands now ended in hands which featured serrated talons, each blade two feet long. A mane of violet hair trailed from her skull down to her shoulder-blades, each hair standing on end and bone spikes jutted from her shoulders which, along with her height and obscenely muscled physique indicated that the Specimen had been injected with Acheron genetics in much the same way Strike-Squad Alpha had been.

Most horrifying of all however was the fact that the flesh that could still be seen was a familiar shade of teal

"This is why you've acting weird with Panthera?" Mercy demanded of Takeru, an undeniable accusation in her words "Because you were attacked by another Felidae!"

* * *

Masked Rider Build had not had the luxury of using his own jet-bike as he led the Blue, Pink and Black Rangers towards the canyon with the sun rapidly setting, instead they had used an open topped, levitating transport more suited to moving cargo that if Sento was entirely honest was little more than a flying sled.

It seemed that the unsuitable transport and howling dust-storm limiting both visibility and hearing were to be something of an omen to indicate the way their hunt would proceed as before they had reached their destination the group had found themselves blind-sided by a Putty of a variety that the Power Rangers were unfamiliar with hurling itself at their transport and bringing them crashing to a halt.

"Well this is embarrassing, we just walked into the most simple trap ever" Panthera noted irritably as she manifested her blades in twin flashes of magenta light in response to a dozen Putties surrounding them and slowly advancing

"Most certainly not groovy" Tempestus concurred as he twirled his staff.

"You know what we need to do!" Build barked and charged forwards.

The Putties collapsed to the ground before he could reach them, each of their heads falling from their bodies. Stunned he turned to the Rangers just in time to see Panthera catch her blades which had been joined at their handles to form a throwing weapon, he was brought back to his senses by the sight of Tempestus and Rensa using their own weapons to chatter the chest-plates of the Putties which despite their decapitated states continued write and flail and he quickly joined in by crushing several of the automatons underfoot.

"Felt like I had to prove a point" the Pink Ranger snorted as she sensed the Prince's gaze on her

"You didn't, but it was appreciated" Build answered "Even if that was a little anticlimac-"

"GET DOWN!" Rensa's usually quiet voice was raised to a panicked bellow and both Panthera and Sento leapt and rolled aside just as something dove at them from above, ripping through the space they had occupied with a quartet of bladed limbs and tattered robes billowing around them before finally coming to a halt

"Rangers fighting alongside Riders" Geryon Nox rumbled as he took in the sight of his adversaries "Presenting your heads to Lord Zedd will see my honour restored and Paradoxa removed from my place at the head of the fleet"

"I would have given you the same offer I gave to your stone men, submit to the authority of King Dex of Edenoi and be escorted to the Royal Palace" Sento's tone became more furious with each word as he added "But then your pet monster attacked my brother!" he rushed forwards without warning and brought his fist back for a blow to Geryon's snout; only four the bat-like Acheron hybrid to sink all four of his clawed and winged limbs into the cracking and desolate ground, bracing himself as opened his maw wide and the air visibly warped with the force of the booming sonic attack he unleashed.

Masked Rider Build hit the ground with a thud, his ears ringing and waves of nausea washed over him as the twin visors of his helmet tried to recalibrate themselves, leaving his vision filled with scrambled images and static.

The Rangers rushed into the fray as Geryon ripped his limbs from the ground and collided with their opponent with earth shaking force before he could take a single step towards the downed Rider; Rena parrying a pair of limbs with his daggers and Tempestus holding the remaining pair at bay with his staff whilst Panthera delivered a crushing kick to the monsters' chest, sending Geryon staggering back wheezing before leaving him hissing and spitting in pain as she dragged one of her blades across his face.

"YOU WILL BLEED FOR THAT!" his wings unfurled and his clawed feet sank into the ground, bracing him as he flapped and unleashed a gust of wing strong enough to force back the Black and Blue Rangers, isolating Panthera as he folded the vast wing membranes away and lunged at her, stabbing with all four arms and forcing her back as she blocked frantically, sparks flying as the hybrids' claws struck her blades.

"Pathetic!" Geryon taunted even as she forced his upper arms aside, he sunk his lower arms into the ground and unleashed another sonic attack that flung Panthera to the ground, her visor cracked by the concussive blast and her sensitive hearing leaving her reeling even as her suit struggled to filter out the worst of the noise.

"And now you-"

"Voltech finish, Rider kick!" Panthera was barely aware of what happened, all she knew was that a moment later Build was pulling her to her feet and Geryon Nox lay some distance away, sporting a deep gash along the right side of his face that bled profusely

"Thanks" she choked out, struggling to stand on shaky legs even as their opponent dragged himself to his feet once again, wings unfurling.

"I can't use that again for a while, so I hope you have a plan" Sento answered simply, clearly trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

"I might" she murmured before opening a private comm channel to Rensa and Tempestus who had begun to flank Geryon who seemed to pay them little mind, focusing instead on the Rider who had bloodied him

"No more parlour tricks and light shows?" he demanded before flapping his powerful wings and flying towards where Build and the Pink Ranger stood. Before the monster could reach them Tempestus lunged forwards and held his staff out horizontally to hold the monsters' upper limbs at bay

"Fool!" Geryon's lower arms arced around to skewer the Blue Ranger only for a howl of pain to escape him as those limbs were suddenly pinned to the ground and their membranes torn by the Black Ranger's daggers, Rensa having worked his way behind their opponent

"TEMPESTUS MOVE!" Panthera ordered as she combined her curved blades once again and hurled them; the Blue Ranger struggled to break free of his grappling with Geryon only to be released as the spinning projectile ripped through one of the hybrids' upper arms and left him shrieking in agony until he was silenced by its' return flight back to the Pink Ranger's hand.

Geryon's form remained statuesque for a brief moment before crumpling to the ground, his head rolling away and spilling viscous dark blood over the barren earth

"Be ready" Panthera murmured, halting Build's congratulations before they could begin

"This is usually where a Dark Empire ship fires a mutagenic grenade, I hope our Zords are fully repaired and on standby" Tempestus explained, sensing the Prince's confusion. The tension mounted for several moments before seeming to peak and then dissipate as it became apparent that the Dark Empire were not intending to resurrect their slain warrior this time

"Your vehicle doesn't seem to be too badly damaged" Rensa noted conversationally as he flipped the hover-sled upright

"Good" Build nodded "Because that wasn't what my brothers and I fought"

"You should contact them" Tempestus suggested, Sento nodded once again and opened a comm channel and the Rangers knew that something was wrong by the way he visibly stiffened before he exclaimed

"THEY'RE UNDER ATTACK, WE NEED TO MOVE!"

* * *

They were being overpowered.

The reality of the situation as Mercy was flung to the ground and came rolling to a stop, the display of her visor flashing several warnings as she struggled to breathe through the overwhelming pain in her chest. Kimberley and Justin had explained to the Rangers that whatever they encountered on Edenoi would be able to channel the Power through the Morphing Grid in the same way that they did, but the description seemed distant and clinical in comparison to the reality of the situation; each blow that the Felidae specimen, powered by both their mutations and the cybernetic components which clearly served as conduits to the Morphing Grid felt as though it ignored the armour of the Rangers and Masked Riders that fought it entirely.

"MERCY GET UP!" Aslaug's words rang in her ears and the Red Ranger slowly, painfully rolled onto her chest and forced herself onto her hands and knees as she watched the battle continue

"Omega Drive, Rider Kick!" Takeru's attack lit up the now pitch black sky like a lantern, his voice almost lost beneath the howling wind. The ground shattered and cratered beneath his feat as he struck it yet it did nothing, the specimen had already managed to roll aside with catlike agility and sat in a crouch for a fraction of a second before pouncing, Masked Rider Ghost held his sword overhead to keep the mechanical talons of the cyborg at bay only to be sent staggering clutching at his now cracked helmet by a blow her her barbed tail which snaked beneath his defences; quickly followed by the specimen leaping onto his back and planting both feet firmly beneath his shoulders.

The ground Cracked again as Ghost struck it with a resounding thud.

"Takeru!" Emu launched himself at the Felidae, Aslaug's warnings drowned by the wind and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. He leapt into the air and attempted to land a powerful kick on the cyborgs' skull; he was rewarded by her taloned fingers wrapping around his leg and tearing gashes through his armour before sinking into his flesh, drawing a cry of pain and surprise from him as he was hurled aside and brought rolling to a stop in the distance. The specimen pressed her advantage, stalking away from Ghost who seemed to be unable to move and extending her arms forwards; as her clawed hands balled into fists compartments at the top of each of the mechanical limbs slid open and a pair of laser weapons were deployed with a whirring mechanical sound. Ex-Aid was still struggling to rise and would be entirely unable to avoid the oncoming barrage, the contented purr that escaped the specimen seeming to prove that they understood this fact.

And then she fired.

Aslaug hadn't made the decision to run consciously, her instincts had taken over and her feet had carried her forward with her senses only returning to her fully as the first laser blast struck her square in the chest, leaving smoking crater in the silver, diamond shaped armour plate of her Ranger suit. She held her ground but the next impact forced her axe from her hands, the pristine white of her suits' right arm being scorched and burned as a bolt of light struck her bicep, golden yellow armour suffering the same fate as she was struck in the left side of her abdomen, right thigh and finally as she sunk to her knees another bolt of light ripped past her head and gouged the left side of her helmet whilst all the while her visor displayed warnings that her armours' integrity had been compromised by the blasts. Burning agony consumed most of her awareness and time slowed to a crawl whilst her own laboured breathing echoed within her helmet as the specimen advanced towards her, collapsing its' lasers and flexing its' serrated talons in preparation for a killing blow

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Mercy's terrified scream brought Aslaug back to reality with unforgiving clarity as she was powerless to act and forced to simply watch as the Red Ranger charged from the left. A precise downward swing of her katana tore through the faceplate that the specimen wore and revealed a face that had been left relatively unscathed by the mutations wrought by Acheron genetics, Aslaug noted that the Specimen would have looked very much like Panthera were it not for the pronounced canine teeth that reached almost to her chin and eyes that had been transformed from glistening amber to fiery red. The specimen was far from defeated and as Mercy spun, intending to decapitate her foe in a single swing the specimen reached out and caught her arm and Aslaug was barely aware of the grief stricken howl that escaped her as the cyborgs' free hand lashed out, talons ripping through Mercy's armour and burying themselves in her chest.

There were a few moments were the passage of time seemed meaningless, measurable only by Mercy sliding from the specimens' now bloodstained claws and collapsing to the ground, convulsing as she struggled to fight or simply breathe her morphed state flickering in and out of existence around her as her connection to the Morphing Grid fought to keep her alive; Aslaug dragged herself across the blasted ground inch by agonising inch, heedless of her own pain in a desperate attempt to place herself between Mercy and the specimen which stalked around her, preparing to deliver a killing blow.

"Voltech finish, Rider kick!" the disembodied words seemed senseless to Aslaug until she saw the Felidae that had laid them all low be sent hurtling backwards, landing in a crouch and snarling as Masked Rider Build rose to his feet and turned to his brother

"Emu! She needs help right now!" the eldest Prince turned to Aslaug as the youngest limped and dragged himself closer "He's a medic, your leader is strong….she'll be okay" Aslaug paid little heed and simply ripped Mercy's helmet away and stroked her curly hair

"Stay with us" she urged as the Red Ranger's unfocused eyes sought her through her own visor "Stay with me"

The sound of the specimen letting out a primal roar before charging again demanded the attention of all present and Sento braced himself, preparing to hold the line.

Then the cyborg was brought to a halt by a spinning blade tearing through the air before flying to the hand of the Pink Ranger who landed in a crouch between them. Panthera rose to her feet and quickly discarded her weapons before removing her helmet and uttering words that seemed to remove the air from the wasteland that they fought in

"Acinonyx….Acinonyx stop it's me, it's your sister, it's Panthera" the cyborg peered at the smaller and younger Felixian, cocking its' head in confusion and it seemed for the briefest fraction of a second recognition before it let out a piercing shriek and kicked Panthera aside.

When she rose to her feet again, her sister was gone.

**Authors Notes:**

Okay boom, two chapters into Arc Five and we get the reveal of what 'The specimen' is.  
Is it really a cliffhanger if everyone saw it coming? Perhaps not, but don't worry I've got more lined up.  
And remember….Acinonyx is only a proof of concept; what do you think the finished product is going to be, because I'm sowing seeds and leaving hints.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
More literal world-building, it's honestly becoming one of my favourite parts of writing this story.  
Geryon as in the monster from Greek mythology with too many arms and bodies.  
It took me a while to decide what the Officer Paradoxa sent to accompany the specimen would be but "Bat-Monster with stabby limbs and too may arms" just came to me from nowhere.  
Paradoxa's surreptitious culling and relocations of anyone who could cause her problems, like other Acheron hybrids continues.  
Attacks on random villages serve no purpose other than to get the attention of the Masked Riders.  
Mission control is doing their absolute best to make sure that the Power Rangers, who are contractually teenagers with attitude don't cause an interplanetary diplomatic incident and Mercy is being a total dork.  
Important to note that Justin, Zebidiah and Kimberley have seen none of what happened in this chapter, as mission control was transferred so they'll be relying on second-hand accounts.  
Again my idea for the Edenoi aesthetic is a mix of Wakanda and the Jedi order and I wanted to try and convey that Jedi and general Star Wars feel in its' design.  
"Like the bird?" I make no excuses.  
Aslaug is basically tribal royalty, she's been in these situations before so of course she's the one to spot someone side-eyeing them.  
I'm sure you all knew where this was going the second Takeru/Ghost mentioned that Panthera looked familiar.  
Mercy will never make the mistake of forgetting Panthera's throwing knives.  
I've caught myself using Felidae which is what Panthera was originally introduced as and Felixian, so I've put a rule in place for referring to natives of Felix.  
Ghost has middle child syndrome.  
The plan was straightforward, with plenty of room for adaptability.  
That transition between scenes was funny in my head.  
The stuff about Riders making their own belts isn't canon but it's some world building that explains where the Riders come from because it was never actually explained and why Dex isn't still acting as the Masked Rider….It was inspired my Jedi building their own Lightsabers as a right of passage.  
The jet-bikes are based on each riders' canon motorbike, I changed it because a) the bike and car had AI in Masked Rider so it's not a stretch in terms of technology. b) it's cool.  
Build has one, we just haven't seen it yet.  
Aslaug has a leather jacket, now she wants a bike.  
I wanted the first fight featuring the Riders and Rangers working together to involve them getting in each others way as they tried to get used to each others' style and Ghost seemed like the ideal candidate to portray this.  
Ex-Aid tried to copy one of Mercy's tricks just by hearing about it _(Seriously I'm thinking about making jumping off of Aslaug's axe one of her trademarks if it isn't already)_ and Aslaug did not appreciate it.  
And we get to see his Rider Kick, because he didn't use it last chapter.  
The sword and shield, armoured Putties are called Claymores now.  
The Specimen's cyborg armour being built like Ranger armour was just for aesthetic, the fact she's been mutated with Acheron DNA isn't. Remember that Project Crucible was related to creating Rangers, but not concerned with things like the creating Morphers….are you starting to get an idea of what's actually being tested here?  
The return of groovy and other assorted outdated slang.  
The Putty fight could have dragged on and honestly the whole battle with them and Geryon Nox was a distraction that I didn't need to keep going for any longer than it did.  
It's also an excuse to show off just how much more proficient Panthera has gotten with that blade throw that she used on Triforia.  
"_Felt like I had to prove a point"_ I mean the suspicion was there whether Sento wanted to admit it or not….she might not have done herself any favours in the long run.  
Dramatic entrance from Geryon.  
Build would have been so bad ass with that line if he hadn't been blown off his feet with one hit.  
The fight was short, fast-paced and nasty; exactly as it should be.  
And that's how you do it, pile bodies on them until they can't shake free.  
Just to be clear, there will be no Megazord fight this volume.  
So because the specimen uses the Morphing Grid her attacks are actually effectively negating the Ranger's armour; think of it as AT Fields rubbing against each other if you watched Evangelion.  
In my head I imagine her helmet/faceplate looking like the Transformers: Siege toy Apeface in beast mode….Google it.  
I also wanted her to be vastly stronger than the others, I may explain it more in a later chapter but in my head her Powers are similar to the Psycho Rangers relative to the Astro Rangers, with a similar explanation as whom I often reference offered in his story "Dirge"  
Both Riders got their armour damaged, Ghost's helmet cracked and Ex-Aid's leg armour got ripped apart.  
I said in Arc 02 that Aslaug was the sort of person who would throw herself in front of enemy fire to cover someone, you thought I was joking….Luckily the lasers aren't channelling the Morphing Grid the way those melee attacks were or Aslaug would be Swiss cheese.  
If Mercy hadn't cut that faceplate off Panthera might have gone for the kill shot and that would be a whole different kind of angst.  
Ranger down, I repeat Ranger down.  
Emu is a medic because he was a doctor/medical student in Kamen Rider.  
Build really was ready to go down fighting there, he knew he wasn't gonna win in a one on one.  
And there it is, the plot twist that I'll freely admit you all probably saw coming…..Now let the angst commence in full next chapter.

Thank you to Jen425, SumoSnipe, 'Hi' and Super ShadowHenshin for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Poor Panthera indeed.  
Thirsty Mercy indeed and I love how much people love these two oblivious dorks.  
Ex-Aid's driver is straight up jarring.  
Yeah Sento is the oldest because his actor just radiates Big Brother energy compared to the other two.  
"_I submit to your wisdom my Lord"_ or as I say at work _"I wouldn't know boss, I just work here"  
_Would you believe that I randomly remembered the episode with sick Kimberley going solo with a monster but utterly failed to realise it was the same episodes as the crossover; so in this story they were two separate events and Kimberley was present on Edenoi with the other Rangers.  
Masked Rider had a pretty sleek and minimalist look that the new Riders don't have but Build, Ghost and Ex-Aid have very clear aesthetics that I specifically wanted to look like a group of individuals rather than a uniform team like the Rangers.  
I would love a Big Bad Beetleborgs reboot….Hell I worked the Ninja Turtles into this with a cameo, I'm sure I can slide them in somewhere.  
Thank you for reminding me that Ferbus exists, I had managed to repress all memories of the creature since 1996.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	20. Rogue

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 19 – Rogue**

Acinonyx was gone.

The sound of Panthera's damaged helmet hitting the cracked ground failed to register at all to the Pink Ranger who stood in wide eyed shock and disbelief, mouth hanging open and clawed hands trembling as she desperately tried to process the revelations that had been unceremoniously thrust upon her. Her elder sister, whom she had believed to be dead for over two years had been twisted into some cruel parody of her former self and was being used by the Dark Empire as some kind of experimental weapon; yet through all of her grief and shock and anger a lone, simple and undeniable truth remained and solidified itself in her mind.

Acinonyx was still alive.

Panthera turned to her allies and felt her newfound conviction waver at the sight that greeted her; Masked Rider Ghost's helmet had been damaged and left one of his eyes visible and put the hateful glare he was treating her to on full display whilst Ex-Aid and Aslaug, both of whom were clearly injured themselves frantically tried to stabilise and comfort the wounded and bleeding Mercy.

"Get her onto our transport, I'll go after my sister!" Panthera exclaimed, her movement coming to an abrupt halt after no more than a half-turn and single step. The wind rushed and howled around her and she could feel the coarse particles in the air colliding against at the dust-storm continued yet in that moment a sudden stillness came over the area, the Rangers and Masked Riders looking to one another as each waited for the other to make a move whilst tensions mounted to a silent fever pitch until finally reaching a breaking point that was announced with the sound of Ghost shifting his weight and hefting his sword

"Takeru no!" Build's warning went unheeded as Ghost charged forwards with a roar of unfettered rage and gave a mighty swing of his blade which cleaved through the air where Panthera had stood and gouged the blasted earth with a heavy impact. Panthera had managed to throw herself aside and whilst her discarded helmet remained where it had fallen the twin, curved blades that she wielded had found their way to her hands yet again, which the middle child of the Princes of Edenoi could interpret as nothing other than a further sign of her guilt

"STAND AND FIGHT!" He demanded as Panthera deftly evaded another slash and expertly parried a dozen more in quick succession, sparks of orange and magenta light issuing from the points where their blades met as the one-sided battle continued, with Panthera making no attempt to do more than block and defend herself. This continued for several moments until Panthera was forced to block a powerful swing of Ghost's sword with both of her own weapons and her opponent used the opening to deliver a kick to her chest which sent the Pink Ranger toppling to the ground several feet away, as she struggled to rise Tempestus and Rensa finally seemed to come to their senses and manifested their own weapons as they prepared to intervene; only to find themselves halted by the eldest of the Princes' and nominal leader of the Masked Riders

"You will stand down" Build stated bluntly as he planted himself between the ongoing fight and the Black and Blue Rangers, resolute and unmoving. Tempestus seemed to relent a fraction, clearly deciding how best to approach the situation diplomatically whilst Rensa merely coiled and prepared to tear through Sento if needs be until both responses were pre-empted by Aslaug's gruff and rumbling voice cutting through the air, thick with emotion and charged with barely contained anger

"Sento if any of my friends die on this planet I will present the severed heads of you and your brothers to King Dex myself; take charge and be the leader you're supposed to be!" silenced and cowed by the outburst of the towering woman Masked Rider build looked over to her and saw that Emu had abandoned his armoured form and was using the medical supplies he carried with him at all times to stem the blood pouring from the Red Ranger's chest wounds whilst Aslaug had managed to remove Mercy's helmet, her eyes were glassy and unfocused and a thin trickle of blood escaping from the corner of her mouth as she continued to breathe in shallow, ragged gasps. Sento turned to his youngest brother and Emu, hands never ceasing briefly glanced up at his eldest brother; face lined with concentration and dire urgency

"She'll make it if we get her to the palace but we have to act now Sento!" as if to punctuate the warning Mercy's morphed state which had flickering ominously as it phased in and out of existence around her finally failed, leaving her blood-soaked shirt on display to highlight the severity of her wounds. Build nodded and turned to where Ghost was still attempting to bring the Pink Ranger low, thin gouges in her armour indicating where his blade had grazed her.

He crossed the distance between them in a single movement so rapid that it went unseen, simply appearing behind Ghost and catching his brothers' wrist as he readied his sword yet again.

"I SAID NO! STAND DOWN TAKERU!" fierce tension crackled between them for a moment until the armour around Ghost's forearm began to creak under the pressure being exerted upon it and with a snarl Takeru used his free hand to reach for his Ecto-phase driver and deactivate his armour, returning to his natural state with his dark robes billowing around him as he pulled his hood low over his face to shield his eyes from the dust

"Sisters Sento" he spat "The Dark Empire sends a monster to kill our people and these Power Ranges bring the monsters' sister-"

"Her name is Acinonyx….they've changed her" the brothers each turned to Panthera, the sudden fragility in the tone of the young woman they had only known as strong willed and bitingly sarcastic in the brief time they had been allies somewhat disconcerting. Sento saw that Mercy was being loaded onto the hovering sled-like vehicle that had carried him here, Emu still tending to her wounds and he realised that he had to make a decision quickly.

He made one.

"Surrender your Morpher, you will be taken to palace and present your side of this story to King Dex" Panthera visibly tensed before looking passed the Masked Riders to her her fellow Rangers who were hunched around Mercy's prone form; her blades vanished in twin flashes of fuchsia light and a moment later her morphed state had shattered around her into a thousand embers of glowing pink and she had slipped her Aegis Morpher from her wrist, though she managed to remove her Power Coin from it seemingly without being seen. Sento nodded as he took the proffered Morpher and intoned simply

"All I can promise you is fairness and justice"

* * *

A sinking sensation worming its' way through her gut led Paradoxa to believe that something had gone unmistakably awry, and as she shifted her weight within her throne of ornate spiralling blades aboard the command bridge of the Heliothis she found herself staring at the blank viewing screen directly ahead of her, unable to shake the feeling that its' unresponsive silence was mocking her somehow despite the absurdity of the idea.

"Hail him again" she demanded to one of the select few members of her bridge crew who were currently at their stations, with the Heliothis remaining stationary on the moon of Unus she had seen no need to entrust those who were not strictly necessary with information pertaining to the mission that Geryon Nox had been sent to oversee. Seconds passed and the screen remained dark and vacant, with the only light filling the command bridge coming from a honeycomb pattern of lights fitted into the walls, their eerie crimson glow being reflected by the various gleaming chrome and minimalist control panels and work-stations arrayed before her.

The sinking feeling worsened, Geryon Nox former captain of the warship 'Wraith' had failed to make contact at the allotted time and with attempts to hail him going unanswered it seemed increasingly likely to Paradoxa that the situation of Edenoi had spiralled out of control; the detached coolness she imposed over herself slipped a modicum, just enough for her to drum her fingers against the arm of her throne as she contemplated; those few bridge crew members currently present only knew that Geryon had been sent on an undisclosed mission and she was loathe to silence and replace any of them simply for knowing too much but it seemed that sacrifices would have to be made.

"Remotely access the feed from the following units' onboard visual and audio inputs" with that order Paradoxa transferred the relevant data to the work-stations of those members of her crew whose duties related to the given task. After a few more moments of tense silence one of those bridge crew spoke up in a voice that wavered with fright

"My apologies Captain Paradoxa, the streams are unable to be accessed….the error readings state that the corresponding hardware has been disconnected-"

"Silence" Paradoxa brought their fearful prattling to a halt as she tried to make sense of the information and fit into a hypothesis that did not involve the specimen having been destroyed, steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the dread crawling its' way outwards from her gut as she did so.

"Locate the specimen" she ordered firmly and after several more moments filled by the sound of orders frantically being carried out by underlings who understood that their life depended on it she received something that could almost be perceived as a silver lining.

"Captain Paradoxa, we've managed to confirm that the specimen is functional and mobile however due to both the signal jamming in place around Edenoi and the specimens' own….unique power output it's impossible to pinpoint the signal with any greater degree of accuracy than-"

"Understood" Paradoxa sighed, fingers drumming against the arm of her throne once again. It seemed that the prisoner she had provided to Lord Zedd for experimentation still drew breath and as such there was no need to consider the mission a failure at the moment, the signal jamming in place around Edenoi was a holdover from when the planet had been embroiled in something of a civil war with the forces of Count Dregon and his armada and whilst there was still a risk of her brief transmission being detected the insectoid warlord decided that it had been negligible and unavoidable.

The conclusion that Paradoxa was a simple one that was admittedly less reassuring than it might have been, the helmet which had been partially grafted to the specimens' skull had clearly been damaged in a way that had made it impossible to access the video feed from its' visor and whilst the fact that she was still mobile proved that she had likely won or at the very least escaped the battle in which the damage had been done this presented a further problem as; from what Gibil had been able to discern from the files plucked from the stasis pod the specimen had arrived in her connection to the Morphing Grid was a tenuous and somewhat unstable one, using no centralised nexus such as a Power Coin whilst simply channelling excessive amounts of power through the specimens' body to make up for the shortfall and such extensive damage to the cybernetic implants of her body would most likely cause some unwanted fluctuations and other unwanted side-effects.

Paradoxa's initial thought was that an effort to retrieve the specimen needed to be made as soon as possible, though she quickly paused and forced herself to re-examine that cause of action; her teleportation gate had only two uses remaining and spending them recovering her erstwhile assets would almost certainly be met with swift and horrific retribution from Lord Zedd. Furthermore sending ships to Edenoi would likewise present problems, it would take time for a retrieval operation to arrive and there was no guarantee that the specimen would still be functional by the time it did; if the mission were a failure she would be punished for wasting more ships and there was the undeniable knowledge that even if the mission was successful it would cost her, the knowledge that Paradoxa had launched a rescue mission seemingly to rescue a disgraced Captain after they had further failed her would be seen as a sign of weakness and all but invite treachery.

There was also the distinct possibility that Lord Zedd would punish her for any attempt to interfere with the testing of his new 'proof of concept' and the insectoid was forced to second guess herself before finally making her decision

"Stand by until further notice, monitor the specimens' readings and inform me of any further developments" Paradoxa ordered simply, rising from her throne and silently hoping that choosing to play a longer game and see what situation unfolded would benefit her. As she left the command bridge she heard her various underlings give their unanimous assent.

It would be a shame to have them all killed and replaced, but secrets had to be maintained.

* * *

Kimberley had for the second time in as many days found herself summoned to conference room one to join Vice-Admiral Dana Mitchell in the task of liaising with a representative of an ally from beyond planet Earth.

She had been in the middle of overseeing a marksmanship class involving a batch of Silver Guardian cadets aged around fourteen, her years using the Power Bow as the Pink Ranger seemed to have left a lasting impression on her and she was both capable of becoming a crack-shot with any ranged weapon she came across with very little practice and a more than competent judge of the abilities of others; when Dana's request for her immediate presence had come however she had quickly made notes of which of the teenagers, many of whom had an abundance of attitude would be suitable for additional training as snipers or heavy weapons specialists at a later date, which of them would require additional training due to either some flaw in the way they handled their weapons or a visible discomfort around them and finally which cadets should simply never be allowed within reach of a firearm under any circumstances and delegated to training session to TJ Johnson, the former Red Turbo Ranger and Blue Astro Ranger having acquired a plethora of skills over the course of his post-Ranger military career and departed for the conference room.

Upon entering she was once again surprised, though she supposed that she had no reason to be, to see the face of King Dex of Edenoi

"Kimberley, it seems once again that I am forced to call upon an old friend and ally for mediation" Kimberley entered the conference room and as the door sealed behind her with a hiss she saw the expressions of grave tension that both the, now snowy haired former Masked Rider and the former Lightspeed Pink Ranger wore in the expressions and the charged air of a stand-off that passed between then, traversing the light-years between them with ease.

"Kimberley my old friend I will ask you this-"

"No your Highness" Dana's words were terse and clipped "We will not be accused baselessly, you will tell us where the Power Rangers are and what is going on" Kimberley's eyebrows vanished beneath her hair, short as it was at the acid tone of the demand; clearly things had spiralled out of control somehow and the situation needed to be rectified. King Dex took several slow and deep breaths to calm himself, his hands clenching the arms of his throne in a white knuckled grip for several moments before he finally composed himself and explained the situation as he saw it.

"Your Power Rangers and my sons set out to locate and engage the Dark Empire element acting on Edenoi; a sapient and coherent enemy believed to be field commander of their operation was eliminated. Shortly afterwards the monster which uses your Morphing Grid attacked" there was a brief lull in the explanation and Kimberley asked a question which she feared the answer to

"Casualties?"

"None" Dex assured her "But there injuries and close calls. My middle son could have lost an eye, my youngest suffered a not inconsequential injury to his leg-"

"And the Rangers?" Dana asked stiffly, Dex's face shifted through several emotions finally settling on a forlorn mixture sorrow and shame

"The Red and Yellow Rangers" he sighed "Mercy and Aslaug….Aslaug refused medical treatment for her injuries and from my limited understanding of her people they are hardy enough that she will heal. Mercy is being treated by best medical staff, including one of my sons….after such a history of conflict as Edenoi has, our ability to repair punctured organs and torn muscles is enough to ensure that she will return to you whole"

"Then that's something" Kimberley breathed out "Thank you Dex, now can you explain to us what you believe the problem to be"

"The Pink Ranger" Dex stated bluntly "It would seem that the Dark Empire's new weapon is in fact her sister….a monster that uses your Rangers' own powers just so happens to be the long lost sibling of one of your Rangers; you see my suspicions I'm sure?"

"We do" Dana answered him, her tone making it clear that while she may understand the accusations being levelled against the Rangers and by extension, Project Lightspeed, Earth, the Alliance as a whole and herself personally, she resented them nonetheless

"Let me be clear" she continued "We had no knowledge of this, to the best of both Lightspeed and Panthera's own knowledge Acinonyx Cato was dead. The Power Rangers conducted a search of a Dark Empire vessel housing prisoners after the attack on Triforia and failed to locate her there; which corroborated information given by a Dark Empire officer….it seems that they were lying" there was a lot being left unsaid in that explanation and much of it would add additional context, Kimberley knew this but at the same time understood that telling their currently strained ally more than they needed to may not be for the best. As Dex stroked his chin and pondered however the former Pink Ranger found herself speaking up and offering her own thoughts

"It may be that Panthera's sister was chosen as a candidate for this weaponisation project of the Dark Empires' specifically for this reason" she offered "Panthera was known to the Dark Empire prior to joining us and has certainly been identified as a Ranger….using relatives in such a way to divide us seems like something that this new Dark Empire would attempt"

"It would be a question to raise with the former Lord Zedd but I'm sure you understand why I simply refuse to have a man such as that in my presence" Dex finally replied after several moments of silent and careful consideration "I apologise for my hastiness to appoint blame, but I'm sure you can understand my need for swift action"

"I can" Dana nodded in understanding, the tension between the pair finally lessening a fraction "Where are the Rangers currently?"

"Recuperating" Dex answered simply "Mercy will require treatment for a while longer though the Blue, Yellow and Black Rangers will be redeployed with my eldest two sons as soon as they are ready. This threat to Edenoi cannot go unanswered"

"And Panthera?" Dana asked cautiously "We would be happy to return to the Aquabase to avoid further complications" Kimberley could sense what the answer to her commanding officers' question would be before Dex spoke

"I'm afraid not….the Pink Ranger is in my custody, which is where she will remain until this matter is concluded" Dana's teeth audibly ground together and Kimberley was sure that were it physically possible she would drag King Dex through the screen but instead she forced herself to be diplomatic, knowing that things far larger than egos and personal feelings were at stake

"I understand. Please update us on the status of our joint mission when the Rangers return from their next deployment"

"As you wish Vice-Admiral, Kimberley" with a slight bow of the head Dex ended the transmission and the conference room remained deathly silent for a few seconds whilst Kimberley waited for the seemingly inevitable explosive outburst, to her surprise however it never came. Instead Dana simply let out a long sigh as she turned to her fellow former Pink Ranger

"You knew him long before I did….was he always like this?" Kimberley paused before smirking and allowing the biting sarcasm that she had once relied upon to bubble to the surface.

"Would you believe me if I told you that he's mellowed out?"

* * *

She had been held captive for several hours now,

Under normal circumstances being confined for so long in total solitude would have given Panthera enough time and a lack of distractions to have formed a workable plan of escape. The cell she had been placed in, deep within the bowels of the Royal Palace of Edenoi and the cliff which it was carved into was far from what could be considered ordinary and presented a rare challenge for her owing to the fact that it was utterly devoid of any advanced technology.

Edenoi it seemed, had never suffered from the ravaging plague of petty or organised crime that was common to much of the galaxy and had never needed to develop more involved methods of keeping prisoners secure, which in turn meant that her cell was entirely without cameras or any other form of digital monitoring and that there was no forcefield which could be damaged keeping her in place; instead simple bars of some dark metal with gaps far too narrow to slip through and far too sturdy for her to damage. The walls of the cells were sloped downed and comprised of a layer of some native stone so smooth that even with her sharpened claws and natural talent for both climbing and escapism she was utterly unable to scale them, the layer of stone was thick enough and applied in such a way that she couldn't break sections of it away which left the ventilation system that cycled air through the depths of the palace looming tauntingly above her, entirely out of reach.

To make matters worse she had been searched by members of King Dex's palace guard and whilst she had, mercifully been allowed to keep her own clothes the throwing knives, smoke bombs, lock-picking kit and various other useful items she carried had been found and taken from her along with her communicator which meant that the only tools currently at her disposal were her own wits and the heavy, sold metal handcuffs she had managed to slip out of soon after being confined.

She had, after all been raised in the Smugglers' Guild and had learned to escape handcuffs as a child when I had been taught to her as a game by and older crew-member who wished to use her and her sister to obtain some form of contraband or other.

Panthera quickly examined the restraints that she'd removed and found herself wondering if part of the handcuff could be inserted into the keyhole of her cells' lock and used to force the mechanism, when she had been placed in her cell she hadn't seen the key to the door and felt almost certain that even the narrowest part of the handcuff would be too wide for her needs, however before she could attempt to put her theory to the test the sound of footsteps echoing through the spotless but still dungeon-like corridor of otherwise empty cells, drawing closer until eventually and revealing themselves to be Prince Emu; the youngest of King Dex's children walking with a pronounced limp and carrying a tray which held some kind of food, though Panthera was privately more concerned with the utensils as they would most likely be useful in breaking free.

"You know, slipping out of your restraints in what might be a record time on Edenoi does nothing to help your case" Emu noted casually, even as his usually smiling and playful feature betrayed him nerves

"I was attacked by your brother and I'm the one in a cell because your father is the one making decisions; I only see one way this ends" Emu glowered for a moment, the open attack on his fathers' honour getting under his skin no matter how understandable it was considering Panthera's position.

"King Dex has spoken to Project Lightspeed on Earth" Emu informed her simply, choosing not to argue politics "You're to be kept confined for the moment"

"And you're just here delivering meals to prisoners as an act of charity?" Panthera raised a questioning eyebrow, her upbringing had taught her to read peoples' expressions well and Emu's poker face was simply laughable

"I'm a medic" he answered "Your helmet was already damaged when you came to our aid, you need to be checked for a concussion or any other lasting effects"

"And you chose to do that before having your leg looked at?"

"It'll heal" Emu assured her "Mercy's care took precedence"

"Is she-"

"Currently unconscious" Emu cut off the Pink Ranger's worried question "Our medicine works fast; she'll be ready to rejoin the fight within a day or so" Panthera visibly relaxed at the answer and Emu sat cross-legged on the other side of the cell door and managed to slide the tray of food under a small gap between it and the floor, Panthera sat facing him and made no effort to reach for the tray.

"I also thought you should know" Emu gave a heavy sigh "That my brothers' have taken the other Rangers to where they believe they will find the creature-"

"My sister" Panthera snapped "Say it, say that they're going to kill Acinonyx Cato, they're going to kill my sister. Use her name!" the bars of the cell-door rattled as Panthera lashed out and struck them, though the blow did nothing more then hurt her hand and leave deep purple blossoming beneath her teal skin where blood vessels had burst. Emu allowed her a few moments to regain her composure before speaking again

"When you arrived, when you spoke to….her, she paused" Emu leaned closer to the bars "Whatever she is or was she'd been overpowering us easily up until that point; she paused and then ran from you"

"If you're getting to a point…." Panthera seethed

"Just a question" Emu sighed again "Do you genuinely believe that there's enough left of your sister for her to be saved?" the answer came with utmost conviction and with a moments' delay

"Yes"

"Then there's only one course of action….I would do anything to save my brothers if they were in her situation" Emu reached into his clothing and Panthera's amber eyes widened, slitted pupils expanding as the young Prince produced both her Morpher and her communicator

"I understand you still have the coin?" Panthera nodded silently as she frantically took the proffered devices and slipped them into place on her wrists before removing her Power Coin from where she'd hidden it on her person

"SABRE BEAST!" a flash of magenta light filled her cell and as it dissipated she stood in her morphed state, the damage to her armour repaired.

"I can show you on a map where there heading" Emu offered as he unlocked her cell "Just promise me one thing"

"Anything" Emu gave a mischievous grinning

"That you'll use Sento's jet-bike….It's the fastest and I'm fond of mine"

* * *

The tension between the Rangers and Masked Riders was palpable and hung heavily in the air between them.

The sun had risen above the horizon, painting the sky a pale and hazy orange and Sento and Takeru were leading Tempestus, Aslaug and Rensa towards where they believed that they would find the monster that had stalked the surface of Edenoi, now revealed to be Panthera's missing elder sister. The five of them had taken another vehicle from the Royal Palaces' armoury which, despite the decades of peace that had reigned on the planet had remained well stocked and maintained. Their current transport was one that Sento had explained was once used for reconnaissance in the early days of Count Dregon's campaign against the world, when his armada had favoured ground attacks over simply scorching the earth from above. The vehicle was lightly armoured and open topped, propelling itself by the same gravity-defying methods that everything else on Edenoi seemed to use; its sleek and streamlined form vaguely reminding Tempestus of the profile of one of the fish from his home world. A single weapons platform rose from the back of the vehicle featuring a rotating turret armed with a double barrelled and high powered cannon of some kind with a slightly raised and armoured platform in which the gunner stood; currently Sento operated the weapons whilst Takeru piloted and the Power Rangers merely waited in an oppressive silence. All five of them were in their morphed and armoured states, knowing that Acinonyx or whatever she had become was more than capable of catching them unawares and preferred to stalk her opponents before attacking.

"We're coming up on our target" Ghost announced from in front of the others, his voice laden with apprehension

"Everyone be wary, remember the plan" Build instructed, equally tense. The eldest prince had examined maps of the areas in which the various encounters with both Acinonyx and the Dark Empire officer who could only have been her handler had taken place and deduced that the most suitable place for a lair or temporary base of operations would be within a network of caves and mines built into a nearby canyon; the plan was simply to seal as many entrances to the cave system as possible and whilst this would almost certainly not contain Acinonyx it would make her easier to corral and corner, allowing the Power Rangers and Masked Riders to overpower her.

"Just one question about this plan of yours" Aslaug growled, ignoring the soreness and occasional twinges of pain that shot through her body "When corner Panthera's sister….do you intend to take her alive"

"Absolutely not" Ghost spat, harsh and distasteful of the idea

"It's too risky" Build added

"We're the ones taking the risk" Tempestus countered "So it stands to reason that the decision lies with us….it's a risk I'm willing to take"

"Are you willing to risk that lives of every Edonian nearby?" the eldest Prince demanded "That's what is at risk"

"Then evacuate your settlements until she can be captured" the Yellow Ranger demanded "Acting like cowards because it's convenient is something I would expect of the Dark Empire, not our supposed allies" their was a moment of silence following the cold and venomous delivery of the challenge before Ghost spoke, voice trembling with fury

"This creature has killed Edonians, if it can't be reasoned with then it's a simple beast and needs to be put down; if it can then it's a murderer"

"Can you honestly tell me that you believe she's acting of her own free will?" Aslaug shot back

"The modifications that have been made to her body would suggest-" Tempestus fell silent as Rena, who had remained silent thus far raised a hand and rose from a sitting position to crouching on the edge of their transport as he scanned the horizon; Build saw the motion and brought the vehicles' weapons around, following the Black Ranger's gaze

"What? What do you-"

She struck them like a thunderbolt.

Acinonyx pounced onto the vehicle from the side, tearing the weapons away in a single fluid motion and kicking downwards as she leapt away with enough force to drive the side of their hovering transport into the ground; it flipped and both Sento and Rensa were thrown free and arced overhead before landing in crumpled heads. Aslaug and Tempestus quickly fought to regain both their bearings and senses as they ripped themselves free of the wreckage which had landed on top of them, just in time to watch Ghost charge towards the mutated and cybernetically enhanced Felidae

"OMEGA DRIVE, RIDER KICK!" he leapt into the air surged downwards, a blazing orange glow enveloping his lower leg.

Acinonyx caught him and flung him aside with ease.

Something had changed and Aslaug could only assume, with her extremely limited understanding of technology that was functionally indistinguishable to her people from magic that the removal of part of the aliens' helmet and made her unstable somehow; green lightning crackled across her mechanical components in writhing and serpentine bolts whilst an aura of the same colour glowed and pulsated ominously around her, blood tickled from her nostrils and eyes as well as the points where flesh and metal met, though none of it seemed to hinder her at all. Build and Rensa charged only to be laid low with ease as Acinonyx leapt into the air and kicked the Black Ranger in the chest with both feet, sending him crashing to the ground before knocking Sento to the ground some distance with a pair of blows that tore deep gouges into his armour.

"Acinonyx!" Aslaug roared as she charged, she hoped that the use of her name would bring the Felidae to her senses but she manifested her axe in a flash of golden yellow light regardless; Acinonyx turned and let out a snarl as she pounced once again and the Yellow Ranger acted on instinct, swinging her axe at her opponents' armoured chest. The blade of the weapon sunk into metal and as Aslaug turned, using the momentum to fling Acinonyx away a sizeable chunk of the armour encasing her torso was torn away, spilling blood and fluids across the dusty ground and the Felidae rose to her feet, throwin a few frantic blows at Tempestus who had been drawing closer Aslaug saw, with open revulsion that she could see into Acinonyx's chest cavity and that a device had been nestled within, seemingly untouched by the viscera around it and giving off an eldritch green glow.

"Be careful!" Sento ordered as he moved into position beside Aslaug, Rensa and Ghost moving into place in an attempt to surround their target. Aslaug turned to the eldest Prince and said, with a small flicker of hope

"I think we might be able to bring her down easily….but I don't know if she'll survive it"

* * *

Mercy had been drifting groggily in and out of consciousness as the medication that left her senses foggy and blunted fought against the pain and tightness in her chest until finally she pulled herself into an upright position.

The last several hours had been a blur and Mercy could only remember disconnected fragments of what had occurred; she knew that there had been no invasive surgeries involved in her treatment and had only brief recollection of her clothing being removed so that the wounds left by her attackers' claws could be closed and the sight of several tubes attached to her arm revealed that she was being administered more than one form of medicine, though how exactly it had managed to repair her damaged tissue was a mystery; Mercy felt heat rising in her cheeks and was instantly mortified as the memory of Aslaug all but throwing the Edonian medical staff out of her room for the sake of her modesty, the Yellow Ranger changing Mercy into the medical gown that she currently wore and tenderly cleaning the blood that had dried on her skin came to her, entirely unbidden.

"And I didn't even buy her dinner first" Mercy mumbled under her breath, suddenly grinning and unable to stop herself as a combination of both the medication and the sheer absurdity of the comment sent her into a fit of giggling.

The door of her room in whatever infirmary of medical wing within the Edonian Royal Palace she had been taken to being flung open with almost enough force to tear it from the hinges brought her hysterics to an abrupt halt.

"Where is she?" King Dex demanded in a booming voice that seemed to be amplified somehow as he stormed into the room, the gem set into his forehead crackling with some unknown magic and his eyes narrowed. Mercy cocked her head, struggling to clear the fuzziness from her mind and form a coherent response, her efforts being rewarded with a single word

"Huh?"

"Panthera, your Pink Ranger" Dex stepped closer, towering over her "She escaped custody and has stolen her Morpher and communicator, tell me what she's planning!"

"I don't know" Mercy managed to answer as she willed her mind to process the information she was receiving

"She's telling the truth" both Mercy and King Dex turned towards the sound of the voice, which was quickly revealed to Emu; the youngest of the Edonian Princes removing a pair of surgical gloves or something similar as he entered the room

"What?" King Dex turned towards his son slowly

"She didn't know that the Pink Ranger had escaped her cell, because she didn't escape" Emu met his fathers' eyes "I let her out" Dex stiffened and looked at him in shock

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it was the right thing to do" Emu replied without hesitation "Acinonyx, the Pink Ranger's sister….she's a victim of the Dark Empire, not their willing soldier. Panthera believes that she may be able to reason with her I think she should be allowed to try and besides, we've been overpowered in every encounter thus far; we needed a new approach"

"I see" Dex managed to reply after a few moments; the revelation that his son had gone behind his back the least of his concerns, in doing so Emu had proven himself to be the more compassionate and arguably the morally sound of the two of them; countless emotions played across the Kings' face as an existential crisis was distilled into a handful of seconds where he was forced to confront the fact that he had strayed from his grandfathers' teachings somewhere and had made choices more befitting of his Uncle Dregon.

"You made the right choice" he finally murmured, stepping away from Mercy and making to leave her room whilst adding "If this Acinonyx can be subdued peaceful then perhaps Lightspeed can see what exactly the Dark Empire have done with their stolen technology and unmake it, see that it can never be used again" Emu glanced nervously between his father and the Red Ranger before finally following after King Dex once Mercy had given him a nod of understanding.

The moment the pair was out of earshot she reached for communicator

"Panthera where the hell are you?" she demanded in a frantic hiss the moment the channel between them was opened

"I'm saving my sister" Panthera shot back, scathing tone implying that the answer should have been obvious "I need to catch up with the others….It's good to hear you though, things looked bad out there"

"King Dex knows you're gone, he knows Emu let you go-"

"Ah bollocks!" Panthera spat, the word being one she had become fond of after hearing it from a member of Lightspeed born in Britain and added to her galaxy-spanning repertoire of curses

"Listen!" Mercy insisted "He seems….okay about it, I think. He wants to hand your sister over to Lightspeed so-"

"So she can be experimented on!" Panthera interjected "No, not again! Never again….I'm getting her somewhere safe!" Mercy paused and considered, her next words would be considered treason if anyone on Earth ever learned of them but were the only choice she could make in good conscience, especially after Emu's freeing of Panthera

"Okay, how do I help" the Pink Ranger took a moment to answer

"Set your communicator to a restricted channel" she finally said "I need you to get in touch with someone for me"

**Author's Notes:**

Okay three chapters into the fifth arc, one more to go.  
This one felt quieter even though there was still action in it but I suppose that's just the nature of this arc and the role it serves.  
I'm planning on completing this arc next week, posting on the last Saturday of 2019 and then taking a break of maybe a week or so before starting the sixth arc….I've just been feeling a little burned out.  
I don't have an exact end point for this story mapped out yet to be entirely honest, but with the nature of the sixth arc and the paradigm shift it will present I feel like it should serve as an end to the first act….So take that as me saying that this story will probably run for 60/70 or so chapters.  
Also we've got some details about the new movie, the reboot of the reboot…..Speculation abound my friends.  
Since we've got a full cross-over with Kamen/Masked Rider here and I've had the Ninja Turtles as background characters I wonder what other crossovers would make sense even if they were never canon….How do we all feel about VR Troopers or the Big Bad Beetleborgs showing up?

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Starting off with cliché cinematography, because why the fuck not.  
Of course one of the Riders took a swing at Panthera, of course it was Ghost.  
The different approaches to getting around Build that Tempestus, Rensa and Aslaug had pretty much summed them up.  
I mean, Takeru's position isn't exactly unreasonable….he's just a dick about it.  
You ever had tech problems and felt like the damn thing was mocking you, yeah that exact feeling is what Paradoxa is dealing with.  
So Paradoxa doesn't know for sure that Geryon is dead but it's safe to assume and she's got no way to accurately track Acinonyx or find out what's happening; she would have been able to look through her visor but Mercy cut it off last chapter.  
With Count Dregon being from Edenoi would the war be counted as a civil war, even though his armada wasn't Edonian?  
Okay and more of a revelation, Acinonyx had more power but it's unregulated and unstable….the idea was based on J Raine's take on the Psycho Rangers in his story Dirge.  
Also remember…..Lord Zedd does have some Morphers and at least one Power Coin at his disposal.  
Paradoxa's little conundrum there highlights the problems of all these evil empire style organisations; there really is no right answer that won't leave you open to being killed by someone on your own side.  
And of course she's going to kill them all when the job's over.  
Teenagers, many of whom had an abundance of attitude…..You know EXACTLY what I did there.  
Again, Dex is not being unreasonable….from the outside we know what's going on but in his position you'd be paranoid as fuck.  
Dana and Kim are having to do politics here and I can only imagine that they hate it.  
Kim is right, Acinonyx was chosen at least partly because Paradoxa knew when she offered her to Lord Zedd that it would mess with the Rangers.  
Also yeah, Dex just refuses to deal with Zebidiah.  
In Dex's mind keeping Panthera locked up was probably the smart and safe thing to do, just stop her from interfering in a situation that she physically can't look at objectively.  
Panthera grew up in the Smugglers' Guild….she can break her way into and out of any spaceship, space station or outpost she wants; but just throwing her in a hole with no electronic locks or monitoring is something she isn't used to.  
Emu makes a solid point.  
…..Panthera makes an equally solid point.  
And in a shocking display of Cliche Panthera has been released by a guard with a conscience.  
I just realised that it's been a while since any of the Rangers have actually called out their morph.  
Yes she's stealing Sento's jet-bike.  
Aslaug is taking no prisoners with her calling people out today.  
As was alluded to earlier, with her helmet damaged Acinonyx's already unstable Morphing Grid connection is now fluctuating and she's having massive power spikes which or both slowly killing her and making her strong enough to snatch a Rider out of the air mid-rider kick.  
…..Also the green aura is foreshadowing but shh.  
Mercy is tripping balls on Edonian medicine and has her priorities in order lol.  
Dex getting that "What have I become" moment….and then following it up by suggesting that Lightspeed could experiment on Acinonyx.  
Panthera knowing swear words from all over the galaxy makes perfect sense….and someone taught her a new one.  
I'm sure you can figure out who Panthera wants Mercy to contact….I already mentioned Panthera talking to them.

Thank you to Jen425 and Super ShadowHenshin for their reviews on the last chapter.  
Okay, I may have told you….but everyone else probably figured it out as well.  
It just made sense for the Riders to see blue skin and claws and immediately think "Nah, that's not right"  
I honestly don't watch Kamen Rider so unfortunately I can't claim that the thematic irony was intentional.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	21. Bravo

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 20 – Bravo**

Panthera tore across the desolate landscape at an incredible speed, the swirling winds of the dust-storm seeming to part and make way for her as Masked Rider Build's jet-bike powered onwards; the vehicle was a deep metallic crimson in colour with black and silver detailing adorning its' sides and featured a more angular and aggressive design than those used by Ghost and Ex-Aid, though it earned its' reputation as the fastest of the trio of jet-bikes through more than its' appearance and featured a massively oversized thruster of some kind, cylindrical and coloured a deep burnished gold with pale cyan light spewing from it as it propelled the bike forwards.

Soon after she had closed her comm channel with Mercy the sight of the battle ahead came into view; the Pink Rangers' own impressive senses being enhanced further by her helmet and showing her that Aslaug, Tempestus, Rensa, Takeru and Sento were all being simply overwhelmed as Acinonyx flitted between each of them and delivered a series of horrific blows intended to maul and dismember only to be forced back as the rest of the Riders and Rangers threw themselves into the fray, each of them sported armour that was gouged and damaged though Panthera saw that there was something plainly wrong with her sister, her body glowed and crackled with ethereal green light.

As the cyborg continued to rampage through her friends and allies defences the Pink Ranger realised that she would have to apply more force that she had initially intended and pushed the jet-bike further still, forcing every last ounce of power she could from the vehicle. Panthera reached the battle just as Acinonyx pounced at Masked Rider Ghost, impossibly sharp claws extended

"GET BACK!" she called out in warning as she brought the jet-bike into a sharp turn, nose of the vehicle dipping downwards as the oversized rear thruster rose into the air and as the Pink Ranger used her momentum to hurl herself from the saddle, rolling to a stop several feet away Acinonyx collided with the rear of the jet-bike. The golden thruster was torn free by the impact and promptly exploded and as Panthera rose to her feet, unharmed by a simple crash due to her armour she saw that Build's jet-bike had been entirely consumed in the blast.

Acinonyx remained however.

Panthera watched in shock and secret relief as her sisters' corrupted form rose to its' feet, her mechanical right hand reduced to a stump of twisted and sparking, blackened metal and her bloodied teal skin scorched in several places whilst she shook embers free of her mane of matted violet hair.

"What are you doing here?" Build demanded "And how did you get my bike?"

"Emu" Panthera answered simply, currently lacking the patience to entertain the eldest princes' suspicions or anger

"Groovy, we need all the help we can get" Tempestus admitted and Panthera noted that his visor was cracked and several claw marks were clearly visible along the side of his helmet.

"We think we have a plan" Aslaug murmured, keeping a watchful eye on Acinonyx who seemed to be sizing up the group and carefully choosing her next target, paying close attention to Panthera as she did so.

"I'm listening" Panthera replied, privately considering manifesting her weapons but deciding against it, if she had to pull a blow at the last moment it would be more noticeable if she were armed

"Look at where her chest armour is missing, that green light….we think it's what's allowing her to access the Morphing Grid-"

"And if we can take it out she'll be powerless" Panthera nodded in understanding "Got it" without warning she shot forwards and Acinonyx pounced.

Exactly as planned.

The Pink Ranger was flung backwards, perilously close to the edge of the gorge that the Rangers and Masked Riders had been making their way towards when they were attacked; though as she rose to her feet on admittedly shaky legs she wore a confident smirk beneath her helmet, Aslaug's information may have been useful but she still had her own plan in progress.

"That all you got? You're getting sloppy!" she taunted, hoping that there was enough of Acinonyx's mind left after the horrors that had been inflicted on her to react; whether it was in response to the Pink Ranger's words or purely primitive instinct Acinonyx charged towards her again. Rensa made to leap at her and found the sparking remains of her hand driven into his visor with enough force to crack its' surface and seemingly cause some sort of feedback if the way he staggered away blindly were any indication. Ghost, who had lost his sword in the battle attempted to tackle the cyborg only to be swatted aside with ease as the energies coursing over Acinonyx's body fluctuated and spiked. Panthera braced herself and ducked beneath the savage swipe of her sisters' remaining hand, the claws passing over her skull as she delivered a powerful punch to Acinonyx's gut before reaching around to grab her sisters' tail and forcefully pull her off balance; the larger and mutated Felidae responded with berserk thrashing as Panthera continued to deliver blows to unprotected areas of her body. Beneath her helmet she let out a snarl of frustration at the sight of the fellow Rangers and the Masked Riders finally gathering themselves and rushing in to join her.

That was not part of the plan.

She quickly stepped back and made as though the were preparing to launch the sort of dramatic looking spinning kick that Mercy favoured and Acinonyx capitalised, lunging towards her; the Pink Ranger seized her sister beneath the shoulders and allowed herself to topple backwards.

Sending both of them over the edge of the gorge.

They plummeted downwards, exchanging blows as they did so until Acinonyx finally broke free of Panthera's grasp and the two of them attempted to right themselves as they saw the ground rushing up to meet them. Felixian heritage as the descendants of jungle predators who struck from the trees was put to the test and the Pink Ranger landed in a crouch, plumes of dust rising from the ground as it cracked and cratered beneath her whilst waves of pain washed over her body from the force of the landing; close by Acinonyx landed on her three remaining limbs in a clumsy and uncoordinated way before letting out a feral roar and charging again.

Panthera manifested one of her curved blades in a flash of light, the time had come.

"I'm sorry" she whispered as she rushed forwards to meet the charge, knocking Acinonyx's damaged limb aside and feeling the claws of her remaining hand rip through her armour and tear through the flesh of her shoulder and upper right arm, she pushed on however and watched Acinonyx's now red eyes widen in shock as the blade pierced her chest, cleaving the glowing green device implanted there in half.

The arcane and unsettling light enveloping her dissipated in a matter of seconds and Panthera pressed her advantage by reaching around to the back of her sisters' head and ripping the remains of the helmet that Mercy had damaged away from her skull

"I'm sorry" she sobbed as Acinonyx yowled in protest, ripping the blade free of her sisters' chest the Pink Ranger saw that her allies were in the process of climbing down the side of the gorge and silently hoped that Mercy had been successful before she delivered a carefully measured blow to the side of her sisters' skull and threw her now limp and unconscious form away from her.

Just as a flash of light preceded the sound of an explosion.

Panthera shielded her eyes for several moment before turning back to where Acinonyx had been, nothing remained of her beyond a crater and she barely registered the sound of her weapon clattering against the ground as it slipped from her grasp or the sound of footsteps rushing towards her, her head was numb and filled with distant buzzing until she felt a hand on her shoulder

"Are you okay?" Aslaug demanded

"What happened?" Sento quickly added, his urgency understandable "Where is-"

"I cut through the device in her chest" Panthera managed to force the words out, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks "And then there was an explosion"

"But no wreckage?" Ghost noted coldly

"A total self destruct in order to stop their weapon being captured" Tempestus mused "It sounds exactly like the sort of grody to the max thing that the Dark Empire would use" there was a moment of tense silence and quiet disbelief that the opponent who had come so close to killing them was now simply gone without a trace, eventually Aslaug's grip on Panthera's shoulder tightened a fraction.

"Are you okay?"

"No….But I will be" Panthera lied, she promised herself that she would tell the other Rangers as soon as they were way from Edenoi; she had no intention of making Mercy carry her secrets for her but in the meantime she simply allowed herself to cry tears of joy.

Her plan had worked.

* * *

Above the surface of Edenoi a single spaceship hung in high orbit, the vessel was a relatively small one whose overall shape could best be described as resembling some sort of legless beetle; a small cockpit with a plethora of various sensors mounted around it which led to a sleek, rounded and tapering cargo section which formed the bulk of its' body whilst a series of propulsion system protruded from the side and fanned out, leading to outlets that trailed behind the ship and were narrow in proportion. The ship was known by a hundred different names across a thousand different ports and the being who captained it had just as many aliases to choose from of their own.

Being a member of the Smugglers' Guild meant that certain precautions had to be taken after all.

The captain was an alien with a wrinkled and leathery hide of a deep royal blue colour, flecked with iridescent yellow markings; they were short and stockily built with broad shoulders and four powerful arms that ended in hands with three surprisingly narrow and delicate fingers tipped with suction pads. They lacked any form of neck and their head was a flattened and vaguely shovel-like affair with horned ridges forming eyebrows and a frog-like sack beneath their lower jaw which expanded and deflated with each breath they took, their single remaining eye was a bulbous and watery thing; iris and sclera both the same vivid shade of yellow whilst an eyepatch covered where another eye had once been, the patch serving to add to the character of the beings' attire which could be summarised with the words spacefaring swashbuckler and featured several ostentatious fur coats, intended to deal with the problems caused by being cold blooded whilst in space.

This was Captain Ranidae, not the name that they had been hatched with but the one that they used the most and that their crew knew them by and their ship was known to that same crew as the Majesty, the same aspirational name it had borne when both Panthera and Acinonyx Cato had served aboard it.

"Target secured!" a member of the crew called out, Ranidae stepped forwards, lurching on a prosthetic leg that was truthfully no more than a blunt length of metal

"STAND READY!" he raised a high powered laser "She might be a lively one!" eventually the light of the teleportation stream dissipated and the environmental controls of the majesty adjusted to account for the transferred atmosphere from the planet below. Bracing themselves Ranidae prepared for the seemingly inevitable attack only to be surprised when it didn't come and instead found themselves gazing in utter disbelief at what had become of their former crew-mate

"Is that….is that little Nyxy?" one of the dozen or so members of the Smugglers' Guild surrounding the teleportation platform lowered their weapon and let out a slew of curses in their mother tongue in a hushed whisper before stepping forwards and gently prodding the unconscious Felidae who had clearly been subject to some unspeakable forms of experimentation

"It is" the gasped "She's breathing at least….but what have they done to her?"

"Good, alive is a start" Ranidae nodded, their voice a thick and guttural burble. As they slowly retreated back towards the small cockpit that was far too small to reasonably be called a command bridge, gaze never leaving Acinonyx Cato as their crew began securing her to ensure that, should she wake up they would be safe. After a moment of dazed silenced Ranidae opened communications on the same restricted channel that he had been contacted on by someone claiming to be an ally of Panthera Cato.

"This is Captain Ranidae, mission was a success"

"You've got her? You've got Acinonyx?" the voice of Mercy Jackson demanded, distorted somewhat by interference caused by the planet itself

"Aye we've got her….Nobody on Edenoi ever need know we were here, their planet-side scanners and defences aren't bad but I've definitely seen better, no way they know we're here"

"But what about the teleportation?" Mercy added insistently "Someone must have seen-"

"Since you're such good friends with Panthera you can ask her how many times us lot in the Guild have used the old grenade switcheroo to make it look like something we wanted had just miraculously exploded"

"Thank you" Mercy finally spoke after several moments of tense silence "It means a lot to Panthera-"

"It means a lot to me" Ranidae snorted "Those two were on my ship for a good few years, I watched 'em grow up in the Guild"

"So….what happens now?" Ranidae debated giving a scathing rebuke or a non-answer that would misdirect her, before deciding against it. Something seemed to indicate to them that Mercy could be trusted even beyond the fact that Panthera vouched for her, the smuggler trusted their gut and spoke honestly

"I'm gonna take her back to Felix, she might be Star-Born but they'll find somewhere safe for her, make her comfortable….No doubt that quite a few Felixians are gonna be upset about this being done to one of their own; so if we can't find a way to undo what's been done to her we'll go after the Dark Empire and get answers out of them"

"There are plenty of other people fighting the Dark Empire, we could put you in touch with some of our allies so you can co-ordinate your efforts" Mercy offered

"We might just take you up on that offer" Ranidae answered "Tell Panthera that old Ran said hello" with that they closed the channel and turned to their crew, Acinonyx had been secured and was being carried out of view to a reinforced and isolated member of the cargo hold. The stocky alien straightened up and began barking orders

"SET COURSE TO FELIX, FULL SPEED AHEAD AND FIRE ON ANY DARK EMPIRE SHIPS WE CROSS PATHS WITH ON THE WAY!"

* * *

The individual plates of Lord Zedd's armour gave metallic rasps as they shifted against each other when the towering and monstrous warlord adjusted his weight in his throne, the flickering and translucent blue form of Paradoxa's holographic projection flickering into view before him whilst Lord Zedd himself was currently hidden from view; though the insectoid hybrid entrusted with leading the Vanguard Fleet remained bowed with one knee bent and her eyes firmly downcast despite being able to see nothing more than the vague outline of the throne itself and the raised dais that it stood upon, the light of the torches which burned without end occasionally reflecting in a piece of armour to give a suggestion of the entirety of his form.

"My Lord" Paradoxa's usual silky smooth tones were entirely absent and her composure seemed to be slipping; Lord Zedd let out a growl of displeasure, a deep rumbling sound which vibrated through the floor of his throne room and caused the hologram before him flicker.

"Rise and report" he demanded bluntly, Paradoxa did so and Lord Zedd could tell even in her holographic form that her face had paled with fear

"My Lord" she repeated "We recently lost contact with the specimen on Edenoi, the officer I sent to oversee the field testing is missing, presumed dead….by your leave I can prepare a-"

"Silence" Lord Zedd growled before rising from his throne and striding purposefully into full view, the darkness seeming to peel away from him and retreat as though the towering and armoured tyrant controlled it "Do not presume to know that extend of my plans Paradoxa, you forget your place….tell me what information was collected during the field testing"

"The specimen engaged with the Masked Riders of Edenoi on multiple instances. The first instance was reported by my officer as being a success, leading to the Edonians retreating; the second presumably being where said officer was killed and the mechanical components of the specimen were damaged, limiting the amount of information that could be gathered. The third encounter occurred little more than an hour ago….from what can be discerned it seems that the Edonians had more firepower at their disposal during the second and third-"

"Not more firepower" Lord Zedd corrected, sensing the truth of the matter "They had allies, the Power Rangers of Earth and the Masked Rider of Edenoi have remembered their old alliance it seems….no matter"

"No matter my Lord?" Paradoxa was utterly baffled by the sentiment, was this not proof of concept of Lord Zedd's great weapon to be deployed against the Alliance and their Power Rangers

"Your teleportation gate is capable of two more uses?" Lord Zedd demanded, already knowing the answer to the question

"It is my lord" Paradoxa answered, eager to do anything that would raise her standing in her masters' eyes

"Continue in your campaign but make no use of the gate. You have served me well Paradoxa, the information you gathered will prove useful….the specimen was merely a proof of concept, soon I will deliver the final iteration of my weapon to you"

"You honour me my Lord" Paradoxa bowed "I will see your enemies crushed beneath the might of your Empire" Lord Zedd watched the calculating glint in her eyes as curiosity fought with survival instinct, the desire to know what this weapon would be and how it could best be applied being weighed against the knowledge that questioning him was a dangerous prospect until finally it seemed she had chosen to remain silent

"You're dismissed" the tyrant chuckled before ending the transmission with a mere thought.

Silence reigned in their throne room as they turned their gaze upon the rows of skulls lining the path towards the dais, each skull still wearing the helmet of the Power Ranger that they had once been.

"Soon" armoured claws firmly grasped the broken helmet of the man who had led the doomed attack on Acheron itself, setting the Empire back decades but only fanning the flames of Lord Zedd's hatred

"Soon" he repeated as the metallic, forest green armour began to creak and buckle, cracking further under his grasp "Soon I will succeed where my father failed and the worlds that cowered behind you and your Rangers will burn Tommy Oliver" with that Lord Zedd stormed away from his throne, the Putties sculpted of black marble bowing in absolute silence as the massive and heavily armoured doors they guarded opened; the towering warlord striding through them and making his way deeper into his palace.

There was still much to be done.

Paradoxa could not know or appreciate the true nature and scope of what was being set into motion; whilst the specimen that she had been given to test had carried an experimental connection to the Morphing Grid and that in of itself was no small feat, Lord Zedd had access to enough Morphers taken from fallen Rangers and information gleaned from Paradoxa's reports regarding these new Aegis Rangers to reverse engineer their technology and his true goals lay elsewhere.

What the Alliance had called Project Crucible was in fact a bastardisation of the nature of Acheron and Lord Zedd was filled with rage by the knowledge that the man who had once been his father had undoubtedly played a part in it; the machine and the research that had created it had taken the principals of his peoples' chimeric and mutable nature, the ability to hybridise their own genetics with anything that they encountered and applied them to the task of creating some kind of genetically engineered being who would be born with a guaranteed strong connection to and compatibility with the Morphing Grid.

The Alliance had made an artificial Power Ranger and now Lord Zedd had proof, beyond a shadow of doubt that his own version of the process would yield results; furthermore the genetic material that had been used to mutate the specimen proved that it was possible, for the first time recorded history to create a Power Ranger of Acheron descent.

Lord Zedd satisfied himself with the fact that change was coming.

* * *

"You're sure you don't need any more treatment for that?"

"Yours is worse and you're walking around" Panthera countered, nodding at Mercy's chest in response to her question; the Red Ranger currently wore an Edonian tunic of sorts to replace clothes that had been utterly soaked in blood. It had taken the Power Rangers and Masked Riders several hours to return to return to the Royal Palace of Edenoi and in that time the Pink Ranger's armour and the power of the Morphing Grid had gone some way to heal the slashes left by Acinonyx's claws in her right arm and shoulder, though she was left with several raised and ugly, discoloured scars which had prompted the Red Ranger's concern. Mercy herself had been declared fit enough to leave the Edonian equivalent to a hospital her treatment, presided over by Emu having been deemed a success and left her with only minimal scarring, though Panthera had naturally not seen this herself to confirm it; it seemed that the only side-effect of her medicine was a slight disorientation which was easily remedied with Aslaug's hand resting on her lower back, a solution which both young women seemed to be pleased with.

"I've had a full day of rest and treatment, you've had a hike back here and some painkillers" Mercy noted pointedly

"I'm sure we'll be given a full medical check once we return to the Aquabase" Aslaug sighed, earning a chorus of groans in response as the five Rangers made their way towards the throne room of the Royal Palace where King Dex was waiting for them; upon their arrival the Rangers and Takeru had been sent to have their various injuries, thankfully minor as they were tended to whilst Sento was debriefed and explained to his father what had happened; the task traditionally falling to the eldest son or most senior Masked Rider alone. After a few more hours had passed, in which the Rangers had managed to recuperate a little and collect their wits they had been informed by an Alpha droid that they would be leaving Edenoi.

"Rangers" King Dex greeted them as they entered his throne room, he was flanked by his sons who strode forwards as he rose from his seat.

"I cannot thank you enough for your aid and the service that you have done to the people of Edenoi" Dex bowed his head and the gesture was returned by each of the Rangers "Edenoi, and I personally owe each of you a debt….furthermore it seems that I have allowed my people to become isolated, thinking that in simply ignoring the rest of the galaxy and focusing on rebuilding our own domain within it we would be immune to the evils that remain; evidently I was wrong. I must consult my advisors but I feel that it's time that Edenoi reached out and forged new Alliances"

"It would be a pleasure to fight alongside the Masked Riders again one day" Mercy answered respectfully, Panthera gave no answer to that but her amber and slitted eyes narrowed a fraction; something which King Dex obviously noted

"And to you Panthera I can only offer my deepest apologies and the hopes that your sister finds peace in whatever afterlife awaits your people"

"Thank you" the Pink Ranger murmured, not trusting herself to say any more. Sensing nothing amiss Dex turned to Tempestus

"And you my friend, it has been far too long since I spoke with Billy Cranston….it will be a pleasure to tell him that his son is a credit to him" the Blue Ranger beamed with pride as the King continued "And this is where we part ways Rangers" the Masked Riders stepped forwards Sento shaking hands firmly with both Mercy and Aslaug, Panthera saw Takeru step close to her and offered a hand which he took and used to pull her close before whispering in her ear

"I can't prove it but I know you're lying to us" Panthera fought to keep her expression neutral, only for relief to wash over her with his next words "As long as Edenoi is never threatened again your secrets are safe with me Pink Ranger" she was still numb and frankly shell-shocked when Takeru released her and the familiar tingling of teleportation began to set in as vibrant fuchsia light enveloped her.

The Rangers reappeared in streams of multicoloured light and found themselves in familiar surroundings, the teleportation chamber of the Lightspeed Aquabase had remained unchanged in the short time they had been away; in truth it had been less than two days though it had felt far longer.

"Welcome back Rangers" Zebidiah Lord's voice greeted them, the former Lord Zedd joining Captain Kimberley Hart in flanking Vice-Admiral Dana Mitchell.

"It's good to be home" Mercy answered, snapping off a tired salute

"I appreciate that you're all tired" Kimberley sighed "But unfortunately the usual debriefing and medical process will still apply"

"At the bare minimum" Dana added "We need to understand what happened on Edenoi, that the Dark Empire have managed to create a warrior capable of using the Morphing Grid is concerning enough, but that they ensured that it's remains couldn't be studied….that suggests something else" Panthera's blood pounded in her ears, she had intended to tell the other Rangers but it seemed that her hand was being forced

"Vice-Admiral….Acinonyx didn't die on Edenoi" the teal skinned alien was acutely aware of all eyes focusing on her and she stood rigid as she continued "I contacted members of the Smugglers' Guild and once I disabled her connection to the Morphing Grid and knocked her unconscious they teleported her out and made it look like an explosion. They'll make sure that there's no way that she can be tracked down by the Dark Empire, Lightspeed or anybody else who wants to experiment on her….I don't know where they've taken her and I wouldn't tell you if I did; so if I'm gonna be labelled a traitor like Strike-Squad Alpha then let's just get it over with" as she spoke she slipped her Aegis Morpher from her wrist and tossed it to Kimberley who caught it despite the stunned expression she wore, this time Panthera made no effort to remove her Power Coin from the device and merely waited with ice in her veins and a dull buzzing filling her skull as the seconds dragged by at a torturous pace

"Then you'll have to call me a traitor as well" Mercy's voice snapped the Pink Ranger from her silently terrified state, the Red Ranger stepped forwards and began unfastening her own Morpher "Because I helped her do it" no sooner had Panthera shot Mercy a furious and questioning glance, silently demanding to know what she thought she was doing than Aslaug and Rensa had stepped forward to join them

"I would do the same for Andros" the Black Ranger announced "If she's to be punished for protecting her people then perhaps you're not the people he thought you were when he sent me to join you"

"She protected her family, anything less would be dishonourable. Punish them and I return to Mirinoi, my people have no alliances with cowards" the Yellow Ranger growled; finally Tempestus stepped forward and met Kimberley's eye

"Billy taught me that sometimes the logical answer is not the correct one….and that some orders can't and shouldn't be followed" Zebidiah, Kimberley and Dana remained silent for a moment and the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger took Panthera's Morpher

"So, to be frank" she breathed "You allowed a potential enemy to go free and are threatening a mutiny in retaliation to any repercussions to this?"

"I didn't ask them-" Mercy promptly stepped in front of Panthera and cut her off.

"Yes Ma'am" Dana nodded and turned the Aegis Morpher absently in her hands before catching sight of the Titanium Morpher adorning her own wrist; the brother whom she had inherited the Morpher from had been thought dead for years and raised by the literal demons her team had fought, yet still he had been allowed to freely depart from Lightspeed to find himself. To her right was Kimberley who had been in a relationship with Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger who had once been a servant of Rita Repulsa and yet neither of them had ever faced suspicions whilst to her left was Zebidiah Lord who had once been the head of the very Empire they were at war with. Dana let out a sigh and knew that there was only one choice that could be made without sinking to detestable levels of hypocrisy.

She tossed Panthera's Morpher back to her

"You're right, moral character and principles are more important than blind obedience….they always will be, or we become the enemy" she turned to Kimberley and Zebidiah and saw them both nodding in agreement

"Then it's settled" Dana gestured to the exit "But an official debriefing still needs to be carried out, it seems we have a lot to talk about"

* * *

A low whine of pain escaped Acinonyx's lips as consciousness returned to her slowly and begrudgingly.

Though she could scarcely recall it she had been transferred from the Dark Empire ship to a place that could only be explained as nightmares made real and even that description failed to convey the true scope of the horror; in that place her body, mind and very genetic structure had been forcefully broken apart and reforged and ever since a murderous, hateful presence had filled her mind, directing her thoughts and urging her attack almost every living thing she encountered and granting her the power to do so with unmatched ferocity. That presence was gone, yet the space in her psyche it had occupied remained vacant leaving her simply lost and adrift amongst her own disjointed thoughts and memories as clarity refused to come.

Glancing down at the cause of the most severe of the many sources of pain demanding her limited and fleeting attention Acinonyx saw that her entire right forearm was simply missing; she had fragmented and barely discernable recollections of the hand being damaged but could not account for the rest of the damage, a distant part of her mind told her that she should be surprised or worried by this development yet she couldn't bring herself to feel the emotion. Warnings continued to blare in her mind, genuine thoughts interspersed by alerts forcefully inserted by the remnants of the machinery inserted into her skull and all of it covered by a layer of dull haziness as she took in the sight of her chest armour which had been sealed shut, in a somewhat roughshod after the damage she remembered receiving from the yellow shape with the sharp edge. Further inspection revealed that she was that she was restrained and had been declawed in the most literal sense of the word, the sharp implements adorning the fingers of her remaining hand had been removed and a heavy shackle had been placed around her wrist, bringing her tail into view showed her that the blades which had been built into the mechanical limb were similarly missing and a single thought pushed through the fog filling her mind as each of the warring and disparate parts of her psyche came to an agreement.

They needed to break free.

That sudden revelation coincided with the sound of a heavy door being opened and Acinonyx suddenly took notice of her immediate surroundings, she was chained to a wall in an undecorated and unfurnished storeroom that had seemingly been hastily emptied with a mass of blankets beneath her serving as a bed; she was confused by the sudden familiarity of the place as scents in the air triggered something that had been lost or buried in her mind. All thoughts were pushed aside however as the sound of someone stepping through the freshly opened door demanded her attention, a green-skinned and slender being with a long serpentine tail which coiled and uncoiled agitatedly behind them. Acinonyx's eyes, enhanced by the experiments and alterations picked up on every barely perceptible twitch of the newcomers facial muscle and the way that her eyes widened upon seeing Acinonyx awake and at least somewhat alert

"We'll fix this Nyxy, we'll find a way to fix this" the newcomer, whose name remained painfully, mockingly just out of reach whispered, voice trembling with every syllable until she forced herself to at least appear brave and continued

"The Cap'n said to make your favourite and see if it jogged any memories" the alien woman with the elusive name set a tray of something with a familiar scent on the ground before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small, mechanical looking puck of some kind "And there's this, it's for you….I don't know what's on it but….you can't even understand me can you?" she trailed off, waiting and clearly desperately hoping for an answer and something twisted inside Acinonyx as her tortured mind frantically tried to form words, in the end however she merely silently cocked her head in silent confusion. The green-skinned woman nodded in understanding and sniffled as she retreated towards the door

"Well, it's good to see you again anyway" as the door closed again Acinonyx moved forwards tentatively and found that the shackle and chain holding her to the wall were in fact long enough to allow her free reign of the room she had been placed in and she quickly brought a chunk of something bloody and instantly familiar to her mouth before something compelled her to examine the puck that had been left with her food; she did so and swiftly recalled as a blue light filled the air in front of her, a translucent and flickering blue image taking shape. Acinonyx's eyes widened at the sight of another familiar figure, this one more easily recognisable; another Felixian, the one whom she had faced on the dusty world she had been taken from.

Acinonyx was sure that she knew her from somewhere else and that she was important, though before she could try and force her mind to cooperate the hologram began to speak.

"Hey Acinonyx it's me….although I don't know if that means anything to you right now" the figure gave a watery chuckle before continuing "All the time I spent convincing myself that you were alive and that I was gonna find you and I never did figure out what I was supposed to say to you when I did….I'm sorry that you had to get me out of that mess, I'm sorry for what it cost you, I'm sorry it took me so long to find you, I'm sorry for everything that's happened….I'm just sorry" the figure fell silent, taking a moment to wipe their eyes and force the shuddering sobs that shook her to stop.

"I don't know when we'll see each other again; I don't know where Ranidae is taking you, I wouldn't let my friend tell me….we both know I'll do something stupid. I promise I'll find you when this is all over, we're gonna stop 'em Nyxy, we're gonna stop the whole Dark Empire" she paused again, the emotional weight of the monologue clearly taxing her "If by some miracle you manage to come and look for me then you can find me on Earth; I know, I know right in the middle of Alliance territory, I can hear you complaining and I'm honestly hoping you'll come here just to chew me out for it….it's a home though and I lost the Claw, that's another thing I'm sorry for. I promise that we'll see each other again and we'll tear through the stars like old times….I know there's still a few places that you wanted to do runs, but in the meantime I guess this is goodbye. I love you" the image flickered away and Acinonyx stared at the space the hologram had occupied in silence for several moments, a low and primal growl escaping her.

And then something seemed to slide into place in her mind

"Pan-Panthera….Panthera, sister?" the name was tested out cautiously, then repeated several times as if to ensure that it fit before Acinonyx realised that it did, she then peered towards the now closed door and thought of the green-skinned young woman who had spoken to her "Honnari?" the word sounded familiar to her ears and Acinonyx turned her attention back to the food that had been brought.

Healing her mind would be long and difficult journey but the first steps had been taken.

* * *

'_Three typical average kids who loved to read their comic strips, wishing one day they could be big, bad Beetleborgs. BIG BAD-'_

"Of all the stories that the people on your world have told themselves, this one might just be the strangest" Aslaug noted with an amused snort as the theme-song for a show that Mercy had enjoyed as a child filled the living area of their quarters.

"Would you believe me if I told you it was based on a true story?" Mercy countered, Aslaug gave her a disbelieving stare and she merely shrugged in response "Hey it was an old rumour, the Beetleborgs were real….I'm not sure though, I mean none of the Power Rangers have ever met them but it's not like it'd be the weirdest thing to happen on Earth" she trailed off with a contented sigh and merely leaned against Aslaug who responded by wrapping and arm around her and adjusting her position for both of their comfort.

The debriefing had taken an obscene amount of time, wither every minute detail of the Aegis Rangers time on Edenoi and every movement of the enemies that they had encountered there dissected and pored over by Dana Mitchell as well as the trio of handlers that served as the Ranger's mission control, beyond the matter of Acinonyx Cato and what had been done to her there was the issue of a new and specialised type of Putty being deployed, something which was seemingly becoming a worrisome trend of the Vanguard Fleet. Concluding the debriefing had offered little respite as the five teens had then been subject to a series of medical checks at the hands of Doctor Kat Manx that had seemed even more excessively thorough than her usual test battery, ostensibly the extra scrutiny was due to the facts that the Rangers had been on the surface of another planet outside of their morphed states and had received medical treatment from individuals whose qualifications she was unsure of; privately however Mercy couldn't help but think that it might just be some form of punishment for the Rangers earlier defiance. Eventually however when the sun had long since set they had been allowed to go and granted leave the following day to recuperate; Panthera had stated that she needed some time alone and had promptly left the Aquabase, Mercy had no idea where the Pink Ranger was but knew that she was carrying her communicator and thus was largely unconcerned. Tempestus had stated that he needed to speak with his parents, or the elders of his home city, or perhaps Delphine the White Aquitian Ranger; simply put the idea of being party to a mutiny against Project Lightspeed had shaken him to his core, such things were simply not done on Aquitar and despite his friends' best efforts to console him and assure him that it was the right choice to make it seemed that the Blue Ranger would not be satisfied until he was absolved by a member of his own people. Rensa had stated that he needed some air, Edenoi had been insufferably warm to him and its' air barely breathable in its' intolerable closeness; Mercy was almost certain that he would be lurking in or around the Aquabase somewhere, wandering through hallways and using his natural talent for climbing to scuttle along walls and ceilings and almost certainly frighten any unsuspecting members of staff that he came across.

Mercy and Aslaug had found themselves alone in their living quarters save for Klo who was curled and growling faintly in his sleep close by; the Red Ranger gave a small but contented smile, they were both utterly exhausted both physically and mentally and had suffered injuries but she had finally managed to get some time alone with Aslaug, even it was a far cry from the date that she had trying to pluck up the courage to ask the taller girl out on.

Aslaug let out a small hiss of discomfort as Mercy shifted her weight

"Oh my God I'm sorry!" she gasped turning around so that they were facing each other "Are you okay?"

"Still tender from the lasers" Aslaug admitted, looking away quickly "You were hurt worse-"

"I went to see a doctor….well I was carried to one" Mercy countered "I didn't try and tough it out….you know you've got nothing to prove right?"

"As if I could ever hope to compete with your bravery" Aslaug chuckled softly "Preparing to lead a rebellion to keep Panthera's sister safe….that was impressive"

"Hey, you were there as well"

"Following your lead" Aslaug answered simply, Mercy swallowed and realised how dry her mouth suddenly felt; the taller woman was leaned back against the arm of the sofa far enough to almost be laying down and as she had turned to face her Mercy had positioned herself almost directly over her, looking down at piercing icy blue eyes made all the more striking by the pitch black tattoos around them and the dusty, dirty blonde hair that had been let down which fell over part of her face.

They remained silent for a moment as something unspoken passed between them, Mercy was honest enough with herself to know that she greatly wanted to lean down and kiss Aslaug, to feel those powerful arms holding her but she couldn't quite muster up the fortitude to make the first move; instead she simply lowered herself gently down onto the Yellow Ranger, taking care not to cause her any more discomfort and simply nuzzled into her whilst Aslaug pulled the blanket that they shared a little tighter around them both.

The Beetleborgs were naturally forgotten as the two of them promptly fell asleep wrapped around each other.

**Authors Notes:**

MERRY CHRISTMAS  
And there's arc number five done.  
Arc 06 is gonna be an important one, rounding off the entire first act of the story and changing the established dynamic of things.  
That being said I think I'm gonna take a week off to plan ahead and genuinely take a breather, between this story and my RWBY story FADE: Legacy I don't think I've actually taken a break since March.  
So I suppose it's only fair I give you a little something of a spoiler to keep you guessing, so here it is….Arc 06 will be titled_ "Dark Green"  
_On an unrelated note I've seen the leaks for Kirameiger, the suits look interesting if a little bit plain; they've definitely got some elements that I like; and oddly enough the shape of the Yellow Ranger's visor, angular with a dip is pretty much the exact shape that I imagined Aslaug's visor to be.

But anyway let's summarise:  
Build's bike is pretty cool….it'd just be cooler as a jet-bike is all.  
Well, it was….I'm sorry ma'am but we ran over your cat.  
The two cat-girls are fighting near the edge of a gorge/cliff….there's a Lion King joke here.  
I'm sure plenty of you figured out roughly what Panthera was trying when she let Acinonyx take her over the edge.  
Acinonyx lacks Panthera's graceful landings because three of her five limbs have been replaced with robotic parts that were kinda crudely grafted on and her muscles are having spasms with the amount of power being put through them.  
No more Morphing Grid access and the rest of the helmet that Paradoxa was using to track her movements just got forcefully removed, so whatever happens to Acinonyx from here on out she's at least free of the Dark Empire.  
Tempestus is right, that is exactly the sort of trick that the Dark Empire would use and it is indeed _"Grody to the max"  
_I told you at the start of the volume that Panthera had been contacting the Smugglers' Guild and she had Mercy get in touch with someone for her; I kinda made it obvious.  
The captain is basically a four armed frog-man….who's got a peg leg and an eye patch, because of course.  
The Majesty….I gave very serious consideration to calling it the Marvellous and going for a Sentai Reference.  
The Grenade Switcheroo, I might have Panthera use a few more tricks like that as and when the story calls for it.  
And the list of unofficial and private entities fighting the Dark Empire continues to expand….fighting another army is bad enough, when Privateers and Mercenaries start getting involved it's just annoying.  
Lord Zedd just being needlessly extra, he may as well buy a cat and say_ "I'll get you next time Gadget"_ especially considering that Paradoxa already knows what he looks like….well, what his armour looks like at least.  
Lord Zedd is also not stupid, because villains with the intellect of a 90s kids shown antagonist are no fun to write; he looked at the data and immediately knew _"Oh right, the Rangers were involved" _didn't even need to see footage.  
And this is why ruling by fear doesn't work, you're underlings are scared that you'll gut them on the spot for asking questions that are actually sensible.  
Of course he knows Tommy by name, the Green Ranger's skull takes pride place directly opposite Ninjor's.  
Project Crucible was involved in creating Rangers, but not things like the Morphers…..get it now?  
Acinonyx wasn't an experiment because she could use the Morphing Grid, she was an experiment because she could do it after being mutated with Acheron genetics….get it now?  
Kimberley and Justin were discussing_ "Should we tell her?"_….get it now?  
Lord Zedd had a Zord and Rita had a Power coin, plus all the various instances of fake Rangers over the years but at no point did Lord Zedd ever try and Morph, now we know why, none of his species have ever been able to despite their ability to interbreed with every other species….Lightspeed just handed a missing piece of the puzzle over.  
The Rangers are racking up some scars at a concerning rate.  
Mercy and Aslaug just casually getting closer is fun to write.  
I left the door open to more team-ups later on.  
Of course Ghost knows, or at the very least strongly suspects.  
Panthera just said fuck it, cards on the table.  
And here we have what we in the business call an _"I am Spartacus"_ moment.  
But yeah the only member of mission control who can actually judge the Rangers on this is Justin and he wasn't there; it's literally_ 'Brother was an evil Ranger' 'Dated an evil Ranger' 'Was literally the villain'_.  
Obviously the Smugglers' Guild removed all the claws, blades and hidden weapons on her person, just for their own safety.  
And no, it's not gonna as simple as "We got the helmet off so it's over" Acinonyx is a mess of trauma, mental illnesses and straight up brain damage at this point.  
Would it be weird if those were Acinonyx's old blankets? The crew of the ship seem to be doing everything they can to trigger memories of her old self.  
So in my head the green-skinned alien with the snake tail is a member of the same species as Thespiasaur, who had a the dubious honour of being killed by Elgar in the third Arc….just because both of them look like Double Trouble from She-Ra in my head.  
The name Honnari comes from a Japanese demon with a serpentine body.  
Also, yes she and Acinonyx are clearly very important to each other and without sounding too much like J.K Rowling, I'll let you read into that what you want.  
That message from Panthera was hard to write, she definitely blames herself for Acinonyx  
Smuggling in Alliance space is probably a bad idea, and the Claw was the ship that Panthera had in the first Arc, it was destroyed on Phaedos when the Rangers morphed for the first time.  
I had to end that scene on a hopeful note, it wouldn't be worth writing if I didn't.  
Yes, that is exactly what you think it is, I made the Beetleborgs at least semi-canon to this timeline; they exist as a show and are rumoured to have been real at some point, which means one could turn up at some point.  
Aslaug's right though, the Beetleborgs are just utterly insane as a concept.  
Panthera took off to record that message.  
Yeah, Tempestus is kinda a follower and standing up to authority like that for him is weird.  
Let's be real, Rensa is the baby of the Aegis Rangers….but he's still creepy as hell.  
These two are absolute dorks in the most adorable and wholesome way….but if you want that first kiss you've gotta work and suffer for it.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	22. Fight (Arc 06)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 21 – Fight**

It had been almost two months since the Aegis Rangers mission to and subsequent return from Edenoi and a relative peace had seemed to settle over Alliance space; interrupted only by the ever present scourge of piracy which was quickly responded to by Silver Guardian task-forces in each instance; making Rensa's long distance transmissions to Andros interesting affairs as the Red Astro Ranger as he and his small army of guerillas were still allied with Elgar, who rooted for the pirates on every occasion. The Dark Empire had been far less belligerent in their activities and allowed the Rangers and those above them in Lightspeeds' chain of command to seize the vague glimmer of hope that the Vanguard Fleet was losing its' momentum; the absence of any more enemies capable of using the Morphing Grid seemed to be suggestive of something. That was not to say that they had been silent however and the Aegis Rangers had been deployed to several incursions of various worlds; firstly on an Aquitian research centre on a storm ravaged world whose surface was almost entirely covered with water where they fought a monster resembling some kind of squid which Justin had dubbed_ 'Ec__c__hi' _though he had refused to explain the joke to the Rangers. Secondly against a simply absurd creature with a skull comprised largely of twisting horns and a body hidden beneath a thick woollen coat which Mercy, amidst a fit of giggles had called _'Ram-page'_.

Currently however the Rangers were free to enjoy the downtime given to them on weekends and were currently in the city of Mariner Bay itself, having left the Aquabase behind. Specifically they were in an admittedly working class part of the city, a short distance from the factories and spaceports catering to interstellar businesses that formed what had come to be known amongst the residents of Mariner Bay as _'New-Tech City' _but was still comfortably within what could be considered to be the alien part of town.

Mercy and Aslaug were stood outside of a row of small and old garages, ugly grey stone things with rusting doors the screeched as they were pulled upwards and empty bottles and other such things littering their flat roof to indicate that groups of teenagers often hung out on top of them; the drab surroundings were complemented by the weather which was currently grey and overcast with a fine misty drizzle filling the air which had caused Mercy to pull her hood low over her face.

All the better to steal furtive glances at Aslaug.

Mercy was still unsure of exactly what was happening between them, neither of them had broached the subject and she was unwilling to give the situation a name until that happened which left the Red and Yellow Rangers simply allowing things to happen at their own pace. The pair were almost inseparable, much to the amusement of many people within the Aquabase who found their obliviousness towards the fact that they were already practically dating to be hilarious; whenever they were alone together Mercy would be leaning against Aslaug, often falling asleep on her and finding excuses whenever she could to lace her fingers through the taller girls' or reach up to gently kiss her cheek with the gestures being happily returned.

At the moment Aslaug's attention was directed inside one of the garages whose door was open to reveal Rensa, Tempestus and Panthera inside; the Black Ranger was merely lurking in a dark corner of the garage, ostensibly to keep out of the rain but also undeniably due to the fact that he felt most at home in the darkest recesses of anywhere he happened to find himself; often using his ability to scale walls to work himself into odd places. What held Aslaug's interest however was Panthera and Tempestus, or more precisely what the teal skinned and feline alien and the dark skinned Aquitian were currently working on.

Panthera had bought herself a motorbike.

This fact admittedly annoyed Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger had openly stated her desire to own such a vehicle ever since being introduced to the Masked Riders jet-bikes on Edenoi but due to the tribal and often isolationist nature of her people on Mirinoi she could provide little in the way of checkable paperwork and had been unable to acquire a license, despite being the same age as Panthera who had gleefully informed her that she had plenty of identification which could be used anywhere in the galaxy; some of it was even in her name.

The bike itself had been supplied through Jack Landors, their fellow inhabitant of the Aquabase had, like Elizabeth Delgado whom he considered an adopted sister been a ward of the alien wheeler-and-dealer Piggy and as such could find almost anything for sale, given time.

"I think it should be ready to test-drive" Tempestus noted "It will be gnarly...be careful"

"I'll be fine" Panthera grinned, amber eyes with slitted pupils glinting as she wheeled the bike out into the open, allowing Mercy and Aslaug to see the nature and extent of the modifications that the Felidae smuggler and Aquitian prodigy had made

"Is that even legal?" Mercy asked worriedly

"It's always legal if nobody can catch you" Panthera sniggered as she slung a leg over the bike and flexed her long, clawed fingers. The bike itself was an old chopper whose dull black and gunmetal frame was something the Panthera would almost certainly get around to changing, its' wheels however had been replaced with a larger pair which sported tires intended for all-terrain use whilst the things' engine had been ripped away and replaced with something clearly alien in origin, though a pair of thick exhausts remained present on each side, whatever new power source had been put in place connected to them for reasons that were almost certainly aesthetic

"Be careful" Aslaug's low guttural voice warned, Panthera merely flashed them a wink and wide smile before bringing the engine roaring into life, gouts of flames spewing from the exhausts and smoke filling the air as the rear wheel spun in place.

And then she was thrown from the bike rocketed forwards several dozen feet before coming crashing to a halt.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Mercy demanded as she and the other Rangers rushed to pick Panthera up, only for the Pink Ranger to shrug their hands off of her

"I'll be fine, just skinned" she growled as she examined several lightly bleeding injuries she'd sustained in her fall "Grab the bike"

"I told you to be careful" Aslaug sighed, shaking her head at her friends' antics as she strode over to the bike and righted it with one hand and seemingly little effort; before examining it for a moment and promptly mounting it

"What is she-" Panthera was cut off by the sound of her new toys' engine roaring once again and Aslaug streaking passed them with impressive speed and control.

A nerve below Panthera's eyes twitched and both Tempestus and Rensa stepped back, the Blue Ranger quietly concerned whilst the Black Ranger obviously fought the urge to laugh at Panthera's expense. Mercy however was left chewing her lower lip and internally struggling with the fact that Aslaug had somehow managed to become even more attractive.

* * *

Paradoxa assumed the kneeling bow that she was accustomed to as Lord Zedd's form flickered into view; the tyrant's imposing and fearful presence washing over here even from so far away and the insectoid hybrid quickly finding the entirety of her attention focused on the hologram, her surroundings on the moon of Unus quickly fading into irrelevancy.

"Rise" he commanded simply; waiting until the insectoid hybrid did so to continue speaking "My great weapon is ready to be used against the Power Rangers and will soon be in your possession"

"You honour me above my station my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head reverently

"Your station is mine to decide" the towering and armoured warlord replied bluntly "This will be the blow that breaks the backs of our enemies and you will be rewarded properly for your role in it"

"What would you have of me my Lord?"

"Your flesh crafter is to produce two creations, only their finest work will suffice for this task"

"Rest assured that Gibil will relish the challenge" Paradoxa fought the urge to smirk at the thought of the unhinged giddiness that would surely fill the impish creature when he was given the news; Lord Zedd gave her words no acknowledgement

"You will take the first to a target of your choosing and launch a full scale attack….I am willing to sacrifice ships in this instance Paradoxa; simply to ensure that the target is believed to be your true intention"

"As you command my Lord" Paradoxa replied humbly, mentally running through a list of suitable targets from what her reconnaissance of Alliance Space had learned; identifying places whose destruction would draw the largest reaction

"And the second?" she asked

"The second creature is to deliver my weapon to its' intended destination….you will use the last of your teleportation gates' power to deliver them to Earth itself so they may strike at the heart of our enemies"

"I can use the co-ordinates that were provided to us be Ivan Komarov; have my forces attack their city" Paradoxa once again fought the urge to smirk at the thought of the human traitor she had slain before he could ascend through the ranks enough to become a problem, then a thought occurred to her "Would it not be wise to send an officer, a hybrid to oversee this task?"

"If they were to be captured they would know too much" Lord Zedd answered simply, choosing not to reprimand his underling for daring to question him, the notion of sending another Acheron hybrid to Earth was one that he had considered himself after all.

"Understood my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head "Preparations will begin at once"

"Do not fail me" Lord Zedd's parting words hung in the air as his hologram blinked out of existence and sent a chill down Paradoxa's spine as she contemplated what the price of failure would be should the Alliance or their Rangers manage to best her plans once again.

She was soon distracted by the flash of bloody, crimson light of her teleportation gate using its' penultimate charge and announcing the arrival of Lord Zedd's weapon. Without preamble she stalked across the barren and dusty surface of Unus and through the base of operations that she had formed on the moon, passed warriors of various species being drilled and marshalled by overseers, officers and clan, pack, brood or tribal leaders; passed the idling form of the Dread-Forge which even standing lifeless exuded an aura of unsettling and indescribable wrongness and passed mines and quarries where slaves excavated various useful ores and minerals whilst processing the rock and debris for use in the formation of Putties until eventually she reached the teleportation gate itself

"Speak a word of what you have seen and the only other sounds you make for the next decade will be screams" the threat was delivered with aggression or malice, just a simple statement of fact that chilled those it was addressed to to the bone; those engineers and technicians operating her teleportation gate bowed to their master as gulps and other vocalisations of fear escaped them before they turned and all but fled the scene, leaving Paradoxa alone with Lord Zedd's weapon.

She was currently unimpressed.

What had been delivered to her was another stasis pod, much like the one in which Acinonyx Cato had been transported though this pod in particular was a far larger and bulkier affair, with heavy armoured plating covering almost the entirety of its' form and was of a model which Paradoxa was familiar with, a pod fitted with long range communications systems and other such equipment intended to serve as a small base of operations of hybrids being sent to pacify their home worlds or other such operations. There was a small window which revealed the form of the individual being held in stasis within and this was the source of Paradoxa's sudden misgivings, there was so little of Acheron visibly present in this hybrid and they appeared so small and frail in comparison to other hybrids that for a moment the insectoid warlord almost doubted what she was seeing was truly the work of Lord Zedd.

And then she felt it.

The same energy that had radiated from Acinonyx in waves was present here too, far less visible though no less powerful; if anything the power was greater yet simply more refined and focused, Paradoxa stared at the being within the stasis pod for a moment longer and contemplated to herself. Lord Zedd had promised that she would be rewarded for her role in defeating the Power Rangers, yet this being, her fellow hybrid would feature far more prominently in Lord Zedd's and it was inconceivable to her that Lord Zedd would not praise them accordingly; realising suddenly that she may in fact be staring down at the prone form of her own usurper Paradoxa was overcome with a sudden urge to defend her position within the Empire by cleaving their head from their body which she fought to push to the back of her mind.

Her treachery would be uncovered in short order and the suffering she would endure in return was entirely beyond mortal comprehension. In the end she realised that the only option available to her was to follow orders and play her part in the plan.

"Gibil" she hissed into her comm

"Yes Lady Paradoxa" Gibil's almost sing-song voice replied happily and Paradoxa was certain she could almost hear him bowing

"I have need of your talents…..You are to begin creation of as many Putties as we have the resources to make at present; then I will need two of your finest creations" the noise that escaped Gibil upon hearing these demands could best be described as a joyful squeal and was quickly followed by a stream of incessant thanks and genuflecting which Paradoxa quickly tuned out as she turned her attention to her fleet, deciding which ships could be sacrificed and which Alliance world the hammer would fall upon.

* * *

The Power Rangers had moved on from the garages shortly after the fiasco involved Panthera's motorbike and after some deliberation agreed to first get food at the branch of Ernie's Juice Bar which Piggy ran before moving on to a shopping centre deeper in the city where they would no doubt find some of the Silver Guardian cadets who were currently being housed and trained at the Aquabase. Mercy both in service of her own need for a regular relief from the stresses of being a Power Ranger and as a way to build camaraderie between her team-mates all of whom were newcomers to Earth and were utterly unaware of the culture of the world on which they had found themselves; as such weekends were almost sacred to the Red Ranger and any interference with them was highly unwelcome.

Which was why Mercy scowled and glared accusingly at her communicator as it let out its' signature bleeping sound whilst she and the other Rangers were making their way towards their destination, with the wind and rain steadily picking up around them

"Over there" Panthera nodded to an empty bus shelter which was at least partially enclosed, Mercy nodded and led them into the small and cramped shelter before answering the communication

"Rangers" Justin's voice greeted them "We're bringing you in, we've got a situation that's gonna need you" Mercy let out a small sigh before forcing her emotions beneath a mask of professionalism and answering

"Understood, we're ready to teleport" a moment later the call had ended and all five teens felt the familiar tingling sensation of teleportation encompassing their entire body as the vanished in multicoloured streams of light.

A moment later they had re-materialised in familiar surroundings; waiting for them in the briefing room and command centre that part of Justin's workspace had become were Justin himself, frantically entering commands into various consoles as the Moonbase began re-routing control of various parts of the infrastructure of wherever the Dark Empire's latest attack was taking place to the Aquabase. Alongside Justin were Kimberley Hart whose discomfort could be seen despite her mask of stoicism and Zebidiah Lord, robed and inscrutable as always

"What's the situation Captain?" Mercy asked as she snapped off a quick salute and made her way towards her superiors, the other Rangers moving almost in formation behind us.

"It's bad" Kimberley's strained voice as she prefaced what was to come was enough to cause the teens to brace themselves

"Five Dark Empire warships just dropped out of warp in high orbit above Oecumene, they've managed to overwhelm the local defences and begun a ground assault on the Eperopolis" Panthera spat out a curse in a language which Mercy didn't recognise

"How bad is it?" she asked, the Pink Ranger's shoulders visibly sagged as she explained

"Oecumene is a Capital Planet for a whole sector, was the head of its' own federation before it joined the Alliance" Mercy nodded at this, being vaguely aware of the planet by name if nothing else "Eperopolis is one of the biggest port cities in the galaxy; it's huge….it has it's own shipyards and an embassy from every planet in the Alliance-"

"It's honestly one of the biggest examples of what the Alliance aspires to be" Kimberley added, taking charge of the conversation once again "And that's almost certainly why it was chosen for an attack"

"It was also a Ranger World….The Biomic Rangers" Zebidiah interjected "They answered the call to arms and fell on Acheron; currently there are no Rangers on the world"

"Then let's go!" Aslaug snapped, hands already flying to her Morpher

"Let's take a look at the situation on the ground first" Justin suggested "I've got the feeds" as he spoke the feeds in question came flickering to life on the various screens mounted on a nearby wall, showing countless civilians fleeing from swarming Putties and being cut down by the Dark Empire's soldiers taken from the various species the controlled; pitched battles took place in the streets between the Empire and private security forces alongside the small Alliance military presence already in the area. The epicentre of the violence seemed to be focused around a civilian spaceport where ships attempting to flee were targeted and fired on without mercy by the Dark Empire ships lurking above them whilst in what appeared to be a nearby plaza, open and extensive where thousands of people had once eaten and traded the bodies of civilians, local defence forces and robotic sentries lay in piles even as fresh waves rushed over them, only to meet similar fates.

Silence fell over the Command Centre at the sight of the two individuals responsible for the carnage they were witnessing.

The first was a truly repugnant thing with a low-slung and squat body which stood at a little over six feet tall even in its' hunched state a sported a rubbery hide that was a vivid acid green in colour with black markings and was coated in a shimmering and slimy film whilst its' underbelly and lower jaw were a porcelain white colour. The things' head was roughly as wide as Aslaug's shoulders and featured a wide mouth with heavy armour plating forming ridges over its' skull with fierce red eyes; its' torso was bloated and rotund and it supported itself on a thick and sturdy of legs in an odd squatting position whilst its' overly long arms, which ended in widely splayed fingers were tipped in long talons that dripped with the same slime that coated its' body.

All in all the monster had the appearance of some abhorrent frog-like creature and the Rangers watched in horror as some hovering vehicle that was clearly analogous to a tank came into view only for the monster to open its' maw wide, revealing short but jagged teeth before an impossibly long tongue burst forth, tipped with a spiky bone-like protrusions and littered with serrated hooks along its' length; the disturbingly muscular and prehensile appendage burst through the hull of the tank and hoisted the vehicle into the air before hurling it into a nearby building.

The sight of the other individual however made the Rangers' blood run cold.

Paradoxa had joined the battle herself and her double ended halberd issues waves of purple light which ripped through her opposition in the instances that she didn't cleave through them with simple brute force

"The commander of a fleet killing unarmed civilians and fighting grunts like a coward" Zebidiah spat venomously, lightning crackling around his clenched fists as he regarded his second born sons' lieutenant with open disgust

"Today we avenge the Gold Ranger" Aslaug breathed

"If we can defeat Paradoxa we could destabilise the Vanguard Fleet and the Empire's entire war effort….it would be most groovy" Tempestus noted.

"Priority one is getting people to safety" Mercy asserted bluntly before turning to Kimberley "Captain what's the status of reinforcements"

"Mass teleportation points are being set up outside of the affected area, seven Hillard class destroyers are moving into position to deal with the Dark Empire ships" the former Pink Ranger's words seemed to light a fire in Mercy's belly and fill her fresh motivation to act

"So we have free reign to directly engage?"

"You do" Kimberley confirmed

"I've got a secure drop point for you, just out of their line of sight so you don't hit by….." Justin trailed off, evidently trying to think of a name for the frog-like monster

"Is now really the time?" Zebidiah enquired with a resigned sigh

"Yes, I refuse to take them seriously for morale reasons" Justin insisted, holding up a hand to silence Mercy who was about to offer a suggestion of her own

"I've got it" he gave a lopsided grin as he swivelled in his chair to face the Red Ranger "Hoppenheimer"

"That's appalling" Mercy giggled behind her hands before she quickly regained her steely composure and turned to her fellow Rangers, all of whom nodded in silent agreement as they reached for their Morphers, waiting for the order which she readily gave

"It's Morphin' time!"

"Osore!"

"Sabre Beast!"

"Plesion!"

"Ursa-Titan!"

"Red Tailed Hawk!" the Rangers' armour formed around them in coronas of blinding light that was quickly subsumed by the light of their teleport streams as they were deployed to the surface of another world which needed them.

* * *

Bodies fell to the ground in crumpled heaps, their final war-cries and exclamations of pain being abruptly silenced as Paradoxa weaved around soldiers brave enough to charge at her with an almost lazy gracefulness; her halberd tearing and shattering bodies and painting a macabre and grisly display across the floor and nearby walls as they were spattered with blood of every conceivable colour.

Mercy's heart hammered in her chest and her throat became dry at the sight

"How are we doing this?" Panthera asked as she readied her blades, the twin pulses of fuchsia light fortunately going unseen by their enemies as the Rangers had moved into position behind them, taking cover at another entrance to the vast plaza; Mercy was about to give an answer when the monster that Justin had dubbed Hoppenheimer lunged forward and used its' barbed and muscular tongue to ensnare a weapon emplacement that the defenders of the city had been preparing to fire, crushing it into a misshapen and sparking pile of scrap metal and sending the soldiers operating it scattering. Mercy's priorities quickly changed

"Hoppenheimer has a larger reach, that's the bigger threat. I've got Paradoxa, the rest of you deal with that thing"

"That's too risky" Rensa's quiet and gentle voice objected only for Aslaug to shake her head

"She knows what she's doing" there was a moment where Mercy's fellow Rangers looked uncomfortable with the idea, visibly concerned for her safety even with their faces hidden by their helmets before the Red Ranger decided that enough time had been wasted

"Come on!" with no further warning Mercy sprinted into the plaza, her katana manifesting in a pulse of crimson light as she surged towards Paradoxa on a collision course; as the commander of the Vanguard Fleet turned to face her Mercy could almost feel the waves of smug confidence radiating from her and despite the fact that Paradoxa's face was hidden beneath the battle-mask formed by her own crown and the large mandibles which hung beside her cheeks, Mercy just knew she was smiling.

"Red Ranger" Paradoxa sneered in greeting as she twirled her weapon and used one of its' oversized blades to block Mercy's flying kick; the Red Ranger responded by using the surface of the halberd as a platform from which to leap backwards, landing in a crouch before launching herself towards her adversary again with her katana flashing out in movements whose speed rendered them all but invisible, only for Paradoxa to block and parry each blow with expert precision as the pair danced around each other and their redirected attacks tore deep gouges into the ground beneath them.

"I see you came to die Ranger?" Paradoxa goaded as she sent Mercy staggering away with one blade of her weapon before bringing the other overhead for a killing blow "You've known how this battle ends since Triforia" Mercy span and blocked, her katana locking Paradoxa in place

"With you running and hiding and every monster you send being beaten" she countered fiercely

"My haven't you grown" the insectoid hybrid retorted calmly before seizing the shaft of her weapon with both hands and forcefully yanking it back and sending Mercy staggering forward, directly into the bath of her backhanded strike; the armour of her forearm cracking the Red Ranger's visor before she quickly followed up by kicking the Ranger away. Mercy quickly regained her balance and made to throw herself at Paradoxa once only to be see an arcing flash of writhing and pulsing purple light as Paradoxa twirled her double-ended halberd as if to build momentum before swinging upwards.

Mercy was sent hurtling through the air as the blow struck her chest beneath her guard, a series of scorch marks trailed away from the point of impact in the pattern of a web or a series of thin fractures. Landing with a dull thud the Red Ranger dragged herself to her feet and saw warnings flashing across her visor confirming what the excruciating pain in her torso had already told her, that Paradoxa's blow had broken her ribs even through her armour and that the Power was trying to rapidly heal her injuries.

"Another time Red Ranger" Paradoxa cooed as she rested her halberd on the ground "My work here is done" with that the warlord was teleported away in a flash of light and whilst the logical part of Mercy's mind reasoned that Paradoxa had fallen back to take command of her fleet personally as the Alliance ships arrived to combat them, there was still something unmistakeably ominous and threatening in her words.

She quickly decided that she had more important matters to attend to and summoned her sword which she had dropped back to herself as she turned her attention toward Hoppenheimer.

The frog monsters was against all odds managing to hold Aslaug, Rensa, Tempestus and Panthera all at bay. It was obvious that Aslaug had attempted to bring her axe to bare on Hoppenheimer, only for its' barbed tongue to wrap itself around her weapon and her entire right forearm with sparks of golden yellow light jetting out from her armour as the barbs of the appendage ground against it. Tempestus was beside Aslaug, holding onto the tongue as Hoppenheimer attempted to drag Aslaug into its' gaping maw; his Aquitian physiology granted him greater than human strength and with the Power coursing through his body he was able to aid the Yellow Ranger, though it was clear that he would not be able to do so indefinitely. Rensa and Panthera had attacked from the sides, their blades having slashed deep wounds into the arms and flanks of the bloated monster and left watery blue-grey blood spilling down its' body yet even now, with its' attention focused elsewhere it was blocking and parrying the attacks of the Black and Pink Rangers with the thin film that coated its' body causing blows to glance off where they should have torn flesh.

Time slowed down as Mercy watched Panthera be swatted aside and Rensa leap over the monster to snatch her away a moment before clawed fingers stabbed downwards and ripped through the space that the Pink Ranger had occupied whilst at the same time Tempestus and Aslaug were forced to give ground and slid forward a single step.

Mercy sprung into action.

Her chest burned as each breath sent fresh lances of pain through her broken ribs yet she refused to allow herself to be slowed or distracted; she levelled her katana and took aim at where she expected the monsters' heart to be as she charged, being rewarded with a sharp intake of breath and a sudden tightening and gradual relaxation of muscles as Hoppenheimer let out a few wet, choking sounds before finally collapsing backwards as Mercy ripped her blade free

"Hate doing it from behind" she muttered to herself, feeling a little dirty before focusing and turning to Aslaug "Are you okay?"

"I need to bathe, but I'll live" the Yellow Ranger revealed as the extricated her arm from the monsters' now limp tongue, revealing that the pristine white armour that covered her right arm had been scorched and blackened by whatever substance had coated the tongue.

"Good" Mercy sighed, letting out a sigh of relief before opening a comms channel to the Aquabase "Hoppenheimer is down, Paradoxa escaped….what's the overall situation?"

"Ground forces have managed to create a perimeter and a pushing Empire forces back" Kimberley's voice answered

"Alliance ships have entered the system, the Empire ships have broken off their bombing but they're not pulling out yet"

"Which means we know what comes next" Mercy gestured to the other Rangers before stepping away from the body of Hoppenheimer "We need Aegis Zord power, now!"

* * *

"You called it kid" Justin sighed as a series of warnings popped up on the screen of his console, informing him that one of the Dark Empire's remaining ships above Oecumene had fired a mutagenic grenade which had subsequently breached the planets' atmosphere as the Alliance forces had been too distracted by the ongoing battle to intercept it. Currently two of the Dark Empire ships had been crippled or outright destroyed at the hands of seven of the Alliances' Hillard class warships with a third on the path to joining them; one of the Alliances' ships had been destroyed in return and the space above the city of Eperopolis was filled with scores of smaller fighter craft which swarmed between the larger vessels and traded barrages of fire.

Justin couldn't afford to allow himself to be distracted by such things and quickly began entering commands that would send the Zords to the surface of the world; only vaguely aware of Kimberley leaning over his shoulder and watching with rapt attention whilst beside him Zebidiah levitated in a cross-legged sitting position.

Then alarms began to blare and the lighting with the workspace which doubled as a command centre shifted to an angry red

"What's going on?" Zebidiah demanded as he returned to his feet, voice beginning to rumble and reverberate as he lowered his hood to reveal arcane magic crackling behind his eyes in anticipation of an impending threat

"Dana, what's our situation?" Kimberley demanded as she brought her communicator to her lips only to be surprised when a beam of dull silvery light announced the Vice-Admiral teleporting to their location in person wearing an expression that was equal parts dread and fury. Her reply to Kimberley's question was heard clearly by all present and her words sent an almost visible chill rippling through the room.

"A Dark Empire strike force just teleported into Mariner Bay, Putties have begun spreading out through the city whilst live ground troops have begun escorting a monster, it looks like they're heading this way"

"So they do have a teleportation gate" Zebidiah snarled, his voice sounding like that of his former self as lighting coursed over his body

"Oh my god!" Kimberley gasped "The attack on Oecumene was a distraction to draw the Rangers away"

"Almost certainly, which is why I'm here to collect Zebidiah" Dana nodded towards the robed man who had once been Lord Zedd. Before any questions could be asked regarding that statement the door of Justin's workshop hissed open and a trio of figures marched into view.

The first was Zen-Aku who held the Crescent Glaive at the ready and whose entire body seemed coiled and ready whilst an almost palpable sense of impending violence radiated out from the Duke Org; the second was Taylor Earhardt, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger dressed in a way which suggested she had been teaching students before be summoned although the golden device in her hand which resembled a flip-phone made it clear that she was ready for what was to come, the third and final individual was TJ Johnson; the former Red Turbo and Blue Astro Ranger whose face had been scarred in the battle of Acheron giving a familiar nod to his former team-mate which Justin quickly returned.

"Justin bring the situation up on screen" Dana ordered and Justin, with a moment of hesitation turned his way from the Rangers as they continued to battle Hoppenheimer on the surface of Oecumene and began accessing cameras in the city that the Aquabase bordered on until he found the Dark Empire's latest monster.

The thing was a juggernaut

Standing at almost twelve feet tall the thing sported an absurdly muscled physique and midnight black flesh with a thick and heavily armoured exoskeleton draped over it whose shimmering surface shifted between a pale blue and indigo. It had four arms, each of them as large as a mans' chest and featuring multiple segments which ended in three pronged claws whilst a gargantuan and angled forward carapace adorning its' back suggested the existence of wings or additional limbs being hidden as it twitched with unseen movements. The things' head however was the most strikingly repulsive aspect of it; a single long horn added several more feet to the monsters' already considerable height and was tipped with a mass of chitin which gave it the appearance of some monstrous and herculean beetle whilst below the entirety of the monsters' skull was formed of a pair of mandibles, the pincer like jaw moved on a pair of armatures from which several pairs of eyes grew on stalks and were tipped with monstrous fangs which threatened to eviscerate anything they came into contact with.

"Okay what's the plan Dana?" Justin demanded urgently "I can't be mission control for the Rangers and deal with the Beetalion over here" the name for the monster came easily though none of his current allies seemed to appreciate it; with Dana's only response being a nod of understanding.

"You're to continue acting as mission control" she informed him before turning to Kimberley "You have the Aquabase….contact Cruger, the Moonbase is to coordinate with our orbital defences and make sure we're not about to be attacked by a full fleet. Contact Princess Shayla and warn her that we may need support from the Animarium, Eric will be taking contingents of Silver Guardians into the city to deal with those Putties but I want you to contact Master Watanabe and alert the Ninja Academies"

"And the rest of us will be dealing with that" Zebidiah gestured to the monster on the screen, which at present was using its' powerful mandibles to hurl a bus after a crowd of fleeing civilians "Good, it's been far too long since I walked upon a battlefield in person"

"Okay people you have your duties, let's move!" Dana barked, she, Taylor and TJ drawing their Morphers as Zen-Aku twirled his weapon expectantly and Zebidiah was wreathed in an aura of terrifying magical energy

"Titanium Power!"

"Wild Access!"

"Let's Rocket!" five teleport streams carried the strike team that Dana was leading away from the command centre and left Kimberley and Justin staring at each other in shock as they attempted to come to terms with how much more serious the situation had suddenly become and as they prepared to take on their respective tasks they found themselves saying the only thing that the could in these circumstances

"May the Power protect you"

* * *

"_Megazord Activated"_ the synthetic voice announced into the cockpit as all five Rangers felt the leap of acceleration as their consciousnesses were merged and tethered to the towering mecha that they now piloted. With the stakes as high as they were and the now gigantic form of Hoppenheimer levelling buildings with each thrashing movement each of the Rangers had come to the conclusion that using the individual Zords to battle the monster would be a futile endeavour and had moved to combine their efforts as soon as possible.

"Well, we have it's attention" Panthera's voice noted, dripping with sarcasm as it was projected directly into the minds of each of the other Rangers. Her statement was borne out was the resurrected monster charged toward them with an odd lumbering gate that made the ground shudder with each step as its' own mass was now too great for it to truly hop

"Let's end this quickly, before it can do too much collateral damage!" Mercy exclaimed

"Allow me" Tempestus's voice sounded in the Rangers' heads as his consciousness rose to the fore and he assumed control of the Megazord; the monster drew close enough to throw a wild an uncoordinated swing of its' right arm that ripped a corner away from a skyscraper that it passed and damaged several floors of the building and the Megazord stepped into its' guard and seized the monsters' wrist with its' left hand before driving its' right elbow into its' skull; Hoppenheimer staggered back and Tempestus brought the fist of the Megazord down on the amphibians' elbow, shattering bone with a sickeningly loud snapping sound.

The monster did not take the abuse idly

"Shake it free!" Rensa warned as Hoppenheimer wrapped its' left arm around the back of the Megazords' skull before lurching forwards and driving the thick and ridged plates of armour adorning its' own head into the chest of the towering mecha with enough force to visibly damage its' armour, freeing itself of the Megazords' grip and flinging it backwards and causing it destroy one of the many gargantuan buildings that formed the city of Eperopolis.

"We need a- WE'RE HIT! WE'RE HIT!" Mercy exclaimed frantically as the Rangers each felt the Megazord be rocked backwards by the force of an impact that left the lights within the cockpit flickering before feeling their combined mecha begin to be slowly dragged forwards as the sound of screeching metal reached their ears. Directing the eyes of the Megazord downwards showed the source of the impact to be exactly what each of them had feared, Hoppenheimer had launched its' barbed tongue at them and the bony spear-like tip of the appendage was firmly buried in the torso of the Megazord; doing an as yet unspecified amount of damage as it attempted to reel them in towards its' waiting mouth.

"Time for the sword, we'll cut it's tongue off!" Mercy made to seize control of the Megazord and reach for the gigantic claymore that manifested across the machines' back only to halt as she felt Aslaug's consciousness brush up against hers

"It has us, but we have it" she explained before taking control and directing the Megazord to reach out and grab the appendage and begin to drag Hoppenheimer forwards, clearly causing the reanimated monster great discomfort

"Now" Aslaug grunted, her voice strained with exertion even as it reverberated in Mercy's head "End it now!"

"Mega Cannon!" the Red Ranger answered as she suddenly understood what needed to be done. The giant ranged weapon mounted over Megazords' left shoulder, protruding from the gaping mouth of the Plesion Zord took aim at Hoppenheimer and discharged, a blinding flash of white light preceded a shock wave blossoming out from the point of impact and caused notable damage to the structure of several nearby buildings but the Megazord was immediately freed from the monsters' grasp as when the afterglow subsided the Rangers were treated to the sight of the frog like monster swaying on its' feet with its' head, upper torso and right arm entirely absent, having been simply unmade by the blast.

Then Hoppenheimer collapsed forwards and the unspeakable cocktail of dark magic and chemicals that had reanimated the monster caused its' body to explode and send a pillar of flames jetting into the sky

"This is Mercy to Mission control" the Red Ranger sighed "Target has been destroyed, Megazord has some pretty heavy damage. What's the-"

"Rangers" Justin's voice was panicked enough to immediately set the teens on edge, a condition which was justified by his next words "Silver Guardians are reinforcing local defence forces and they'll have to make do. I'm bringing you back to Earth….Mariner Bay is under attack"

* * *

The pavement cracked under Dana as shit the floor, though she managed to control her fall enough to roll into a crouch as she was flung away from the towering beetle-like monster; her axe remaining stuck in the armoured carapace of its' wing covering.

"We need a plan" Taylor observed as she pulled the Titanium Ranger to her feet just in time to watch TJ launch himself into the air and deliver what promised to be a punished blow to one the stalk-eyes of Beetalion, his fist glowing with incandescent blue light as he used a technique that had once been considered something of a signature move by Andros.

The monster snatched him out of the air and threw him directly downwards, the ground cratering as he struck it and the Astro Ranger being forced to grab the clawed foot that threatened to crush him and resist with all his might when Beetalion attempted to simply stomp on him

"Now, while he's distracted!" Dana ordered before bolting forwards with Taylor close behind her, the Titanium Ranger rushed in close as Beetalion let out a roar that had an odd, wavering and vibrato quality to it and lunged with all four of their arms which allowed Dana to use the limbs as a platform over the creatures' back and retrieve her axe. Taylor collided with the monsters' midsection with enough force to knock it back several steps, freeing TJ and leaving Beetalion doubled over for long enough for Dana to land and take aim, converting her weapon to its' blaster form and unleash a salvo of blasts that ripped fragments of armour from the monsters' armoured back, succeeding in nothing more than aggravating it further and getting its' attention. Beetalion hurled the Blue Astro and Yellow Wild Force Rangers aside before turning and driving a clawed limb into the Titanium Ranger's helmet and sending crashing into a nearby wall.

Only to brought to an abrupt halt at the sight of what waited behind her.

"FIRE!" Mercy ordered and the Aegis Rangers aimed their combined weapon and unleashed the wrath of the Power Blaster; the beam of light struck Beetalion square in the chest and Dana was treated to the sight of the monsters' ribs being knocked concave before a flash of light engulfed the area.

When she could see again the monster lay lifeless and unmoving on the ground and the Aegis Rangers had sprinted forwards to held the older Rangers to their feet

"We came as soon as Justin told us" Mercy informed Dana, who took in the sight of the Red Ranger through her own cracked visor and saw that she was clearly injured by the way she carried herself and the damage to her suit

"Much appreciated" Dana nodded "The Quantum Ranger is leading the Silver Guardians; Zebidiah and Zen-Aku are dealing with Empire shock troops-" she fell silent as her claims were given credence by the sound of a thunderclap and a bolt of crimson lightning that cast the already stormy grey sky in a bloody glow for several seconds, the forking bolt of arcane energy striking the area in which she knew Zebidiah to be fighting

"You sometimes forget who he is don't you?" TJ observed, Dana remained silent for a moment and was almost convinced that she could hear the sounds of alien screams being carried by the wind until she forced herself to focus.

"There are still hostiles in the city, anyone who isn't too injured to carry on fighting should coordinate with the Quantum Ranger and aid the containment effort"

"Okay Rangers" Mercy called out, struggling to suppress a pained wheeze caused by her broken, but rapidly healing ribs "Back to action!"

* * *

Piggy, the beaked and orange skinned alien who ran a branch of Ernie's Juice Bar frequented by the Power Rangers and several other members of Project Lightspeed, including the young man and woman whom he had cared for after finding them living on the streets until they had been recruited as Silver Guardian cadets had been making his way to a grocery store to pick up several items that his establishment was running short of when the sirens had begun to blare throughout the city; it had been so long since Earth had last been attacked directly that he had never heard them before in his time on the planet but Piggy was no fool and understood easily what they represented.

"Ah damn it, damn it!" his voice was almost a wail as he sprinted through the streets, attempting to make his way back to his home and business where he would be able to both assure that his employees were safe and defend himself more effectively using some of the more questionable stock that one of the many, equally questionable vendors to pass through the juice bar had left in his care for a small fee; he was however, painfully aware of the group of automatons that he had heard called 'Putties' on the television chasing him as their odd warbling noises followed close behind him. Piggy had initially refused to believe that the things couldn't be reasoned with, attributing the description of them as mindless and soulless automatons as simple wartime propaganda which he was no stranger to and as such had attempted to reason with the group of them that he had encountered until he realised that one Putty was missing its' head, with nothing but solid stone, a trickle of magma and a faint magical glow leaking from the wound whilst the automaton continued to flail blindly and seemingly unhindered; forcing him to change his opinion.

He continued racing through familiar streets, eyes darting around frantically and making him painfully aware of the inhabitants of this part of the city using whatever was available in their homes to barricade their doors and windows, plenty of people saw him running for his life and yet no help came until he finally slipped on the rain-slicked asphalt as he rounded a corner.

"Damn it" he repeated in a pained groan, realising that he was tauntingly close to home and yet would never reach it and seeing a parked car nearby he quickly rolled himself beneath and held his breath as the Putties rounded the corner, chattering amongst themselves as the attempted to find him; Piggy fought the urge to let out a whine of fear as he watched a pair of legs made of drab grey stone grow closer and closer and realised that as dim as the Putties seemed to be, they would still almost certainly find him any moment now.

"Hey!" Piggy dared to hope as an unfamiliar voice called out to the Putties, as if deliberately luring them away from his hiding place and he watched, playing close attention to the shadows cast on the floor as the group of perhaps half a dozen of the automatons shuffled towards the newcomer.

From what little Piggy could discern from the yells, sound of breaking stone and dancing shadows on the wet asphalt that were followed by a heavy silence utterly devoid of warbling the fight that ensued was an utterly one-sided affair and whoever had interceded on his behalf had laid the Putties low with apparent ease.

"You can come out now" the voice offered with no small amount of amusement and Piggy, grumbling about common sense outweighing heroics and people showing off as he realised he would be seen as a coward, slid out from beneath the car and pulled himself to his feet so that he could take his first look at the person who had saved him.

They were certainly human, yet Piggy found something strange about them.

Whilst he would make claims of expertise regarding human physiology he had still helped to raise two human children and had lived on Earth for long enough to understand the differences between their sexes and the various ethnic groups that made up the species; yet the person in front of him was still oddly difficult to describe, with their gender being impossible to guess and their ethnic background almost as difficult. Piggy would, despite how offensive it may sound if said aloud, describe this individual as a generic, or default human in some regards.

Their skin was a warm, tan brown colour and was almost unnaturally smooth with the only flaws coming in the form of skinned and bleeding knuckles that he clearly been caused by the fight with the Putties. Their height was more remarkable as they stood at roughly six feet and three inches and had a lithe and slender build, whilst they had little in the way of visible or bulging muscle mass they seemed to carry themselves in a way that suggested strength and agility. Their clothes seemed ill fitting and somewhat mismatched and yet all oddly knew, which piggy quickly dismissed as being the product of them being a street child who had simply stolen whatever was available.

Their face was thin and gaunt with high cheekbones and full heart-shaped lips that seemed to be naturally drawn into a soft smile whilst their hair was jet black at its' roots and transitioned to a pure, gleaming white at its' tips without any sign of having being dyed and seemed to naturally grow in a way that formed a messy and swept forward mane of spikes.

Piggy found themselves staring at their eyes, whilst he knew of humans who had managed to interbreed with other species and that mentioning such things was considered rude the fact remained that he had never seen a human whose eyes had black sclera and hot pink irises which almost seemed to glow as if lit from behind.

"Thanks, thanks kid" Piggy eventually sighed, they seemed to be young enough to be called such and he was aware that he been staring in silence for too long "They nearly had me there"

"Happy to help" they replied, with a voice that was melodic and oddly soothing "Doesn't look like there's any more of 'em near by but I'll get you where you need to be"

"Thanks for the offer, don't you have somewhere you need to be?" Piggy questioned, tentatively feeling them out and seeing if his suspicions were correct

"I haven't" they looked away and sympathy rose up in Piggy, mingling with his peoples' inherent nurturing urges which dwarfed even the famed human 'pack-bonding' instinct and he found words leaving his mouth faster than he could find an argument against them

"Well I've got a bar with a little place above it, come with me and we'll get some food in you and you can weather this thing out" he paused for a second before adding "You got a name" the teen, for that was what Piggy assumed them to be, wore a contemplative expression for a moment as if they were unsure of how to answer

"I was told it's Kai" they said, nose scrunching up as they did so "I don't like it….you can call me Kay"

**Authors Notes:**

So I needed a week off but I'm back now.  
Welcome to Arc 06 "Dark Green"….this one's gonna be a longer arc with six chapters and it closes out the first act of the overall story.  
Also the theme for chapter names is "Songs from the Powers Rangers soundtrack" so shout out to Ron Wasserman.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Gotta start with the obligatory catch up scene.  
Somebody said they wanted a spin-off to this story and I feel like Andros having to deal with Zhane smashing his sister; a crew full of KO-35 guerillas and former death world prisoners along with Elgar and his brand of nonsense is a definite comedy of errors waiting to happen.  
Ecchi….I'll tell you when you're older. And no I don't regret these monster names, not at all.  
Newtek city is built where Mariner Bay used to be after aliens started coming to Earth; there's nothing in canon to suggest it but it's an idea I like.  
I know that Power Rangers is set in America but if you're British you know exactly what kind of garages I'm talking about; council estate garages that have always got litter on the roof and have almost definitely got drugs and stolen good inside; that was just the place I immediately pictured when I started writing this scene.  
So does the Mercy and Aslaug thing count as a slow burn at this point? I'm pretty sure it does…..god damn it I'm writing a slow burn romance.  
Panthera is an absolute gremlin…..but she's a gremlin with fake ID and a brand new bike though.  
A little mention of Jack and Z, what if I told you we're gonna meet the whole SPD team in this arc and that Mercy is gonna have a little awkward history with Sky.  
"_It's always legal if nobody can catch you" _famous last words, especially before getting on a Harley with an alien engine.  
Aslaug is a buff space Viking with back muscles, biceps and tattoos, who wears leather jackets, has the biggest pet dog and can ride a motorbike….Mercy's poor gay heart can't cope.  
"_Your station is mine to decide"_ Lord Zedd talk positively about yourself or I'll rip your soul out.  
We need more Gibil, I've missed writing the madman.  
And we're immediately kicking off with diversions, misdirects and plans within plans.  
"_Speak a word of what you have seen and the only other sounds you make for the next decade will be screams"_ how to make friends and influence people, by Paradoxa.  
A stasis pod that can double as a small mobile base and comms hub, interesting.  
So beyond any shadow of a doubt this new weapon is using the Morphing Grid in some way, just so we're all clear on that.  
Ah the bad guy second in command urge to kill the competition and the boss if they can get away with it…..the Starscream instinct.  
You do not fuck with peoples' day off.  
If Lord Zedd was really smart he'd target the Moonbase; it isolates the Rangers from the rest of the galaxy, it's smaller and less heavily defended just by virtue of it not being on Earth and it's more difficult to get reinforcements there.  
Oecumene, being the root of the word ecumenopolis or a planet sized city.  
Eperopolis being a term for a continent sized city.  
The Biomic Rangers, obviously a nod to Bio-Man; because other Rangers outside of canon have existed in this universe.  
We don't have enough frog monsters…..I didn't make any _"Pick on the frog day"_ jokes but also I didn't make any tentacle porn jokes about that joke, so on balance it was a fair trade.  
Aww shit, we haven't seen Paradoxa roll up in person since Triforia….the last time she needed a big distraction from her main goal.  
"_Hillard"_ class…..so mark that as confirmation that Katherine Hillard is no longer with us.  
Hoppenheimer….I'm not sorry, I will never be sorry.  
Paradoxa versus the average military grunts is basically Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One.  
Chapter twenty one and we're finally getting a brief fight between Paradoxa and one of the Rangers directly, it's overdue.  
"_With you running and hiding and every monster you send being beaten"_ and that is how you banter.  
Yeah, we're not doing a _"The Red Ranger is the only one that matters"_ thing here, taking Paradoxa out is gonna taking effort from everyone.  
Remember Tempestus is strong because he can survive deep sea pressure and that's what his physiology is built for, Aslaug is strong just because she's that strong.  
"_Hate doing it from behind"_ she was talking about killing opponents from behind 'cos it's sneaky and dishonourable….the first one of you to make it filth gets your kneecaps stolen.  
Of course there was gonna be a Megazord fight and unlike other arcs, I can promise you more of them this time.  
Well the distraction's in place, now onto the main event.  
Look the whole "Ragtag group of mismatched allies" thing is one of my favourite tropes, it's why I liked Beyond the Grid so much and_ "__Pink Lightspeed Ranger__ using her brothers' Morpher, the former Lord Zedd, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger and the Duke Org she fought against and the former Blue Astro Ranger"_ is a pretty ragtag bunch.  
Here you go, have a giant bug monster with a hastily decided name….no sign of that weapon though is there.  
Shayla was mentioned to be a potential ally back in the prologue and I can promise that information will become relevant.  
Master Watanabe is Cameron….which implies that the rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers are gone; also I'll say right now that Tommy definitely went to the Ninja Academies for reinforcement. It won't be a major point but I'm also gonna say that there are other Ninja Academies who had their own teams of Power Rangers in the twenty years since Acheron.  
Yeah no messing around, go straight to Megazord.  
And there's that collateral damage that we expect.  
In a shocking, possibly unprecedented turn of events; the sword was not the answer.  
You know that glowing punch that Andros had, TJ can do it now.  
Slapped the Titanium Ranger out of the way and saw the whole Aegis Team with the big gun ready; it was at that moment Beetalion knew, he fucked up.  
Zebidiah Lord is not to be fucked with when he starts using magic in a fight.  
"_Back to action!"_ had to work it in.  
The attack that Mercy was told her parents died in was one of the last direct attacks on Earth that involved a Megazord and giant monster and she was a baby at the time, so it's been between 15 and 17 years; there might have been a few smaller incursions but it's been pretty damn safe.  
I just liked the idea of Piggy and others who weren't on Earth when Rita attacked thinking that the talk about Putties is hyperbole and propaganda.  
Look let's be real, people love talking about community and stuff but when you get jumped then your own and those same people will watch it happen from the safety of their bedroom window.  
So that's a teaser for some very impressive fighting.  
I'm sure I don't need to tell you exactly who this character is and why they're important.  
Also I'll come out and confirm it right now, Kay is non-binary and will be using they/them pronouns. They were given the name Kai as a small homage to Zyuranger.  
As for their appearance, firstly they just have an oddly 'uncanny valley' feel to them that people tend to pick up on, hence the 'default human' comment.  
More specifically though get a picture of Ryan Potter (Beast Boy in Titans) and Annie Lennox (Singer of Eurhythmics) and imagine if they had a kid, then give them some distinctly not human traits like gradient hair and slightly glowing pink eyes with black sclera….But since there's aliens on Earth anyway and hybrids exist because apparently humans can fuck some other species just not to the extent of Acheron.

Thank you to RyuRanger for their comment on the last chapter.  
I've got plenty more world building to do, you'll see a good scoop of it in this arc.  
Glad you're caught up, glad you're enjoying things.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	23. Go Green Ranger

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 22 – Go Green Ranger**

The impact that the attack on Mariner Bay had on the people of Earth could not be overstated.

Following the events of Tommy Oliver's assault on Acheron which had led the formation and rapid expansion of the Alliance of Worlds and the heavy fortification of Earth, with entire orbiting colonies dedicated to its' defence humanities' home world had been largely safe from external threats; which had in turn naturally meant that Earth had seen very few teams of Power Rangers. There had been a small smattering of teams elsewhere in the galaxy who had formed and disbanded after defeating their enemies seemingly in the blink of an eye and whose exploits had been reported on; intergalactic threats of all varieties had led to various operations involving those Rangers that had survived or been absent from Acheron and there were rumours of lone Rangers who operated beyond any and all command structures like the 'Lightspeed Black Ranger' who had become something of a myth within those employed by Project Lightspeed but there had only been three new teams of Rangers to form between the Dino Thunder and Aegis Rangers with two of them being reincarnations of previous teams, and the last being well over a decade ago. One such reiteration was a new team of Ninja Rangers mentored by Cameron Watanabe, though he had drawn his recruits from not only the Wind and Thunder academics but also the Fire and Void schools;

the second had been a hastily formed second generation of Lightspeed Rangers using the recovered Morphers of their predecessors, their training had been brief and they were rushed into the field to defend against a threat in the Lightspeed Megazord and though they were successful the entire team had perished in the effort.

Dana Mitchell had lost her Morpher and her father, the events were widely accepted to be one of the leading contributors to the mans' heart attack.

Mercy had lost both of her parents, she had been told that as the Megazord and giant monster fought one of the titans had been thrown through the building that they had been in at the time.

"I am truly glad that is over" Aslaug murmured as the five Rangers made their way through the streets of the city; Mercy slipping her hand into the Yellow Ranger's and giving a nod of tired agreement. Several days had passed since the attack and the population of not just Mariner Bay but Earth as a whole had been shaken, with pundits asking the dreaded question of '_If the Empire can strike here, is anywhere safe?'; _to lessen the alarm Lightspeed had begun a full blown publicity and propaganda campaign reminding the public that the threat had been dealt with swiftly and that casualties, as regrettable as they were had been minimal, with footage of what was easily the largest group of Power Rangers working in unison in years being a focal point of their efforts and a shot of the Aegis Rangers landing the finishing blow on Beetalion being featured prominently.

Today however the Rangers had been assigned to assisting the relief efforts and clean-up duty, with express orders to remain Morphed so that they could be seen by the press, who seemed to delight in being underfoot. It had irked the Rangers as each of them saw it as an empty gesture, an assessment which Dana openly agreed with but deemed necessary all the same which had resulted in the five of them being mobbed by reporters for most of the morning, though Mercy had worn a bright smile beneath her helmet as she posed for pictures with children who lived in the affected area and signed several items including a handmade replica of her armour.

"I thought you would have enjoyed the attention" Panthera snorted as she sidled alongside them "The conquering hero, returning from battle, it's your whole-"

"Does it feel like we won?" Aslaug asked pointedly, Panthera faltered for a moment; her tail drooping behind her with Tempestus taking the opportunity to chime in

"Not when we find ourselves sweeping wreckage away" he sighed, his voice bubbling and slightly distorted as always "It feels as though we lost"

"What's worse is knowing that it's probably been like that on every world we've fought on" Mercy mused with sadness creeping into her tone as the realisation hit her and an unwelcome thought following close behind it "We just show up, win the fight and go home but it doesn't do anything for the people whose houses we step on with the Megazord"

"We give people hope, the Dark Empire would destroy every home they came across if we didn't stand against them" Rensa whispered fiercely, voice gentle as always and a stark contrast to his somewhat sinister appearance "People all over the galaxy go their whole lives without that, don't discount our efforts"

"Well said" Aslaug nodded in approval, giving Mercy's had a reassuring squeeze as she saw how morose the Red Ranger had suddenly become

"I suppose so" Mercy finally sighed as she flashed her friends a weak but grateful smile "Thanks"

"We're here" Panthera pointed out as she gestured to Ernie's Juice Bar; the 'New Tech District' of the city had been on the periphery of the Dark Empire's attack with only a few small groups of Putties venturing through the streets that the Rangers now made their way through and whilst the bar itself had been unaffected its' proprietor had been attacked and chased by a group of the automatons.

The news had been relayed to Panthera and Mercy through Jack Landors and Elizabeth Delgado as the pair lamented that, with the Silver Guardians being tasked with aiding the emergency services in the relief effort they had been unable to visit the alien whom the considered to be something of a father figure as their own squad had been deployed to the other side of the city; leaving the pair deeply concerned for Piggy's well being, not least of all because he had allegedly picked up another stray child.

Panthera, upon learning of where in Mariner Bay the Rangers were being sent had offered to check in on Piggy and Mercy had happily agreed; she was after all good friends with not only Jack and Z but also their squad-mates Sydney and Bridge although there had always been something of awkward tension between Mercy and the final member of the squad Schuyler 'Sky' Tate, largely attributed to the fact that the Red Ranger of Lightspeeds' second team of Rangers and man in control of the Megazord in the battle that had left Mercy an Orphan was Sky's father.

"Hey Piggy!" Panthera called out, voice brash and brazen as she led the others into the juice bar; her upbringing and former role as a smuggler having introduced her to much less wholesome establishments at a young age.

"Panthera!" the alien beamed at them, his smile a unique thing owing to the structure of his skill and the course, orange quill like protrusions fanning around his face fanning out in a display of happiness "Z said you might drop in"

"She's worried about you, Jack is too" Mercy informed him whilst beside her Panthera merely winked and drummed her claws against the bar

"I'm just here for the latest gossip, any interesting goods being brought through town, any ships with some valuable and easily removable parts left unattended; that kind of thing" Piggy laughed in response to the faux disinterest

"Now I wouldn't know about that, I'm just a humble businessman" all five teens rolled their eyes at the reply, Piggy would after all never admit to knowing anything illegal in front of several people with the authority to arrest him

"So can I get you kids anything, only the overheads don't pay themselves?" he continued "Aslaug you've gotta try the prune juice, it's a warriors drink; Tempestus we've got a new vegan seafood special just for you and Rensa I know you'll eat anything….In fact what am I even doing? KAY! KAY! COME HERE A SEC!" the barman leaned into a doorway that led into both the kitchen area and the basement in which stock was kept

"The new guy?" Panthera questioned

"Jack said you took someone on" Mercy added, Piggy only had time to nod before a striking individual came into view; with each of the Rangers assuming correctly that this was Kay

"Will hello there" Panthera purred, tail swishing as she watched them playfully balance the blade of a kitchen knife on the tip of a gloved finger; currently Kay wore an apron sporting the Ernie's Juice Bar logo over what seemed to be a white blouse which was partially unbuttoned to reveal a pastel green coloured t-shirt bearing some kind of logo beneath it and a pair of black skinny jeans and heeled boots.

Mercy almost choked on air at the Pink Ranger's reaction whilst Piggy plucked the knife from Kay's grasp

"Will you stop doing that, you're gonna cut yourself and it'll be unsanitary" he sighed before gesturing to the teens "These are some of our regulars, friends of ours….treat 'em right" Piggy gave their new ward a meaningful glance and the Rangers exchanged concerned glances, whilst they had never openly admitted to Piggy that they were Power Rangers they did wear their Morphers on their wrists; Mercy quickly decided that there was nothing to worry about and smiled

"Hi, I'm Mercy" she introduced "These are Aslaug, Tempestus Rensa and Panthera"

"I'm Kay" they replied, holding out a hand which Panthera was the first to shake; the Pink Ranger being surprised first by the strength of their grip and secondly by their eyes which she saw dart to the Morpher on her own wrist and were plainly not human and decidedly more interesting.

"While Lightspeed was dicking around with the big obvious distraction that the monster was, Kay over here was actually doing something useful" Piggy explained proudly and with a small hint of derision that the Rangers chose to grin and bare

"Impressive" Aslaug grunted as she gave them another once over, having dismissed the slender teen as being far from a warrior with her first appraisal

"You were out in the middle of an attack?" Mercy asked incredulously "Why weren't you heading for a shelter with your family?"

"I don't have a family" Kay admitted and the atmosphere around the bar changed into something icy and Mercy realised her mistake long before she saw the sharp glare that Piggy was treating her to; mumbling out an embarrassed apology

"Well they've got a place here and hell, me Jack and Z might be a messed up family but aren't they all" Piggy declared "Least I could do after Kay took out the Putties that were chasing me"

"Seriously?" Mercy questioned, openly impressed although she found herself slightly disturbed by the intense stare that Kay was treating her to; their distinctive eyes boring into her. She was about to ask if she'd caused any offence with her previous comment when Tempestus chimed in

"A capable fighter, Lightspeed could always use more of those….perhaps you could speak with Jack and-"

"Kay go take a run to the store for me" Piggy interrupted as he glass he was washing cracked in his hand

"I….Okay" they nodded as the alien hastily pushed a shopping list into their hand; clearing the bar in a single leap Kay removed their apron and making to depart

"I'll see you around" they murmured to Mercy, the Red Ranger having an odd sensation of familiarity at the comment before they turned to Panthera and merely gave a warm smile. The moment Kay was out of the door Piggy's voice became a guttural snarl

"Sit over there and I'll bring your drinks" his hand flew out and grabbed Tempestus by the scruff of the vibrant floral shirt he wore as he added "But listen carefully you little punks; Jack and Z made their choices, I can't change that but don't ever come in here and try recruiting kids again"

Mercy and Panthera quickly separated the two and led their friends toward the table Piggy had pointed to; the teal-skinned and vaguely feline alien leading the Aquitian whilst Mercy gently tugged Aslaug and Rensa away; the two of them having been ready to leap over the bar

"That could have gone better" Panthera noted dryly

"Serving ones' planet and people is a radical-" Mercy shook her head and interrupted Tempestus who seemed utterly shell shocked at what had happened

"Not how Piggy sees it" she sighed as they took their seats "He sees it as Lightspeed stealing his kids and I don't think he's ever really gotten over Jack and Z signing up"

"If they can deal with troupe of Putties alone then they'd have nothing to worry about" Rensa noted simply as he adjusted the filter goggles that protected his sensitive eyes, clearly referring to Kay "And I noticed that you seemed less abrasive than usual" his comment was directed at Panthera and

drew smirks from all of the other Rangers, it was rare that the Pink Ranger ended up on the receiving end of playful tormenting

"I was being friendly, congratulations you've converted me to one of you" she leaned back comfortably in her seat, a gentle flicking of her bat-like ears the only indication of any kind of emotion "Besides….it's nice to see someone else who can handle a knife on this planet"

* * *

A stream of frustrated curses escaped from Justin's lips as a purpose built diagnostic tool for use in the repair and maintenance of the Zords spat sparks and gave a worrying crackling sound. The former Ranger turned scientist did not consider himself a teacher by any means, though he also considered this something of a failure on his part; with the amount of truly amazing role models he had been provided with in the form of older Power Rangers he felt that he should have been more able to provide the same to Lightspeeds' younger recruits. Such concerns however had currently been pushed aside by more practical ones, such as the broken tool that lay on his workbench whilst he frowned at it intensely as though simply willing it to work; the repair of the Zords was not a task that could be undertaken alone, especially not after battles as trying as the one with Hoppenheimer had been and Justin had found himself leading a team of older Silver Guardian cadets who were each clearly vying for a position as his apprentice. The tool had been broken when it had been dropped into an open cavity within the Yellow Rangers' gargantuan mecha by a young man with the dubious nickname of 'Boom' who had then proceeded to climb inside the Zord to retrieve it, most likely damaging or disconnecting something important in the process.

"Someone sounds happy this morning" Justin whirled around to find Kimberley Hart leaning against a wall with a faint smirk on her face and holding two cups of coffee, Justin had been too distracted by his work and the lack of progress therein that he hadn't heard the to door to his workshop and laboratory, which he had retreated to after his patience had reaching its' limits, slide open.

"Teenagers" he said simply, making his voice as harsh and gruff as possible in a parody of Zebidiah Lord's more irritable moments. Kimberley merely gestured to herself vaguely and Justin saw that she wore a plain black business suit and a glittering pink tie that stood out against the otherwise plain attire; in contrast to the more practical and personalised Lightspeed uniform which she usually wore and that the suit and immaculately styled hair were a stark contrast to Justin's own lab-coat with singed sleeves worn over a pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt featuring a parody of what had somehow come to be regarded as the Power Rangers logo; that the only thing the two seemed to have in common was dark rings under their eyes was telling

"You've been teaching?" Justin realised

"Covering classes" Kimberley clarified as strode across the workshop that was Justin's sanctum and pressed a still steaming cup of coffee in his hands "Eric and TJ are still taking groups of older cadets out into the city so I'm covering some of their classes, whilst also doing my job and trying to hold the fort for Dana while she's on her press tour" she gave a deep sigh and Justin made himself comfortable on one of his many workbenches beside her, shaking his head as he did so

"And Zebidiah can't help out with that because?…." he demanded, trailing off expectantly

"There was a situation last night-"

"There's always a situation" Justin snorted

"A twelve year old girl discovered her nascent magical ability" Kimberly's answer silenced the scientist and she continued "Doesn't matter how many times we ban Ouija boards they always sneak 'em in….so now we have a lot of traumatised kids, including those two exchange students from Xybria-"

"But a little girl just got her Hogwarts acceptance letter" Justin snorted, only to raise his hands apologetically under the glare Kimberley shot his way

"So Zebidiah's dealing with that now, Doctor Manx still has her in for observation….Apparently Zebidiah is a completely different person when he's dealing with kids, especially ones that know _'The Arts'_" Kimberley made speech marks with two fingers at that

"I mean he had two kids of his own" Justin shrugged with a smirk "And both of them went into the family business of killing and enslaving" Kimberley laughed at that despite feeling slightly guilty; she tried her best to separate Zebidiah from the Lord Zedd he had once been. After a few moments of peaceful silence she drained her cup

"So come on, what's really bothering you; you've been…..'_bite-y'_ all week?" Kimberley eventually asked, deciding that as much as she enjoyed having someone to trade sarcastic comments and scathing retorts with something was clearly bothering the former Turbo Ranger

"My time off got cancelled, Lightspeed needs all hands on deck" Justin eventually grumbled, arms folding across his chest as he did so which gave him the air of a sulking child, prompting Kimberley to reach over and ruffle his hair

"We're directly responsible for the Power Rangers" she pointed out, trying to keep an amused edge out of her voice for the sake of Justin's feelings "You remember being a Ranger? Time off is a myth, it doesn't exist"

"I was twelve years old when I was Ranger" he countered "I didn't have anniversaries to deal with"

"Oh!" Kimberley gasped, hands flying to her mouth; Justin tended to keep his personal life very private, more than one former Ranger had found their family targeted either by genuine threats, lobbyists and political pressure groups, the press or simple stalkers and as such Kimberley had genuinely forgotten that the former Turbo Ranger had a life outside of work

"You know, one day you'll have to tell me how you two hooked up" she grinned "How do you manage to get sent to the Fire Ninja Academy for a tech support job and then hook up with a teacher there?"

"How did you go from dating the Green Ranger to a gymnast?" Justin shot back without hesitation "Sorry" he added quickly, Kimberley said nothing; the relationship with her fellow athlete had been a brief fling and the subject of Tommy Oliver would likely always be a difficult one.

Any further conversation was rendered impossible as alarms began to scream throughout the Aquabase and the lighting shifted to an angry red that Kimberley and Justin were both regrettably well acquainted with

"What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?" the words left Justin's lips in a frantic chant as he bolted to the command centre from which he began desperately trying to ascertain the problem

"Another attack in the city?" Kimberley demanded in open disbelief

"Reports of several explosions in the alien part of town" Justin confirmed as he began intercepting communications to and between emergency services "Lone target, got a location….bringing up cameras now" Justin gave a satisfied grin which was quickly wiped from his face the instant the camera feeds were displayed on his various computer screens.

"No" Kimberley's gasp was equal parts terror and utter anguish

"It can't be" Justin whispered in stunned disbelief, Kimberley stared at the sight in front of her for a moment longer before finally coming to her senses.

"We need to contact the Rangers"

* * *

The Ranger's conversation with Piggy at Ernie's Juice Bar had been hours ago and the five teens had long since left the establishment in search of something else to do with the rest of their day; they had no classes or training sessions to attend, were not particularly enamoured with the idea of returning to the Aquabase to relax at home or visit the gym and they were not required to continue with the relief effort until the next morning. After briefly venturing deeper into the city they had decided to return to the New Tech District so that Panthera could continue working on her bike, though the Pink Ranger had paid for this decision in the form an incessant stream of teasing comments from Mercy and surprisingly Tempestus about her simply hoping to run into Kay again.

All of this had been brought a halt Justin and Kimberley informing them of an attack nearby.

The Aegis Rangers had ducked into the first secluded side-street they had seen and promptly Morphed before rushing through the streets and urging the fleeing civilians that they passed to find shelter; the attack was mere streets away from Ernie's Juice Bar and despite their commitment to defend the Alliance and life as whole, the knowledge that people they knew were potentially at risk pushed them to move just a little faster.

"Oh my God what happened here?" Mercy demanded as the Rangers skidded to a halt at a junction between streets which had seemingly been the epicentre of the attack; cars lay overturned and aflame or simply scattered across the roads in mounds of ruined scrap or abandoned by their fleeing owners; flames had spread to nearby buildings which had been spared from none of the destruction, with walls destroyed roofs partially collapsed. The Rangers realised in almost perfect unison that the roads ahead of them and to the sides had been blocked off by roaring flames, rubble and in one case a destroyed bus, though it was Panthera that voiced the obvious conclusion

"Ambush!" Mercy felt Aslaug's arm wrap around the back of her neck and drag her to the ground just as flash of green light burst from the flames ahead of them, a crackling arc of forest green surging over the Rangers and tearing through a traffic light behind them before dissipating

"Took you long enough to get here" a distorted and modulated voice noted with open scorn as it announced their attackers presence, closely followed by a lone figure striding through flames that seemed to part and move aside for them. The Rangers leapt to their feet and readied themselves, only for each of them to be rendered numb with shock and left with ice in their veins at the sight that greeted them.

A Green Aegis Ranger.

Their suit could have been based on nothing other than their own armour, yet it bore several deliberate differences that set it apart. Whoever this Ranger was they wore armour of a deep forest green whilst the curved and stylised lightning bolt that reached from their collarbones to their left hip and arced back up beneath their right arm, along with the entire arm itself were covered in a deep black which seemed to shift in colour as the light struck it, revealing deep indigos and midnight blues painting faintly visible constellations and swirling galaxies across the abyssal surface. Their boots were the same black colour whilst their left gauntlet and belt were strangely the same pristine white as the other Ranger's and their suit featured the same bright silver trim and rune-etched bracers.

One notable difference was a pair of twin capes which hung from the Green Ranger's waist, midnight black with silver trim and ending in jagged tips that reached just above their calves however the most striking divergence from the other Aegis Ranger's suits was the shield that they wore over their chest; silver, sleek and angular reaching out to their shoulders where its' points were turned upwards, with the lowest point of the thing reaching the diamond shaped emblem which displayed the animal of each Aegis Ranger's Power Coin and in fact emulated it, though it was glossy black shape set into the brighter colour and displayed what appeared to be a three toed claw in the deep green colour of their armour.

Mercy considered herself something of an aficionado of all things relating to Power Rangers, though she hardly needed to be in order to see that the Green Ranger's helmet was based upon the Dragonzord, yet it in this iteration it appeared sleeker and more streamlined; its' familiar black and silver colours replaced with green and a pair of vivid magenta eyes adorning the top of the helmet with a single swept back silver fin reaching behind it. Their visor was similarly stylised and eye catching, like the other Ranger's it was shaped to evoke the jaws of the animal upon their Power Coins, however the Green Ranger's visor was also designed to evoke flames as if the Dragonzord had spewed them from its' maw and added to the streamlined appearance as the glossy black surface reached around the sides of the helmet and extended behind in twin tapering points.

"Who are you?" Mercy demanded, still struggling to comprehend what she saw despite how unmistakable it was, the distortion of their voice made the Green Ranger's mocking laughter a harsh and grating thing

"Isn't it obvious, cousin?" they took a single step forwards and the Rangers braced themselves, yet this newcomer remained unconcerned

"I am the emissary of the Dark Empire and I will only offer my Lord's terms once" each of the Rangers could feel the Green Ranger's eyes boring into them as they spoke "Surrender or you will perish" the silence hung heavy in the air, oppressive and almost tangible; Rensa and Panthera shifted their weight and prepared themselves whilst Aslaug let out a feral snarl of anger and Tempestus's breathing slowed as the Blue Ranger centred himself. Mercy however gave a twisted smile and responded to the Green Ranger's mocking tones with a sneer of her own.

"So this is what Lord Zedd's resorting to….ask him how the evil Ranger routine worked for Rita Repulsa, or King Mondo or Lothor or….wow it's actually never worked has it?" without waiting for a reply she burst into motion, a scarlet comet surging towards the Green Ranger fuelled by pure righteous fury at the fact they_ dared_ to sully the name of Power Rangers in such a way. The moment she was close enough she sent a fist flying directly at the centre of their chest, aiming to crush the shield that covered it.

The Green Ranger caught her fist.

Mercy's eyes widened only for a fresh wave of anger to overtake her as her opponent let out a disparaging sigh at her efforts; she forcefully broke free of their grasp and threw several more punches which were effortlessly blocked before finally launching a roundhouse kick which the Green Ranger weaved under. The moment the Red Ranger landed the Green Ranger went on the offensive and Mercy saw twin auras of green light envelop their hands before they lashed out with a double palm strike that forced the air from her lungs and hurled her backwards faster than she could comprehend; one moment she was stood toe to toe with her enemy the next she was laying in a crumpled heap on the ground and gasping for air a dozen feet away.

With her limbs feeling like leaden weights and her vision still swimming after the blow the Red Ranger slowly managed to drag herself to her feet and cast her eyes towards where the Green Ranger stood and saw that her team had rushed into the fray.

They were losing.

Aslaug had lunged at the Green Ranger and thrown a wild haymaker which had been easily countered, the Green Ranger's left fist lashing out and striking her bicep before smashing their elbow into the Yellow Ranger's face; before Aslaug could recover they kicked her legs from under her and seized her wrist whilst turning at the waist and throwing the Yellow Ranger into the wall of a nearby building.  
Panthera's twin curved blades flew towards them in their combined form only to be snatched out of the air as the Green Ranger completed their turn, catching and discarding the weapons just as Panthera reached them, descending from above and attempting to shatter her opponents collarbones and shoulders with twin elbow strikes; the Green Ranger stepped back to avoid the blow before kicking the Pink Ranger squarely in the gut and bringing both fists down on the back of her helmet in a hammer blow as she doubled over, driving her into the ground which cracked under the force of the impact.  
Tempestus was the next to reach the Green Ranger and the deluge of fluid and graceful blows strung together without pause was enough to force them back several steps and cause them to evade several times until the Blue Ranger dropped into a low, spinning sweep in an effort to throw their opponent off balance before surging upwards and pressing the advantage; a pained exclamation escaped him as the Green Ranger's foot came down on his leg and trapped him in place before they reached out and seized his helmet and brought their knee crashing against this skull.  
Rensa let a hissing sound filled with primal rage as he watched his friend fall backwards, visor cracked and struggling to free themselves before the Green Ranger could continue their onslaught; the Black Ranger rushed into battle and manifested their daggers as they leapt, in a feat of apparent precognition the Green Ranger stepped away from Tempestus and delivered a spinning heel kick which caught Rena square in the chest, robbing his momentum and sending him crashing to the ground.

Mercy saw all of this happen and prepared to rejoin the battle, manifesting her katana in a pulse of crimson light which only seemed to draw the Green Ranger's attention

"So it's to be weapons then?" they noted in an almost bored tone before extending their right hand as they strode towards her, their own weapon manifested in a flash of green; a short bladed and double-edged gladius whose handle and cross guard were black with silver detailing and the image of three pronged claw adorning its' cross-guard, the centre of the weapons' blade was silver whilst its' edges glowing with an ethereal green light.

"Captain Hart?" Mercy's voice was nervous as she opened a comm channel "This is kinda your speciality, any ideas?" seeing the Green Ranger brace themselves she realised that she couldn't wait for an answer and the two Power Ranger shot towards each other with a shock wave rushing out from the point where they met.

* * *

Kimberley heard Mercy's request yet found herself unable to offer anything in response and instead watched in shell-shocked silence as the Green and Red Rangers fought, their blades clashing at lighting speeds with arcs of lightning the colours of their armour being discharged with each blow; Mercy was being forced back slowly but inexorably as she was forced to give ground under her opponents' assault with the Green Ranger's relentless advance only being halted momentarily by Aslaug as she manifested her axe and swung it as the back of the Green Ranger's skull with all the force she could muster, only for them to duck beneath the attack before leaping into the air and using their spinning kick to her chest to propel themselves at the Red Ranger again.

"Kimberley, they need answers" Zebidiah intoned, the former Lord Zedd having abandoned his previous duties to join mission control the moment the alarms had sounded

"How do we take down an evil Ranger?" Justin demanded "Come on it's been done before but my team never had to face one"

"Never in direct combat" Kimberley admitted "It's usually a matter of breaking whatever control someone has over them and I'm not seeing a sword of Darkness"

"Unfortunately I don't have the means to make another candle to sap this Green Ranger's powers" Zebidiah lamented "And even if I did, such a task would take years"

"Yeah we don't have kinda time!" Justin snapped as he watched Tempestus be flung through a wall after the Green Ranger parried a blow from his staff "Eric and TJ are out there with Silver Guardian unit, I'm calling in and we'll use massed fire-"

"NO!" Kimberley barked "You put soldiers and cadets against a Power Ranger and they're all going to die!" she watched as Panthera and Rensa frantically fought against the Green Ranger, the four blades they carried between them being deftly matched by their opponents' lone weapon; Dana was en route to the Aquabase and Justin was frantically ordering Silver Guardian teams to be on standby but not to engage yet, her mind was numb until eventually an answer came to her as she caught sight of something on the Green Ranger's left forearm as they locked blades with Mercy once again.

"Justin, zoom in on that!" she frantically gestured to what she had seen and the former Turbo Ranger quickly complied, freezing the image and magnifying

"A Morpher" she breathed out, recognising the device for what it was and feeling a sudden wave of relief as she realised there may be a simple answer to this problem after all.

"It looks like it was based on one of ours" Justin noted with a mix of emotions as he examined the Morpher, horror being chief amongst them as he realised the device was seemingly made from components take from other Morphers and haphazardly forced together, bile rose in his throat as he recognised pieces from a Galaxy Ranger's Transmorpher, a Zeoniser and Tommy Oliver's Master Morpher.

"Of course it's based on yours" Zebidiah noted, his voice becoming the distorted snarl of his former self "The Empire has never had it's own Rangers….I brought my people closer to mastering the Eltarian secrets when I created my own Zord but it seems my second-born has managed to finish what I started….this was what they stole Project Crucible for, they wanted to take it to its' natural conclusion" a tense silence hung in the air as all present realised the gravity of the situation before being broken by Justin's bitter muttering

"You understand what this means?" he demanded "It means we can't keep our secrets any more, we have to tell her" whatever replies Kimberley or Zebidiah wished to give were pre-empted by a flash of light on the screen as the Green Ranger unleashed a wave of green light from their blade which scorched everything it touched.

"Okay Rangers" Kimberley opened a channel to all five Aegis Rangers and spoke clearly "Listen closely, we've got an idea"

* * *

The Rangers were being pushed back and simply outfought in every exchange, a condition that was underlined as Rensa fit the ground with a thud, coughing and rolling on to his back as pain coursed through his body, beside him lay Tempestus; the Blue Ranger's visor reduced to a web of fractures whilst his helmet was dented and his armour scuffed in several places. Mercy watched him fall as she sunk the blade of her katana into the ground and forced herself slowly, painfully back to her feet once again and turned her attention back towards the Green Ranger just as they countered a slash of Panthera's blades that would have taken their head by knocking the Pink Ranger's wrists aside before promptly headbutting her with crushing force, her helmet fractured and the Green Ranger followed by simply bodily charging into her and flinging her back into the wall of a nearby building with enough power to shake it to its' foundations.

"Come on, we can do this!" Mercy cried to her friends, desperately willing herself to believe even as the flames spread around them, consuming more homes and businesses and filling the air with thick smoke which she could smell even through the filters of her helmet. The Aegis Rangers, all of them sporting armour which bore countless cracks, gouges and burns struggled to rise and in the midst of the apocalyptic vision of ruin that the street in which they fought had become the Green Ranger twirled their blade almost idly as they turned their attention to the Red Ranger

"You will fall here" they noted with bemused disinterest creeping into their distorted voice "But your persistence has certainly been entertaining cousin"

Mercy's vision was filled with a red haze.

The Green Ranger's actions and the harm they had done, the sheer disgust that a Ranger siding with the Dark Empire caused, their words, the mocking tone they were delivered in and possibly most of all the damned nickname that they had given her sent Mercy charging forwards a furious scream of rage, the ground cracking beneath her feet as she shot towards her enemy; Kimberley had told the Rangers that they key was disabling the Green Ranger's Morpher, Mercy intended to simply remove their arm.

"Why do you keep calling me that!" she demanded as her katana clashed against their gladius in a corona of red and green light.

"I'm sure you can answer that yourself" the Green Ranger mocked as the two exchanged attacks with force that made the ground beneath them tremble, Mercy unleashing a barrage of wide slashes and acrobatic blows which cleaved through the air whilst her adversary blocked and parried whilst barely moving; the air around them beginning to crackle as though it were charged as they steadily built and focused their power before finally unleashing it with murderous intent. Mercy felt a tremor run down the length of her arm as she watched the Green Ranger transfer their sword from their right hand to their left and still block her strike in the same fluid movement, faster than she could react their right hand flashed out and began to grasp her helmet whilst a pulsing and crackling aura enveloped it; warnings flashed across her visor for a brief moment before her helmet was simply crushed and the stylised Red-Tailed Hawks' head that adorned it was ripped away, exposing her terrified face to her attacker

"GET CLEAR!" Aslaug's voice thundered and acting on instinct Mercy lashed out with her katana, the tip of its' blade scoring a thin groove in the Green Ranger's visor before she used their brief distraction to roll aside.

Then Aslaug struck with the force of a comet and the Green Ranger's shield visibly warped, yet continued to hold as her axe struck their chest

"Are you okay?" Aslaug demanded, voice wavering with fear as she pulled Mercy to her feet and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl even as the Green Ranger sailed through the air before crashing to the ground and shattering pavement

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay" Mercy nodded, though her deep brown eyes were still wide and adrenaline surged through her; refusing to allow her to contemplate how close to death she had just been "Everyone else okay?"

"Groovy" Tempestus dead-panned as he limped over, Rensa merely nodded in silence

"They're down" Panthera hissed "End this now" Mercy looked at where the Green Ranger struggled to pull themselves up from their hands and knees, breathing made difficult by the partially collapsed armour around their chest

"Well, it isn't just hitting the Morpher but it'll work" she grinned fiercely "Power Blaster!" with her command each of the Aegis Rangers readied and combined their weapons before aiming the barrel of the resulting cannon firmly at the Green Ranger who had managed to stand on shaky legs and was now bracing themselves. Seeing their blade vanish and them deliberately square their shoulders was enough to give Mercy the merest shadow of a doubt which she quickly pushed aside

"FIRE!" the familiar beam of white light wreathed in rainbow coloured lightning was discharged; yet the Green Ranger cupped their hands and held them to their side as a nexus of blinding green light built within them, seeming dangerously unstable as it flashed and warped until they pivoted at the hip and extended their arms forward, launching their own blast of power forwards with a roar of exertion.

The beams of light struck each other and the Aegis Rangers were flung backwards by the force of the shock wave that burst from the point where they had met.

Mercy was sure she'd lost consciousness for a second, yet her Morphed state had remained in tact; without her helmet however her head had collided painfully with the ground and her ears were ringing and the ground felt unsteady beneath her as she was pulled to her feet.

The sight that greeted her was one of utter carnage

"Oh my God" she breathed out as she struggled to focus on individual details but found herself unable; the immediate vicinity had been simply destroyed with several buildings completely levelled by the shock wave

"Mission control-" Mercy started before realising that what little remained of her helmet was no longer functional

"Mission control" Tempestus spoke in her stead "This is Tempestus, we have massive collateral damage, you need to send in emergency services and rapid response teams-"

"Understood" the former Pink Ranger's voice was terse "The Green Ranger?" the Blue Ranger cast his eyes around what remained of the street and shook his head upon realising that there was no trace of their attacker before he finally met Mercy's distraught gaze and answered

"They escaped"

* * *

Kay sprinted through the streets of Mariner Bay, their boots in their hands as they did so as the heeled footwear had been painfully unsuited to the task; their head was spinning with fresh waves of nausea that crashed over them and left them struggling to see, zigzagging across the road as dizziness threatened to leave them sprawled on the hard ground. Their breath came in ragged, laboured gasps and their chest felt as though it were being stabbed repeatedly as lances of burning pain shot out from ribs that may not have been broken but were almost certainly bruised, a situation that was only worsened by the pillars of thick black smoke which rose into the air from the epicentre of the violence; choking any who had lingered behind even as they were urged to find safety in shelters by automated warning systems that had been in place since the first attacks on Mariner Bay by Diabolico and his cohorts over twenty years ago.

Kay passed very few people as they sprinted away from where the Power Rangers had been, save for emergency services and Lightspeeds' rapid response teams speeding towards the scene presumably to assess the damage; New-Tech was largely populated by those not native to Earth and Piggy had explained to Kay that there had been more than one instance in the past of a police officer who had grown up in a time where any non-human presence was considered a threat opening fire on an alien civilian under incorrect assumptions, meaning that the people in this part of town had fled not only to escape the violence but also to avoid being wrongly implicated in it by the authorities.

All of which worked in Kay's favour.

Finally the reached their destination and came to a halt, doubling over and panting for breath before intently scanning the area. They had found their way to an area of Mariner Bay at the edge of what had become New-Tech and would likely be demolished and subsumed by the new developments in due time, an area that once been prosperous before it had been ravaged by demon attacks and had never truly recovered, businesses had long since fled the area with the residents following soon after leaving only the destitute and hopeless to eke out an existence in this forgotten and overlooked part of the city. The streets were empty save for a few rusting cars resting on flat tires outside of town-houses that were compact yet boasted several stories in an effort to save space, most of them had been vandalised in some way and the fences that ran around their perimeters' were close to collapsing.

Kay hopped over one such fence and took one final look around their surroundings before prising open a window which lead to a basement and promptly slipped inside. The sound of their feet hitting the bare floor echoed throughout the empty space and the thudding impact flung up dust which hung suspended in the air, catching what little light was available whilst Kay's eyes adjusted to the gloom, hot pink irises and black sclera being narrowed as they approached a large shape which occupied a corner of the basement; a large metal container which had been opened and produced what appeared to be a long range communications system amongst other useful equipment such as a medical diagnostic kit which Kay fully intended to use the moment they had the opportunity.

It was the stasis pod they had been brought here in.

For Kay, as Piggy had surmised was indeed a half human hybrid though the barman, community figure and trader of all things disreputable would never have guessed that the inhuman aspects of his latest ward were the result of Acheron heritage. The Green Ranger knelt before the pod and wiped away the soft smile that had tugged at their lip as they thought about Piggy and his hospitality, activating the communications system and waiting in silence for several moments as the heavily encrypted signal was sent until eventually a flickering and incorporeal blue form was brought into existence looming over him

"Kai, report" Lord Zedd's reverberating and fierce snarling tones demanded, silence reigned for a moment before the warlord received an answer; the Green Ranger's oddly musical voice having an irritable edge

"Kay. My name is Kay"

"What?" Lord Zedd challenged, the hint of confusion in his voice out of place, Kay took a moment to examine their fingernails which had been painted and alternated in colour between black and bright green before they finally answered

"The name I was given didn't fit, I chose a new one"

"So be it" Lord Zedd grunted, allowing a level of insolence that would have cost of of his generals their head if they had dared to attempt it "There are far more pressing matters at stake, how goes your campaign on Earth?"

"The infiltration process has begun, I have a cover story and am currently free of suspicion…..I also lured out the Power Rangers so that I could get the measure of my opponents" Kay's words became businesslike and deliberate as they recounted events, Lord Zedd made a sound of pleasure that was something akin to a purr yet far more bestial

"And what have you learned of the Rangers?" he demanded

"That fighting them is fun" Kay's attempt at sounding stoic and professional was shattered entirely as they laughed and beamed proudly; Lord Zedd, in a display that would have stunned any of his generals chuckled along with the hybrid

"A true Acheron" he praised "Proceed with the plan and lay waste to our enemies, your name will be legend within my Empire"

"As you wish-" Kay heard the projection flicker out of existence before they had finished speaking and an annoyed sound escaped them before they pushed the matter aside; they had more important issues to attend to, namely ensuring that the final few blows they had suffered in his battle with the Rangers hadn't done anything permanent and then returning to the Juice Bar and ensuring their cover was safe and Piggy was both unharmed and without suspicion.

Then he would turn his attention towards his cousin and her friends again.

**Authors Notes:**

So two of six chapters down.  
The title of this chapter was literally a spoiler and I still managed to work some stuff that either did or will surprise you into the chapter.  
Normally I'd mention this in the summary but: My Green Ranger's suit is inspired partially by the Green Ranger in the Fan-Project_ "Power Rangers: Unworthy"_ their third episode is planned for release later this month and I want everyone who reads this story to go and subscribe to them on Youtube and subscribe to the Power Hour Twitch Stream which is run by two of the people behind the project.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
I felt like I had to do a little bit of world-building just to show the significance of the attack of Earth; basically humanity thought "Yeah we had a phase where we'd be attacked every week by a giant monster, but we're beyond that now" it brought the reality of the war right to where people live.  
Also yeah, in this timeline there's been a few OC teams; a Lightspeed V2, a new Ninja Storm team and one other OC team as well as team-ups and things like my "Lightspeed Black" idea. There's also been a few other teams across the galaxy but they're all gone.  
Also I had to tie it into Mercy's _"Backstory"_ she's been told her parents died in a Megazord battle.  
Lightspeed may be the good guys of this story, but don't for a minute think that they won't do propaganda and damage control involving things like a highlight reel of the best Ranger fight moments and having the Power Rangers do publicity stunts.  
Mercy was introduced as a dork who fan-girls over the Power Rangers, of course she loves that kids are dressing up as her.  
I felt like the Rangers had to have that realisation that yeah they've been showing up and saving the day, but really that's far from being enough; rebuilding what was destroyed in all of their battles will take a long time.  
"_People all over the galaxy go their whole lives without that, don't discount our efforts" _Rensa knows that, he was born a prisoner.  
Jack and Z, the SPD Red and Yellow Rangers could almost be considered adopted or foster siblings to Kay; we'll have to see how that plays out.  
Okay so forgive me for blowing my own trumpet but I feel like working in Sky's backstory was a stroke of brilliance on my part; canonically his father was a Red Ranger but we were never told who they were and I've already said that there was a second Lightspeed team who all fell in the line of duty; so Sky's Dad was that teams' Red.  
Panthera just strolls into the juice bar like it's the seediest criminal underworld tavern and probably concerns a few of the regulars every time.  
In my head Piggy has a coat like Del-Boy from _"Only Fools and Horses"_.  
"_Prune juice, a warriors drink" _I need someone to tell me that they got that reference because to me it's brilliant.  
Kay is low-key a pastel goth….also they definitely raided Z's wardrobe for some of that.  
Panthera did say that she hasn't met anybody that interested her on Earth yet.  
"_Might be a messed up family but aren't they all"_ I said what I said.  
So Kay is interested in Mercy and Panthera.  
Tempestus dropped the ball but really didn't understand that he'd done anything wrong; Aquitian culture is heavily focused on duty to your people, he's a Ranger because he was selected and the idea of saying no is alien to him.  
Rensa is the youngest of the group, so when naturally when it's not Panthera being the gremlin sibling of the group the job falls to him.  
Make all the jokes about Panthera's knife fetish you want.  
So a lot of this scene was going to delve into the history of other Ranger teams but when I was writing the chapter that seemed to fit better at the start, so I filled it out with a little bit of fleshing out Justin and Kim; since one of my readers specifically asked to see that aspect of things….Never say I don't give you anything.  
Justin wishes he could be a better role model but cannot deal with kids.  
I've worked the rest of the SPD cast in, did you really think Boom wouldn't at least get name dropped?  
I know I said when Justin did the _"Teenagers"_ growl he was trying to sound like Lord Zedd; but I heard Ivan Ooze and you all did too.  
Magic is a thing, it's been shown and I've said before that Zebidiah teaches any students that learn it….But Justin was from a team of Rangers that had cars for Zords; I imagine that he just straight up _"Cannot"_ when it comes to raw magic that isn't harnessed by something like a Morpher.  
"_I mean he had two kids of his own and both of them went into the family business of killing and enslaving"_….You laughed.  
If you were a former Power Ranger you'd keep your business quiet.  
So yeah Justin is dating a teacher at one of the Ninja Academies, I left the gender unspecified so you can drop whatever head-canons you want there.  
The Rangers were close enough that they didn't need to be teleported in.  
One way in, one way out….Perfect for traps and dramatic entrances.  
Voice modulation so they don't know who's under the helmet.  
So as I said the Green Ranger's suit was partially based on how Unworthy handled the original Green Ranger; but also it's obviously intended to mirror the Aegis Rangers.  
I made the shield silver just so it fit the other Rangers colour palettes better.  
The helmet is a streamlined Dragonzord which should tell you what will be making an appearance but with my own twist on it; also the visor thing is something we should all be annoyed hasn't been done yet...A Dragon Ranger with "Mouth Visor" that's actually breathing fire, I had the visor reach beyond the helmet kind of like the Kyuranger suits just because I like the streamlined look it gave the suit in my head.  
I need to get my art skills to a point where they don't disgust me because in my head this Green Ranger looks cool as shit.  
"_Cousin"_ you know how I've been dropping hints about Mercy's backstory not being what it seemed? You know how Project Crucible was intended to make a Ranger candidate? You know it was based on Acheron biology and Lord Zedd used it to make Kay? Are you getting it yet?  
Oof, Mercy just dragged all the villains.  
Come on, surely you knew the Green Ranger was gonna take the piss, catching Mercy's fist was just setting the tone.  
They judo tossed Aslaug into a wall and caught Panthera's spinning blade move all in one motion.  
Look the Dragon Dagger is cool, it's iconic….I just made it bigger and gave it a permanent magical glow around the blade.  
"_This is kinda your speciality"_ I mean is she wrong?  
As far as I can remember Kimberley is right; evil Rangers have never been beaten in direct combat it's always a combination of magic, power of friendship and plot devices.  
Nope, no Green Candle.  
Seriously, normal soldiers against a Ranger ends in a bloodbath.  
The Green Ranger doesn't have an actual Aegis Morpher, they have an approximation of one that Lord Zedd's people managed to Frankenstein together out of scavenged parts….Obviously that won't be permanent.  
Zebidiah did have a Zord when he was Lord Zedd after all….Which I have plans to reference at a later point.  
"_We have to tell her"_ I'm not being subtle.  
Seriously though, Ranger fights should have way more collateral damage than we actually see; especially against other Rangers.  
"_Should have gone for the head" _\- Thanos….but seriously, I know it's something that will never be tackled in canon but what happens if a Ranger loses whatever body part their Morpher is attached to?  
Kay probably could match Mercy or any of the other Rangers in terms of agility and do all the acrobatic moves but for this fight I really wanted to contrast against them by having the Green Ranger barely need to move.  
The Green Ranger's 'aura punch' isn't a unique thing, we've seen the other Rangers use their weapons for area of effect attacks and it's the same general idea.  
The helmet shatter was cinematic and you know it.  
Look at these two dorks…..Someone get Sebastian over here; Mercy, Aslaug _"Kiss the girl"_.  
Okay the Kamehameha type move is unique to the Green Ranger but it is also canon….we just never see it after the Green Ranger joins the others; which is a shame.  
Oh yeah, that street got wrecked.  
Even Power Rangers can't run in heels.  
I know I deliberately never used Kay's name in the Green Ranger scene's but surely you knew who it was under that helmet.  
Come on all the Monster attacks of each season are in the same place, property values around their would be through the floor but insurance would be so high that nobody could possibly afford to live there.  
Again to me it just seems logical that after so many years of aliens, demons and other monsters attacking Earth there would definitely be some friction…..But also it's definitely a metaphor and I wish _"Trigger happy police shooting an unarmed minority because 'they feared for their safety'_" wasn't as topical as it always seems to be.  
That's what the attack on Earth was for, while the Rangers were dealing with Beetalion and Putties were causing havoc some of the Dark Empire footsoldiers found somewhere safe to leave Kay's stasis pod.  
I don't know why but the idea that Kay paints their nails refused to leave me alone  
"_So be it"_ you hear that, that's acceptance….If Lord Zedd can respect peoples' pronouns then I don't wanna hear any fucking excuses about why you can't.  
So a couple details to pick up on, firstly Kay has a plan….not exactly shocking.  
Secondly that Lord Zedd lets them talk back to an extent that nobody else could.  
Thirdly Kay seems to have some issues, he's on board at the moment but the first hints that it's not 100% are there.

Thank you to RyuRanger for their review on the last chapter.  
Yeah, I'm not Non-Binary myself and I apologise to any Non-Binary readers I may have if I mishandle some things; I just felt that representation and inclusion are important, especially in something like Power Rangers where anyone can be the hero.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	24. Cross My Line

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 23 – Cross My Line**

"My god!" the words left Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell in an astonished and dismayed whisper which broke the heavy and tense silence that had filled the Command Centre. Dana had arrived only moments ago, returning to the Aquabase after abruptly cutting short a meeting regarding public relations and had been appraised of the situation by Mission Control and Kimberley, Zebidiah and Justin now stood beside her in sombre silence as she took in the sight of burning and destroyed buildings within her own city; years of peace and safety shattered for the second time in a matter of mere days.

Far more harrowing than the attack itself however, was the apparent culprit

"You're all sure of what you saw?"

"For the final time yes!" Zebidiah snapped, voice distorting and sending tremors through the floor in his agitation

"Readings confirm it" Justin informed her morosely "They were definitely using the Morphing Grid"

"We don't need readings for God's sake" Kimberley gave an exasperated sigh "We saw them, they were wearing a Ranger suit, they had a Morpher….they were using Tommy's-the Green Power Coin" Any shred of hope that there had been some mistake was robbed from Dana with those words and the former Lightspeed Ranger was forced to confront the fact that the absolute worst case scenario had occurred and that now the only choice that remained to her was how to proceed.

"Where are the Rangers?" she asked after a few moments of silent contemplation

"Assisting emergency services; entering buildings to ensure that nobody was stranded inside, supporting structurally compromised buildings so that-"

"Bring them in" Kimberley was quickly interrupted by the woman who was both her successor and superior officer; though Dana's harsh tone softened a little as she added "Send Eric, the Quantum Ranger has a knack for co-ordinating these kind of relief efforts"

"Understood, I'll contact him now" Kimberley nodded before making her way out of Justin's workspace and nodding to the former Blue Turbo Ranger as she did so, prompting him act

"Rangers" he announced into the microphone of the headset he wore "Prepare to teleport, we're bringing you back to base; inform emergency services that they'll receive additional assistance as soon as possible" after entering a few more commands Justin turned away from his desk towards where the Rangers would arrive. Dana followed his gaze as a group of brightly coloured streams of light announced their teleportation, quickly followed by smoke and the smell of burning rushing outwards from the epicentre of their teleport streams.

"Good lord" Dana gasped as she took in the sight of the Rangers; all of them wore armour that had been scorched, scuffed and gouged in countless places and all of their helmets were either cracked or partially collapsed in some way; save for the Red Ranger whose helmet had been ripped almost entirely in half, leaving her ashen and soot covered face and curls of hair that had been singed when the Green Ranger's hand and ripped through her helmet on display; the details serving only to highlight the seriousness of the situation to Dana.

"Vice Admiral" Mercy snapped off a salute, though everything about the movement and her body language as a whole spoke of utter exhaustion

"At ease" the moment the words left her lips the Command Centre was filled with a second display of lights as the Rangers powered down, their suits seemingly shattering and dissipating into countless glowing fragments like multicoloured fireflies which flickered out of existence in a matter of seconds.

"We need an immediate debriefing" Dana stated without further preamble "Priority one is eliminating that Ranger we don't have time to-"

"You mean find" Panthera's low and husky voice had a dangerous edge to it as she interrupted

"You mean find the Green Ranger?" she repeated, her amber eyes silently pleading Dana to amend her statement "We already know that the Dark Empire use mind control-"

"Cato, this isn't about your sister" Dana's voice was firm and offered no compromise yet Panthera persisted and spat out a truly vile curse in a language that the sub-dermal translators worn by almost every citizen of the Alliance needed a moment to comprehend

"How is it any different?" she demanded furiously, voice raising with every word "Maybe I expected a little too much from you, I mean I'm just a smuggler I'm nobody right? Lightspeed and the Alliance shoot people like me evert day just as much as the Empire does but I thought we were supposed to be the good guys in this fight!-"

"And that means making the hard choices and sometimes doing things that are unconscionable to save others" Dana replied coldly "Believe me when I tell you that I do not enjoy giving a kill order for a Power Ranger but the Dark Empire cannot be allowed to have that kind of-"

"Do you hear yourself?" the Pink Ranger gave a howling laugh that held no mirth, only a bottomless well of contempt "Why go to all the effort of teaching your history if you won't learn anything from it? If it had been your decision then Tommy Oliver would have been killed rather than allowed to join the Rangers and Earth would never have been warned about the Empire! I'm glad I kept Acinonyx away from this place-"

"You're letting your personal matters cloud your judgement Cato" Dana warned, her eyes narrowed and fists clenched as her patience was pushed to its' limits

"Yeah maybe I am; but take your brothers' Morpher off before you act like I'm the problem here!" both Justin and Zebidiah subtly shifted their weight and prepared to tackled Dana to the ground or separate her from Panthera, whilst Mercy stepped protectively in front of her friend as it seemed for the briefest moment that her final barb would be enough to provoke the older woman to lunge at her.

It didn't happen and Panthera quickly slipped her communicator from her wrist and pressed it into Mercy's palm before exiting Justin's workspace with nobody daring to even attempt to halt her.

The room seemed to be entirely airless and Dana's head pounded, her own pulse ringing in her ears as she struggled to regain some semblance of composure After what felt like an eternity Mercy spoke up, the faint wavering of her nervous tone offset by the way she squared her shoulders and straightened her back

"Permission to speak freely Vice Admiral?"

"Granted"

"The Green Ranger is a threat and I understand your concerns; if it comes to it then I'll do what I have to save people…..but I agree with Panthera, this just seems wrong" she exhaled slowly and voiced an opinion that had occurred to her after the haze of the battle had subsided "I don't think any Power Ranger is truly evil….I don't think they can be. We'll report to Captain Hart for debriefing" with that Mercy turned on her heel and left, taking Rensa and Aslaug with her faster than Dana could order them to stay behind; the Yellow Ranger silently shaking her head in apparent disgust whilst the Black Ranger merely let out a low, sibilant hiss. It took Dana a moment to realise that Tempestus has remained behind and was gazing at her with what could only be described as a profound sadness

"It's not the Aquitian way to publicly speak out against ones' elders like that" he lamented, voice bubbling as always "But when in the history of Power Rangers has one Ranger murdered another?" the question hung in the air and Dana could think of no answers beyond truly despicable acts committed by traitors such as Trek of Xybria, which the Blue Ranger seemed to guess as he added

"I ask you to mindful of what you become….what you ask us to become….Earth has a saying about those who fight monsters does it not?" without waiting for an answer he left, presumably to rejoin the other Aegis Rangers whilst Dana stood in silent shock

"Did….did an entire team of Rangers just walk out on you because they can't stand to look at you?" Justin breathed out in what was clearly awed disbelief "Is that treason, or insubordination at the very least?"

"Can you blame them?" Zebidiah snarled before turning to Dana, his voice laced with a level of scorn that eclipsed even Panthera's insults as he offered a parting jibe of his own

"I can certainly see why you were never a Red Ranger"

* * *

"You sure you don't wanna take the night off?"

"I'll be fine" Kay's answered without hesitation, though their voice was laced with utter exhaustion and the occasional hiss of pain escaped them caused by the tightness in their heavily bruised chest which restricted their movements slightly.

The sun had long since set and the as yet undiscovered Green Ranger had returned to Piggy's branch of Ernie's Juice Bar after several hours, the police presence that had cordoned off the area for much of the late afternoon and early evening had provided a reason for their absence which Piggy saw no reason to question, whilst they had explained the bruises marring their torso that had been left by the Yellow Ranger and her axe as the result of minor accident involving a motorcyclist in the panic that the attack had caused, thought they didn't feel that they needed a trip to the hospital which was certain to be overwhelmed at the moment anyway. After the joy of finding the teen he had taken into his care alive and relatively unharmed Piggy had turned his focus towards helping the community he was a part of in their time of need and as such Ernie's Juice Bar was currently crowded long after normal business hours had ended and any illegitimate business that the alien may have wished to conduct had been cancelled so that table could be pushed aside and replaced with sleeping bags as the business was transformed into a makeshift shelter for those whose homes had been destroyed in the Green Ranger's attack or were currently unable to return home. It was not however Piggy that had enquired if Kay was fit to continue working; Jack Landors and Elizabeth Delgado had surprised their former foster parent by arriving with their squad-mates and offering any services they could, informing him that since the bar was acting as a shelter Lightspeed had insisted on providing a security detail which Jack and Z had naturally nominated themselves for.

"Suit yourself kid" Jack shrugged, eyeing Kay a cautiously as he passed them and unable to shake the suspicions he had regarding this new comer that had arrived seemingly at the perfect moment to take advantage of Piggy's good nature.

"They took out a squad of Putties in hand to hand, pretty sure bruises won't bother 'em" Z noted, before lowering her voice to a playful stage whisper "Don't tell Syd but I think Kay might be tougher than her" the comment earned a bout of laughter from those who knew Sydney Drew, despite her unassuming appearance the blonde was the undisputed muscle of the team Jack led and often sparred with Aslaug in the Aquabases' gym.

"It must be that physiology" Jack noted "Where'd you say your parents are from again Kay?" a deathly silence fell over the room

"Jack what the hell?" Bridge demanded, it was bad enough that his friend had deliberately called attention to Kay's mixed heritage; an act that was considered impolite if not outright offensive to most people, but to mention their parents knowing full well that Kay was an orphan like Jack himself was uncalled for and Bridge, along with the rest of Jack's friends were looking at their squad-leader wondering what he was thinking.

Right up until Piggy began to swat him furiously with a rolled up newspaper, hitting his head, shoulders and anywhere else he could reach

"Boy have you forgotten your manners on that base? I raised you better than that! Just what do you think…." the furious questions continued as Jack merely protected himself from the barrage of admittedly painless blows and the entirety of the juice bar erupted into laughter at his misfortune, the fact that Kay had made no attempt to answer the question going entirely unnoticed.

"We're sorry about him" Sydney murmured

"We'll talk to him later, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it" Sky added as the two of them made themselves useful and began distributing hot meals that had been prepared by the members of Piggy's staff who were currently working in the kitchen; namely an alien whose name human tongues could simply not pronounce who resembled a bizarre fusion of slug and squid with an oddly human torso, their many tentacles and eyes allowing them to cook several meals at once with ease and 'Rusty' a heavily modified and repurposed Quantron which Piggy had purchased in a less than legal auction and intended to use as bartender, though that particular plan had been abandoned after the machine had been shot and otherwise assaulted by several patrons acting on instinct at the sight of it.

"Anyone else get a bad vibe all of a sudden?" Bridge asked as he leaned against the bar close to where Z and Kay were taking orders from customers; the seemingly innocuous comment was enough to get Z's attention and she raised a questioning eyebrow only to receive a non-committal shrug in return. It had been discovered a few years ago that many of Bridge's 'lucky guesses' and 'gut feelings' were in fact limited precognition and clairvoyance; the first manifestations of his latent arcane abilities which once discovered had led to the teen working alongside Zebidiah Lord and other similar gifted individuals to hone and expand his magical powers, thus far however progress had been limited and whilst Bridge could often sense something was about to occur his insights rarely offered any specifics.

Then the sound of a roaring engine filled the air, coming to a halt outside of the building and was followed moments later by the door being flung open as Panthera Cato stalked inside

"Long day?" Kay questioned with a faintly amused note to their voice as the Pink Ranger made her way to the bar, prompting Z and Bridge to exchange worried glances between the pair; Panthera was often discussed in wary and hushed whispers within the Aquabase where she was known for being often quick to anger and vicious in her responses, more so than even Rensa with his poisonous bite, the fact the teal-skinned alien already looked aggravated and drummed her clawed fingers against the bar hard enough to chip its' surface did not bode well in their minds

"Oh you have no idea" Panthera let out a long sigh of frustration before chuckling bitterly as she added "Management are ass-holes, same everywhere though right….what's a galaxy-wide threat on top of that"

"Don't tell me Lightspeed isn't all it's cracked up to be" Kay rolled their distinctive black and pink eyes before adding in a much quieter voice "I haven't told Piggy yet but I was actually thinking about joining….I mean after today I think your Aquitian friend is right, you need all the help you can get" Bridge and Z were close enough that they heard the comment and Bridge was overcome by the sudden urge to intervene before Kay could say something that would result in them being on the wrong end of Panthera's claws; Z held him back with an amused smirk on her face as she decided that she wanted to see how this played out.

"Cute" Panthera shot back with an eye-roll of her own "Gonna offer me a drink….I need something that burns on the way down"

"Well we have hot-sauce and that's about it" Kay answered innocently "This isn't that kind of bar"

"Bullshit it's not" Panthera sneered "I've been here and-" Z interrupted by loudly clearing her throat and the Pink Ranger understood; Piggy did not have a liquor license and would not be serving alcohol whilst the authorities were so prevalent in the area, just in case a police officer or member of Lightspeed decided that they had nothing better to do than question him.

"Whatever" Panthera eventually sighed

"There's other bars" Kay noted with obviously feigned boredom, causing both the Pink Ranger and Z and Bridge to perform hasty double-takes

"Oh they're gonna die" Z breathed out under her breath, more than one cadet at the Aquabase had attempted to flirt with Panthera and there hadn't been a single instance where it had ended well; yet both Z and Bridge were left speechless as she leaned forwards, her face mere inches from Kay's and her tail swishing lazily behind her

"So are you asking me out or just kicking me out?"

"I'll leave that decision up to you" Kay shrugged calmly "But I was offered the night off….so if you can think of somewhere better for me to be tonight?"

"Cute" Panthera repeated before gesturing to the door and turning to leave, Kay removed his apron and quickly hopped over the bar before following Panthera out of the building and leaving both Z and Bridge in utter shock

"Did….did that just happen?" Z demanded, Bridge turned to her wearing an almost reverent expression

"Z your new foster sibling is gonna go far, y'know that right?"

* * *

"Damn it where is she, why the hell did she take her communicator off just to make a point to the Vice Admiral, what if she's….ugh!" Mercy threw herself down onto the sofa in the living area that the Aegis Rangers each shared with an annoyed huff.

Panthera hadn't returned and the Red Ranger was beginning to grow concerned.

"Don't worry about her" Aslaug murmured as she made her away around the sofa; the two of them were currently alone, with Tempestus having sought out somewhere quiet to meditate in peace and Rensa in a remedial study session intended to offset the stunted academic skills that being raised on a prison world had left him with.

"We don't know where she is and she can't reach us if she's in trouble" Mercy pointed out as she made room for Aslaug to sit beside her; the Yellow Ranger noted that the red vest Mercy wore had ridden up when she flopped onto the sofa enough to reveal that her light brown skin was still mottled with ugly yellowed bruises from her brief battle with Paradoxa days earlier, her broken ribs had been mended yet it seemed that she was not yet fully healed; Aslaug currently sported a prominent purple bruise above her right eye where her helmet had failed to entirely absorb the impact of being flung through a wall by the Green Ranger.

"If the Green Ranger had attacked again we would have been sent to face them and she still her Morpher" Aslaug countered "The only other threats in this city are the kind of criminals that she seems to seek out for her own enjoyment"

"Fair" Mercy breathed out, still clearly unhappy with the situation "But what if-"

"Mercy, Lightspeed knows everything that occurs in this city; we may have given Panthera the privacy that she wants but they've most likely been watching her since the moment she left" there was a hint of distaste in Aslaug's words that the Red Ranger couldn't help but notice

"You think they'd do that?" she asked quietly, privately hoping that some of the individuals that she had come to trust amongst the organisations' upper echelons; individuals such as Doctor Stewart would refuse such an order if it were given.

"Is spying on a Ranger worse than killing one?" Aslaug countered and Mercy fell silent before asking a question that they had all been too tired to entertain the night before after their debriefing had sapped what little energy they had left

"You're not okay with this either are you? Killing the Green Ranger?"

"Mercy single combat between warriors is a way of life for my people; I've led armies for my father, my Jarl before and you know this….but no, something about this seems wrong" Aslaug's icy blue eyes met Mercy's as she added "I promised that I would follow wherever you lead Mercy, but be sure you do this for the right reasons and not just you were told to by someone who used to be a warrior"

"I don't want to kill another Power Ranger, I don't" Mercy sighed, burying her face in her hands "But they're here, on Earth and people have died already….we can't trade one life for hundreds or thousands….but what if they're like Panthera's sister and aren't doing this of their own free will; killing them would be like shooting a hostage or a prisoner, we don't do that"

"Heavy is the head that wears the crown" Aslaug noted gently "But you wear it well"

"Thanks" Mercy mumbled as she picked herself up enough to slump into the taller girls' shoulder. Aslaug absently wrapped an arm around her waist only to pull back as a hiss of discomfort escaped Mercy when the Yellow Ranger's arm pressed against her bruises

"You're hurt-" Aslaug fell silent as Mercy shifted her weight and pulled herself up onto her knees so that her face was level with hers

"Thank you for being here for me, I don't know what I'd do without you Aslaug" Mercy rested her forehead against the taller girls and gently wrapped her arms across Aslaug's broad and powerful shoulders, feeling her muscles shift as Aslaug's hands came up to her hips and held them gently; Mercy pulled back a just enough to see Aslaug's face, deep brown eyes might icy blue and her mouth opened as she tried to speak but realised that she couldn't find the words and instead slowly moved closer again and time seemed to slow to a crawl.

And then the door was flung open, sending Mercy leaping off of the sofa to stand awkwardly as she tried not to appear guilty

"Was I interrupting?" Panthera asked with a smirk as she sauntered in to the room, her words were followed by the sound of Aslaug's knuckles cracking ominously

"Where the hell have you been?" Mercy demanded "We've been worried about you!"

"I can see that" Panthera snorted "I needed to be away from this base for a while, I would have ended throttled somebody in a uniform….I would have been here sooner but I had to show Kay where to go"

"Kay?" Mercy was utterly confused at this point

"I spent last night with them….No not like that" the Pink Ranger silenced Mercy's comment before it could come and added "I needed something to take my mind off of things and they got off work, we went for drinks and ended up breaking into the amusement park….the roller-coasters actually have really good views of the city if you climb them"

"I'm….I'm not even going to try and explain to you what is wrong with what you just said" Mercy buried her head in her hands again, this time from pure exasperation

"You said Kay is here?" Aslaug asked

"Yeah, they want to join Lightspeed….turns out what Tempestus said along with meeting Jack and Z gave them the push to sign up, so we might see them around"

"Oh Piggy is not gonna be happy about this" Mercy breathed "Go get some sleep, I'll let Captain Hart know you're back on base and try and deal with whatever trouble you're in" Panthera nodded and sidled towards her room, stopping before she reached the door and turning to Mercy

"Hey Red….thanks, for being worried….It's been a while since anyone was" the Red Ranger simply nodded silently as she produced the Pink Ranger's communicator and threw it to her; she didn't have the words to respond to that comment at present.

A moment later Aslaug and Mercy were alone again and a profoundly awkward silence hung in the air for a moment before both young women seemed to decided in unison that they would address what had almost happened between them at a later date

"That was….unexpected" Aslaug noted gruffly

"I know right" Mercy gasped, nervous and almost hysterical laughter escaping her as she tried to make sense of things "I can't believe that Panthera….knife throwing, Han-Solo with fur, bad-ass Panthera went on a date!"

Mercy planned to tease her mercilessly, revenge would be sweet.

* * *

'_Just look as though you belong and nobody bats an eyelid'_ Kay marvelled to themselves as they prowled through the Aquabase.

Upon leaving Piggy's bar with the Pink Ranger, for there was no question that was who Panthera was when her Morpher was worn so clearly on her arm and they had heard her speak whilst Morphed, Kay had initially planned to kill her the moment that they were alone but had found themselves faltering at almost every opportunity.

They could have seized the handlebars of Panthera's bike from behind and caused her to swerve into traffic, Kay was almost certain that they would survive the resulting crash; they could have Morphed and attacked the moment they were alone, one Ranger was far less of a threat than five after all or even simply hurled her from the top of the roller-coaster that the two of them had scaled to admire the view but each time they had found themselves halted by some inexplicable feeling in their belly.

Kay had spent hours justifying it to themselves as a strategic choice, rationalising their failure to dispose of the Pink Ranger as a purely strategic choice; a missing or dead Ranger would heighten security and send the Aquabase into a panicked frenzy after all and they were sure that their sudden presence here in such circumstances would be treated with far more suspicion.

They were all excuses however, Kay knew that the truth of the matter was that they hadn't killed Panthera because they simply hadn't wanted to and the Green Ranger had no idea what that meant.

"Perhaps I'm getting soft, perhaps I should kill Piggy before I can be weakened further….he's a bad influence" Kay dismissed the notion as soon as they voiced it, the idea of harming the alien who had taken them in and given them food and shelter out of simple kindness for no reason other than to protect their own intrinsic ruthlessness was not something the Green Ranger could stomach and so they banished the thought from their mind and continued with the task at hand.

They were here to infiltrate and Panthera had unwittingly given them the perfect opportunity to do so; upon arriving at the Aquabase and declaring that they wished to join the Silver Guardian Cadets Kay had been given a small mountain of paperwork to complete, fortunately the vast stockpiles of information that had been forcefully entered into their mind as they were incubated and rapidly aged included several languages, including English and they didn't raise any awkward questions by being illiterate. Kay did however raise the issue of their lack of a family, the cover story that they had been given prompted the administrators to apologise profusely and remove much of the paperwork stating that orphans and wards of the state were always inducted and given a home and training; they had then been given several uniforms, toiletries and other such items and told that they would be assigned to a cadet group as soon as possible. Kay had used the excuse of looking for a bathroom to slip out of view and change into one of their new sets of grey fatigues and begin searching the base; slipping the Morpher that they had never worn in front of anyone onto their wrist in case of emergency.

Members of Project Lightspeed, including security staff continued to ignore Kay as they made their way deeper into the Aquabase; teenagers were a common sight here and their current clothing made them all but invisible to scrutiny, whilst the fact that several aliens were either employed directly by the Aquabase, transferred or visited here from other Lightspeed branches or had other business that brought them here made even the Green Ranger's distinctly inhuman features were unremarkable. After almost fifteen minutes Kay came to a door with a sign next to it the room behind it as a conference area and peering through the small window they saw that the room was both empty and featured a large holographic projection which displayed Earth, along with the orbital defences and colony ships around it and the small fleet which stood ready to defend the planet at a moments' notice; the door slid open with a hiss as Kay leaned against it at they hurriedly made their way inside and searched for whatever computer system was feeding live information into the hologram projector, they found it in a corner of the room at a small desk away from the central table that took up most of the room and quickly broke part of the outer casing away and winced at the sound the action made.

Then they reached into one of their new boots and produced something that they had tucked their to keep safe; Lord Zedd knew that Paradoxa and her human asset Ivan Komarov had failed to fully breach the Aquabase with a sentient virus and so he had equipped his Green Ranger with something more subtle, the robot unfurled itself from a single metallic mass barely the size of a fingernail into a many-limbed and skittering thing which leapt into the computers' inner workings and quickly set about the task of integrating itself. Satisfied that their work was done and all that remained now was to decide whether they intended to flee the Aquabase or continue to integrate themselves Kay turned away from the computer.

Just as Zen-Aku entered the conference room.

"You shouldn't be in here" the Wolf Org growled as he stepped closer

"I'm sorry, I'm new here and I got lost" they answered simply, giving what was technically an honest answer though it made literal difference as they saw fierce yellow eyes narrow in suspicion as Zen-Aku stared directly at the Morpher adorning Kay's wrist; a rough looking thing formed by the forced melding of components taken from the Morphers of at least half a dozen fallen warriors

"I know the stench of corruption when I smell it whelp" Zen-Aku's low snarl reverberated in their chest "And you reek of it" there was a single moment of serene stillness; an instant stretched out for an eternity where both of them knew what was to come but neither moved.

Then Zen-Aku attacked

"CRESCENT WAVE!" the Org's obsidian glaive manifested in their hand as they leapt onto the desk and slashed, sending an arc of coruscating light across the room which Kay avoided with preternatural reflexes as they leapt onto the table at such an angle that the attack passed over their head before they righted themselves. Without hesitation Kay rushed towards Zen-Aku, sprinting across the table as if to tackle him only to drop to their knees and use the smooth surface to slide beneath another wide slash of the Crescent Blade and drive their elbow into the Org's gut, forcing him back a single step before rising to their feet once more and seizing Zen-Aku by the shoulders as they brought their knee crashing into his chest and following up with a pair of punishing punches to the face. Zen-Aku however weathered the blows with ease and Kay learned, as many Silver Guardian cadets before them had that the Org was far more resilient than a mere human, Acheron hybrid or not; a firm backhand left Kay reeling though before they could stagger backwards they were seized roughly by the scruff of the neck and thrown forcefully at an adjacent wall.

Zen-Aku's sense of satisfaction was short lived as they watched Kay collide with the wall only to, in an impressive display of strength and agility use it as a springboard to launch themselves back onto the table and into a low spinning sweep aimed at the Org's legs; Zen-Aku leapt over the attack with ease and stabbed downward with his weapon which he was pleased to hear draw a soft exclamation of pain from his opponent, Kay was far from beaten however and rolled off of the desk as Zen-Aku landed and promptly used their weight to flip the piece of furniture over; sending the Wolf Org collapsing backwards and crashing into the opposite wall.

"Let's make this interesting shall we" Kay panted out breathlessly, wiping blood away from the shallow cut that the Crescent Blade had scored on their left cheek, the crimson liquid dripping onto the floor even as the wounded flesh began to stitch itself back together at an accelerated rate. Zen-Aku knew what would happen next and that there was nothing he could do to stop it, alarms blared in the distance meaning that someone had heard the commotion their battle had caused and that help was on the way however, giving the Org a small sliver of hope which he struggled not to lose as Kay Spoke

"Dragonzord!" in a flash of forest green light the engulfed the teen and clad them in the armour of the Green Ranger

"I didn't have to kill you" they informed him, seeming to genuinely lament the actions that they were about to take "But you shouldn't have attacked me" Zen-Aku merely snarled and kicked the table across the room, hoping to catch the Green Ranger off-guard as they leapt over it only for them to simply barge through it, their own weapon manifesting in their right hand and promptly being put to use, green sparks filled the air as the Dragon Blade clashed against Zen-Aku's glaive.

"You don't have to do this" the Org snarled as they fought, blocking and parrying blows at impossible speeds

"This is what I was made for" Kay answered simply

"As was I" Zen-Aku countered before bringing their armoured snout crashing into the Green Ranger's helmet with enough force to crack their visor "Be better" he followed up by unleashing his signature Crescent Wave attack with a roar of exertion and hurling his opponent back, Kay rolled to a stop in a crouch and a quick glance downward revealed a deep, diagonal gouge had been torn into the shield that covered their chest; black smoke billowing from the damage whilst its' edges glowed red hot. Zen-Aku offered no quarter and charged, knowing that if the Green Ranger would not stand down then they would have to be laid low; Kay saw this and sprung forwards with the Dragon Blade at the ready and time once again seemed to slow to a crawl, a flick of the wrist brought the Crescent Blade to bare but the blow intended for the Green Ranger's neck was knocked aside by a blow to the arm, clawed fingers scratched thin gouges into Kay's helmet as they closed the distance and finally Zen-Aku's fierce yellow eyes grew wide and then grew dim as the Green Ranger's sword pierced his chest and emerged from his back.

The alarms seemed to be miles away, fading into the distance as Kay watched his fallen opponents' body collapse to the ground with a dull thud; a haze of a dark substance akin to spores and pollen seeping from the wound that had pierced his heart. There a few moments where the Green Ranger stared at Zen-Aku's body, frozen in place as if shocked by what they had done until reality imposed itself upon them once again.

"NO!" an anguished scream from behind them caused Kay to turn around, revealing that the help Zen-Aku had been holding out for had arrived a moment too late

"Cousin" the distorted modulation returned to their voice as they nodded to the Red Aegis Ranger before turning to the Pink Ranger "Panthera"

"You monster" Mercy's katana appeared in her hand in a flash of crimson and Kay was convinced that if she were allowed to attack it would be another fight to death; something the Green Ranger was not sure if they wanted.

"Unfortunately our confrontation will have to wait" Mercy charged with a scream of pure rage and hatred and Kay's weapon vanished as they gathered their power into a single point; unleashing it in the same attack they had used to counter the Power Blaster

"GET DOWN!" Aslaug roared as she tackled Mercy to the ground a moment before the beam of searing light tore through the space she had occupied.

"Zen-Aku, Zen-Aku no" Mercy's words were rendered near incomprehensible by her sobbing as she crawled through the remains of the now devastated conference room towards the Org who had been a teacher and mentor to her.

The fact that the Green Ranger had once again escaped momentarily unimportant to her even as alarms and sirens continued to blare.

* * *

Lord Zedd stood beneath Acheron's sky, the clouds which blotted out the worlds' sun twisting and configuring themselves into nightmarish shapes as though the dreadful magic that filled the very air had given them life whilst lightning bolts of unnatural colours ripped through the sky, their flashes reflected in the warlords' armour as he surveyed his great work.

He had left his palace, truly a fortified city in its' own right and travelled beyond the vast metropolis, slums and shanty towns that surrounded the seat of his and the Empire as wholes' power and stretched out as far as the eye could see; venturing out into a desolate wasteland which for millennia each successive Lord Zedd had refused to allow anything to be built upon.

It was a vast desert covered with a fine, sand like material which swirled about in the fierce winds but was packed so densely underfoot that it formed a solid surface to walk upon several meters above the ground and in its' centre, surrounded by half buried temples whose existence had been consigned to myth by the people of Acheron was a single crater both wide and deep enough for Earths' moon to be contained within. This was the site of the creation of the first Putties, long before the current method of binding the souls of captured mages to a Dread Forge and raising legions of automatons had been devised Lord Zedd, the first Lord Zedd whose name all who came after had taken had used their own blood and magic to take the Acheron ability to fuse with and spawn hybrids from any living thing and extend it to the blasted rock upon which they stood; giving rise to an unthinking horde which conquered and united the planet, laying the foundations of the Dark Empire

Lord Zedd had done away with tradition and used the site as a secret base of operations, somewhere to work upon plans that he dare not allow even his most trusted general to know of before they came into fruition; though if he were to indulge in theatrics and posturing the warlord would certainly admit that his choice of location made a twisted kind of sense. His Green Ranger would destroy the enemies of the Empire in their entirety and see them expand into all corners of the universe without opposition until nothing else remained; it was oddly fitting that the Dark Empire's advance would begin and end in the same crater.

He stood alone, not even his customary retinue of Obsidian Putties following him as he drew close to a huge construction site within the base of the crater; those who worked here knew that they would never leave alive yet had each gladly and fanatically given their lives in the knowledge that they would be known as the heroes who had helped deliver a final victory and that their statues would stand upon a thousand worlds.

What had been built thus far was a huge skeletal structure held aloft by scaffolding and support struts which reached skywards, the area was floodlit as what little light reached the crater was blotted out by vast mechanical wings which had been splayed wide.

"Did Thrax build this in your honour father?" Lord Zedd's echoing snarl was softer than any of his general would have believed possible as he gazed upon the creation. The tyrant would never admit that he had initially had reservations about his plans, he was Lord Zedd after all, his will was absolute; yet the doubts had remained.

He knew that each and every Ranger corrupted and swayed from their natural inclinations to defend life had eventually broken free of whatever shackles had been put upon them and so had sought to create an Acheron hybrid capable of using the Power to simply create a Ranger in their entirety rather than simply recruit one; even in achieving this there had been complications as Lord Zedd had been forced to use less and less Acheron genetic material in order to create a being whose very appearance would not raise alarms within the Alliance, diluting his vision until it was questionable if anything truly remained of it. Those doubts had been assuaged when Kay, as they had renamed themselves had informed him that they had engaged the Rangers and that the plan was proceeding, confirming that the teen was Acheron after all despite how much humanity seemed to have seeped into their being.

As if summoned by Lord Zedd's thoughts the tyrant became aware that the Green Ranger was contacting him and promptly opened a holographic channel

"My Lord" the Green Ranger panted out as their flickering image came into view, inclining their head but failing to pay proper respects and bow

"Report" Lord Zedd rumbled, allowing them leniency that few could expect and focusing on the matter at hand; the current condition of the Green Ranger's armour made it clear that things were progressing sooner than expected

"The Pink Ranger provided me with a pretext to enter their Aquabase, the plan is progressing but time is of the essence….I was discovered before I could escape"

"You have done well Kay" Lord Zedd almost purred with satisfaction "Soon our enemies will fall, you will have the means to destroy their seat of power and raze the city that it guards"

"Why?" Kay asked, the distortion leaving their voice and revealing a hint of sadness "All those people, they aren't our enemies it seems….wasteful"

the snarl that escaped Lord Zedd shook the ground beneath him and his armoured gauntlets creaked as his fists clenched; he hoped that this was merely the Acheron instinct to consume making itself known yet something told him it may be the beginnings of something far more problematic and that the Green Ranger would have to be watched and that they may need to be unmade and replaced in the future

"You grow reckless Kai" he warned "Do not believe that I favour you so much I would let you question my plans….Earth must burn if we are ever to have victory. Proceed with the plan"

Lord Zedd could feel the Green Ranger's eyes boring into his even beneath their cracked visor and felt something akin to pride at the teens' spirit before they finally answered

"As you command….Father"

* * *

Mission control was in utter disarray as alarms continued to blare throughout the Aquabase

"I want the Aquabase locked down! Nobody gets in or out until we find that bastard!" Dana ordered before rounding on Kimberley "Where are the Rangers?"

"Mercy refused to leave Zen-Aku's body" the former Pink Ranger answered "She's currently in Doctor Manx's surgery"

"The Yellow Ranger took the Blue and Pink Rangers with her and began organising search parties; naturally if the Green Ranger is still on base whoever finds them will need back up" Zebidiah added, voice unsettlingly calm "The Black Ranger stated that he hunts better alone before disabling the lighting in a subsection of the base and taking off"

"Good" the Vice Admiral bit out "All power and life support controls have been isolated and entry points have been sealed, teleportation has been jammed; whatever it is they're looking for-"

A realisation hit Dana with enough force to stop her in her tracks

"They're not here" she declared in a fragile voice "Why would they teleport out just to reappear somewhere else in the Aquabase….we're playing into their hands and we don't even know what their plan is. Justin do we have footage from the conference room?"

"I've been a little busy making sure that subsection is structurally stable!" the scientist shot back before turning his attention to the task he had been given, swiftly accessing the camera within the room where the Green Ranger and Zen-Aku had fought and searching for the moments before the Org had arrived

"I don't recognise them" Kimberley noted "They're not one of our cadets even if they are wearing the uniform"

"Wait look at that-OH SHIT!" Justin declared "They're in our system, God damn it who knows what they've hacked already!" the former Turbo Ranger's fingers danced across his keyboard as he began searching for any traces of interference left by the machine that the Green Ranger had dropped into the computer; the footage continued on whilst he worked until Zebidiah spoke up

"Zen-Aku at least made them bleed….get me that blood and I'll find them"

"Whatever that bug's doing it isn't directly damaging us" Justin noted tersely and Dana knew that however reassuring that sentiment sounded it was almost certainly too good to be true and that something far worse was about to happen.

Her fears were borne out as a new alarm began to scream its' warning in the Command Centre

"Another attack in the city!" Kimberley informed them "Something just dropped into our airspace!"

"How?" Dana demanded

"The Dark Empire are using their Teleportation Gate again?" Zebidiah suggested

"This close to our jamming area?" Kimberley gasped, fearing that the Dark Empires' technical abilities had advanced beyond their expectations.

"Worse, they don't need to" Justin informed them as he turned away from the screens of his workstation wearing a terrified expression "The Power brought it straight here...the same way it would for any of ours"

"Oh no" Kimberley breathed out as comprehension dawned on her and she, along with Zebidiah and Dana crowded around Justin's computers and were horrified by the sight that greeted them.

"Fighters are being scrambled and tanks are moving into position" Justin informed them

"They're all going to die" Zebidiah answered simply

What had been summoned to Mariner Bay's airspace was roughly the size of the Aegis Megazord, though its' massive wingspan and the long, segmented tail that trailed behind it made it seem far larger. A gargantuan construct of black, bright silver and deep forest green which greatly resembled the machine it had clearly been based upon yet, in addition to possessing wings was far sleeker and streamlined in appearance than its' predecessor as though it had been inspired by the design of the Aegis Zords in the way that the Green Ranger mirrored their counterparts armour and it seemed to be constructed in a way that suggested that it was designed to move on four limbs rather than two when on the ground.

The Dragonzord had returned in all its' terrifying glory.

**Authors Notes:**

Yes I know, I am the bastard king of cliffhangers.  
Halfway into this arc and things are getting nice and spicy; three chapters left before we move into the second act of the story.  
Also….Power Rangers Unworthy episode three drops on Monday 27th of January, go subscribe to Unworthy Productions on Youtube and treat yourself, you deserve it.

Anyway let's summarise:  
So we're starting of anywhere between a few minutes to hours after the last chapter ended.  
I think_ "Evil Ranger"_ definitely counts as worst case scenario.  
I feel like Eric would actually be well suited to taking charge of those kind of jobs.  
Yeah the Rangers got pretty scuffed up in that fight.  
Panthera when she was first introduced would have shot a Ranger in the face point blank and now she's the voice of restraint; that's what we call growth.  
I had to remind myself that all of the characters can understand each other, not because _"English is a universal language"_ but because they've all got Star Trek style translators implanted under their skin….so whenever Panthera starts swearing in alien languages people can still understand her.  
"_The Alliance shoot people like me evert day just as much as the Empire does but I thought we were supposed to be the good guys in this fight!"_ \- No punches pulled, Panthera came out and told 'em exactly how she felt.  
We can argue about Dana having a point _(I think my readers who watch RWBY can see that she's going a bit Ironwood here)_ and sacrificing the few to save the many, especially if 'The few' is an enemy fighter; but at the same time look at who the Power Rangers have saved rather than killed in the past….hell Zebidiah is literally the ex-Lord Zedd and he's part of Mission Control. Dana is a hypocrite and it isn't wrong to call it out.  
"_Take your brothers' Morpher off"_….Now that one was below the belt.  
I know my fans of gritty realism think Mercy is being immature here, but this is Power Rangers and well…..Tommy _(More than once)_ Karone, Ryan, Merrick & Zen-Aku, Hunter, Blake, Trent and Zebidiah in this story. Did I miss anyone?  
You know you fucked up when Tempestus has to check you.  
And Zebidiah getting the last dig in because yeah, he knows that under Dana's current orders he would have been shot.  
Aslaug definitely fucked Kay's ribs up even through his armour with that last hit she got in.  
The panic caused in these attacks gives you an excuse for pretty much everything if you can lie fluently enough.  
Okay so we're not gonna be doing that thing that happened for a few seasons where, by one plot device or another all of the Rangers have super powers when they're not Morphed; so in this story Bridge can do all of his aura and precognition stuff but it's because he has latent magical abilities and Syd is genuinely just that strong, she doesn't need to turn her hands into iron.  
I'm sorry but someone had to suspicious of Kay and Jack drew short straw, although he probably just thinks that Kay's trying to rob the juice bar or something….Besides, Piggy swatting someone with a rolled up news paper amused me.  
I felt like doing some little world-building and reminding people that Piggy definitely does still do under the table business; so he has an old savaged and definitely not legal repurposed Quantron….Also it's a callback to that repurposed Cog from the first arc.  
Panthera showing up sets off Bridge's spider sense….partly as a vague advance warning of what was going to come, but also just because well, cadets on the Aquabase are probably scared of her.  
"_Management are ass-holes, same everywhere though right….what's a galaxy-wide threat on top of that" _can I get an amen.  
And that's how the infiltration starts, with a little friendly banter.  
Okay before anyone complains at me that I'm rushing things with Kay and Panthera I want to point out that our Pink Ranger is an utter gremlin, she's teasing them and you all know it….her flirting looks a like a cat batting around something it's playing with.  
But I love that Bridge and Z were just watching it unfold in pure terror/on the edge of their seats with popcorn.  
Kay just casually hopping over that bar like it's nothing again just to subtly show that he's got a bit more muscle than the average person.  
Mercy totally waited up for Panthera all night to give her the _"Where have you been young lady"_ routine….despite actually being the younger of the two of them.  
Yeah sci-fi medicine to keep the plot moving and not have characters bedridden for chapters at a time is great….But Mercy still got her ribs smashed; that's gonna leave a mark.  
Lightspeed can and does spy on the Rangers, they've been shown doing it.  
Just a reminder that Aslaug joined Lightspeed for the adventure and she's following Mercy, not Dana.  
Anyone who's read any of my other writing knew that I was gonna interrupt that scene and was probably counting down to it in their heads.  
"_No not like that"  
_Breaking into an amusement park is exactly the kind of date Panthera would go on and you know it.  
So….who panicked when they heard Kay was on the base.  
Ah the awkwardness.  
Kay enjoyed fighting the Rangers but doesn't seem to want to kill them and is genuinely fond of Piggy….Could be whatever mental conditioning he was given in his stasis-pod is wearing off, could be that actual social interaction is good for people, who knows.  
Yeah keep telling yourself that Kay, you might believe it one day buddy.  
So, Kay may or may not have the same translator thingy as the other Rangers; he might actually just know that many languages.  
And that's why nobody saw Kay's Morpher….because smarter than the average bear and keeps it in his pocket when it isn't Morphing time.  
So, Kay dropped a robot into the Aquabase computer system to do "Something"  
I think you all knew that Zen-Aku was in trouble the moment he walked into the room.  
The unmorphed section of the fight was very loosely based on the table fight from IP Man and is also a callback to chapter one when Mercy and Zen-Aku sparred.  
Add accelerated healing onto the list of freaky Acheron hybrid shit that Kay can do.  
First time we've actually seen Kay Morph and confirmed that his roll call is actually "Dragonzord".  
"_Be better"_ yeah that's totally not gonna be repeated back to him or reused in a different context later on.  
The spores and pollen thing….in my head it makes sense considering the way that the Orgs used seeds to grow and Master Org's backstory.  
"Cousin" one of my readers has figured it out, they private messaged me and guessed what the deal with Mercy is.  
Well that's gonna fuck up team cohesion down the line.  
Acheron has had so much dark magic done on and to it that the atmosphere is almost alive with it….it's also not all the result of the Acheron people as well, they did have a war with Eltar after all.  
Felt like I needed to do a little bit more world-building around Acheron here to not make our big bad and the Empire they lead seem to faceless and generic.  
Yeah Acheron is massive, they have a moon sized crater that's just there in the desert somewhere.  
You knew it was gonna be a Zord, surely you knew it was gonna be a Zord?  
"_Did Thrax build this in your honour father?"_ the first time we've actually heard this Lord Zedd acknowledge his brother.  
I mean Lord Zedd is right to have doubts about his plan, but as was mentioned Kay is technically a different case.  
So Kay is a hybrid, but it's not like it's 50/50 which is why he's a lot less imposing than say Paradoxa with her extra arms tucked away, or Corax who was taller than anyone even when he was hunched over.  
The last person to not bow was Ivan….how did that end?  
Acheron hybridise and colonise anything they come across, which is what Lord is thinking/hoping Kay's comments about destroying Mariner Bay being wasteful are.  
"_Father"_….here you go, have a Darth Vader type moment because it makes sense to me that if Lord Zedd was creating an Acheron hybrid who could become a Power Ranger the only Acheron donor to even be considered would be himself, gotta carry on that dynasty after all.  
Also, this makes Zebidiah Kay's Grandpa.  
Took Dana a second but she got it, Kay's not on base any more.  
So Justin is gonna try and counter whatever Kay's little robot does and Zebidiah is gonna have a blood sample to work with….which means the Rangers might actually get off the back foot.  
Never trust good news, alarms will start ringing.  
Paradoxa's teleportation gate is out of juice remember, that was just a blind guess.  
Remember how the Aegis Rangers summoned their Zords to them on Triforia, despite the fact they weren't actually finished at the time time….Kay just did the exact same thing with the Dragonzord.  
So my Dragonzord has wings and actually looks like y'know….A Dragon instead of Mecha-Godzilla.  
However fighters and tanks have been deployed so you'll be getting Godzilla/Evangelion references next chapter anyway.  
Also, a little teaser for next chapter because I can't help myself….Remember that Princess Shayla has the Animarium ready to provide backup should the situation call for it.

Thank you to Super ShadowHenshin for their review on the last chapter.  
I'm glad you're enjoying Kay so far, as you can see I've got plenty more left to do with them.  
The Unworthy Green Ranger is pretty iconic and expands on what made the original great

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	25. Zords

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 24 – Zords**

The thrill and primal rush of the Dragonzord's power was intoxicating as Kay's mind flooded out into the freshly formed construct yet as the Green Ranger took control of the machine they felt something push back and seep into their own consciousness, a mind like that of a savage and hungry animal intent on the kill. The Dragonzord was propelled by raw magic and Morphing Grid energies as it powered through the air, casting a shadow on all below it which threatened to blot out the sun and whilst its' vast wings didn't need to move for the Zord to fly Kay still found themselves doing so, urged on by the same predatory instincts that tore a mechanical yet terrifyingly alive howling shriek from the jaws of the Dragonzord as both it and Kay sensed a threat against it in unison.

Since being born, for that was the best way to describe the act of being released from their stasis pod and becoming an actual living being for the first time, Kay had enjoyed combat; their blood sang in their veins with the surge of adrenaline with each clash of blades or exchange of blades but the thought of killing an opponent and snuffing out that spark that made everything about the combat what it was, or worse still targeting those incapable of fighting back seemed to be a senseless waste of life; the whole universe was new to the Green Ranger and as they experienced everything for the first time the idea of deliberately making it a smaller, emptier place was one that grated against every fibre of their being.

The Dragonzord's rage and fury clouded those thoughts and a dull haze seemed to settle over Kay's thoughts whilst their pulse thundered in their ears as the first rockets streaked towards them, making their reactions all the more vicious.

The Green Ranger brought the Dragonzord into a sharp turn that sent waves outwards as it disturbed the water below, its' wing tip mere inches from the surface and a salvo of missiles that had been launched from behind the monstrous machine soared overhead, their tracking systems bringing them about in far less fluid and graceful arc only for each of them to blossom into flames and falling shrapnel as the drill tail of the Dragonzord lashed out with far more speed than something so large should have been capable of and swatted the projectiles away the mere annoyance that they were. Now facing the coastline of Mariner Bay Kay could see their attackers; a dozen tanks had been lined up and fighter jets could be seen racing towards them, each of the war machines was a primarily human design from a time before the world had been united and peaceful which had been modified with the addition of advanced weapons from other civilisations. The tanks featured large banks of missile and turrets featuring laser and plasma weapons, whilst the aircraft were propelled by something that left contrails of iridescent blue behind them and allowed them to move at incredible speeds.

Kay's face became a savage smile as they quickly surmised that it would not be enough; their mind and whatever consciousness inhabited the Dragonzord worked in perfect tandem and multiple targeting reticules came into existence over the cockpits' display and with a mere thought each reticule positioned itself over one of the tanks, locking onto its' target whilst the talons of the Zords' forelimbs opened to reveal missiles hidden within.

Ten rockets were fired and streaked towards the tanks; the explosions shook the ground for miles around and when the smoke and flames subsided enough for the coastline to be seen it was revealed that all twelve of the vehicles had been consumed in the blast.

Kay swiftly turned their attention towards the group of five fighter jets that had broken formation and opened fire as they attempted to surround the Dragonzord, they offered no terms or quarter and the Green Ranger responded in kind; sending their war machine tearing after the nearest fighter and crushing its' cockpit in the Dragonzord's jaws before promptly flinging the twisted remains into another which resulted in a devastating explosion. The Dragonzord tucked its' wings around itself as it climbed into the air and narrowly avoided each salvo of rockets before diving downwards and unfurling the vast limbs, ripping a pair of jets from the sky with the sheer force of the blows that struck them and consumed by an almost giddy feeling of bloodlust that overruled their own judgement the Green Ranger chased after the lone remaining aircraft as it broke off, descending upon it like some apex predator stalking its' prey and bringing the drill that formed the tip of the Dragonzord's tail around to shred the entire rear of the fighter and send it spiralling into the water below.

Now that the feeble resistance had been crushed it was time to focus on their true intentions.

The red mist seemed to abate, though not enough for Kay to choose anything other than continuing their current path and having the Dragonzord soar over where the knew the Aquabase to be

"Establish communication with spy drone" Kay ordered breathlessly, the words spoken aloud despite the entirely mental controls of the Zord and within a matter of moments the command was acted upon. The small robotic drone which Kay had deposited in the Aquabase was not intended to detonate, disable or take over the bases' various systems or even corrupt the files of the system it was introduced to; it was simply intended as a guidance system. Kay had realised exploring the Aquabase that it was truly an impossibly large structure, years of expansions and the integrations of various cultures' technologies had left the facility easily the size of a large town and finding a suitable target was something that could potentially take far more time than the Green Ranger had available to them.

"There" Kay breathed out as map of the Aquabase was superimposed over their display, showing a cross section of what lay beneath the waves and as the Dragonzord circled above it, shrieks and roars escaping it as it flew several targets were highlighting and prioritised until eventually Kay selected the primary reactor that powered the base.

The jaws of the Dragonzord opened wide and ethereal green light began to gather and coalesce into a swirling nexus within the machines' mouth, arcs of crackling energy sundering the air around it until eventually the Green Ranger commanded the Zord to open fire; what followed was a beam of green energy that resembled the attack Kay had used to defend against the Aegis Rangers' ranged weapon though comparing the torrent of scourging light unleashed by the Dragonzord to the Green Ranger's attack was akin to comparing a tsunami to a gently dripping tap. Countless thousands of gallons of water were flash-boiled in an instant, steam filling the Green Ranger's field of vision whilst a tactical display informed them that a forcefield protecting vital areas of the Aquabase was rapidly failing under the assault until finally a flickering sheet of cerulean light rippled into existence beneath the cover of the steam before shattering and a moment later an explosion rocked the seabed and sent tremors through the city itself; a flash of flames could be seen before they were quickly swallowed and extinguished by the sea.

It was done, Kay's hands trembled and the cockpit suddenly seemed far too small and airless as they realised that the had delivered the killing blow; the Power Rangers base of operations had been destroyed and the Rangers had been inside. A feeling they were unused to clenched at their gut as they realised that they would never see Panthera again, nor would they be able to test themselves against the cousin who continued to deny them.

Then they were nearly flung from their seat by the force of an impact that left the Dragonzord reeling in the air and its' cockpit display flickering and garbled for several seconds; Kay's eyes widened once they were able to see clearly again.

The Aegis Zords had been deployed.

The Plesion Zord was rising up from the depths to attack whilst the Yellow, Black and Pink Rangers machines could be seen stalking along the coastline and defending the city itself; the attack however had come from Mercy and her Hawk Zord and the Green Ranger quickly realised and was instantly impressed by the fact that the Red Ranger had clearly attempted to use the wing of her own mecha to blind the Dragonzord by tearing at its' eyes. With a laugh of utter joy the Green Ranger sent the Dragonzord after Mercy and towards the city, narrowly avoiding an attack from Tempestus.

It seemed the friendly competition would continue.

* * *

Princess Shayla had known that the inevitable was coming from the moment that she had seen Merrick sink to his knees as if in slow motion before a tortured scream of utter anguish escaped him.

Whilst Taylor Earhardt had been intentionally kept uninformed and left on Earth so that she would be able to train a new generation of Earths' defenders, the Wolf Ranger had been one of those whom Tommy Oliver had intended to have at his side during his assault on Acheron twenty years ago; yet neither he nor Zen-Aku had been able to be reached in time and the knowledge that so many Rangers had fallen whilst he had been none the wiser had utterly broken Merrick's spirit.

The Wolf Ranger and the Wolf Org whose souls remained connected and intertwined in some unknowable way had been travelling the world and rediscovering everything that had changed and everything that they had missed during their shared imprisonment and had only learned of the events that had befallen their fellow Power Rangers upon their announcement to the public at large as Project Lightspeed began its' efforts to unite the planet; the pair had reacted in entirely opposite reactions and whilst Zen-Aku had arrived at one of Project Lightspeeds' many bases offering his aid in any capacity that it could be given to keep Earth safe from this new approaching menace Merrick had simply cast himself into exile, returning to the Animarium yet never seeking out Princess Shayla or the comfort of those Wild Zords that still roamed the floating island and instead intending to live out the rest of his days in isolation and believing himself unworthy of anything less. It had taken Shayla over a year to find him and now she was shaken to her core as she watched what little hope remained in the man was shattered by the unmistakable certainty that Zen-Aku had passed on and that the bond between them had been severed violently.

"Merrick?" her voice trembled as she saw him slam his fist into the ground of the grassy plains which they stood at the edge of, a treeline close by and the outcroppings upon which the Lion Zord had often posted itself in the distance.

"He's gone" Merrick's voice was a hoarse and tortured sob and when he turned to look at Shayla the princess saw that with Zen-Aku's passing he had changed, as if some part of the Org remained with him; his eyes as well as being puffy and reddened now had fierce amber coloured irises. Before Shayla could offer any words of comfort she saw his head snap towards the trees, some minute sound demanding his attention.

Shayla followed his gaze and saw two individuals emerge from the treeline; the first of them being Max Cooper. A great change had overcome the Blue Wild Force Ranger and it was one that had pained her to see for the last twenty years; in the battle on Acheron Max had found himself in single combat with one of Lord Zedd's generals after his long time friend and Black Wild Force Ranger Daniel Delgado had fallen in battle. Max's hair had been allowed to grow out and been braided into dreadlocks which reached below his shoulders whilst his face sported a full and thick beard, though it did little to detract from the scars etched into his flesh by jagged talons or the unseeing milky orb that his right eye had become; most notable however was his right arm which had been severed at the shoulder, though Shayla would have no technology made by humans or any other species upon the Animarium her own magic combined with that of the Soul Bird had managed to provide a solution in the form of an organic prosthetic made from animated branches, vines and plant manner weaved and shaped into the hollow shape of an arm, the point where the limb had been grafted to his flesh left visible by the robe-like garment he wore.

The second figure was one whom the Princesses' feelings toward were complicated to say the least.

"Princess" Taylor bowed respectfully, she had not visited the Animarium in years and they could no longer honestly be considered anything more than allies of convenience.

"Taylor" Shayla replied simply, the use of the Yellow Wild Force Ranger's name being, rather than sign of familiarity, a simple refusal to acknowledge the titles that the warmongers of the industrial world had given her. When Tommy Oliver had come to her domain and sought the aid of her Rangers to fend off against an impending threat he had kept the facts that this threat had been across the stars from along with the fact that he intended to take each and every one of the Wild Zords into battle against a culture that seemed to exist solely for the purpose of conquest, when only Max had returned from the battle in the stars and informed her that the vast majority of the Zords had been obliterated the Princess had screamed and raged at the perceived treachery and had been ready to consign the world below her to its' inevitable doom; then Taylor had come to her and acted as an emissary for those who saw her sanctuary and all life within it as nothing but another weapon, her Yellow Ranger being the one to inform that Earth would be united and that the Animarium would be part of it one way or another and leaving the implication to hang in the air had stunned her; she had known that Taylor Earhardt was a warrior who would fulfil her oaths to those she swore to protect by any means but it felt as though she had never truly understood what that meant until that point.

"Princess" Taylor took a deep breath to steady herself and upon closer inspection Shayla realised that she had been crying lately

"We know why you're here!" Merrick's voice was raw and hateful as he leapt to his feet "The war has come to Earth and Zen-Aku gave his life to protect it"

"He did" Taylor nodded, voice cracking "And now the Aegis Rangers are trying to hold the line but they're facing a Power Ranger, one who has a Zord of their own"

"Then why are we still talking?" Max demanded intensely, his remaining eye focusing on the Princess "By your leave"

"Go Rangers" she nodded solemnly, her own feelings being far from enough to stand between her and her duty "The world needs you" Taylor nodded and a grateful expression crossed her face before she, Merrick and Max drew their Morphers and spoke in unison

"WILD ACCESS!"

In a flash of blinding, multicoloured light the Silver, Yellow and Blue Wild Force Rangers stood in the grassland when the light faded. Then the earth began to tremble and the sounds of gargantuan wildlife filled the air as the Wild Zords that had survived Acheron stampeded towards the Rangers, summoned by their need rather than any command. Taylor's Eagle Zord and Merrick's Wolf Zord rushed toward them howling and shrieking and whilst Max had lost the Shark Zord on Acheron the Giraffe Zord that had bonded itself to him came in its' stead, the three familiar Zords being joined by a further trio that had not been present on the Animarium in the battle against Master Org; a golden and heavily armoured Pangolin Zord, a Silver Peacock Zord with iridescent and shimmering tail feathers and a pearly white Dragonfly Zord, as the six Wild Zords drew close Taylor stepped forwards and reprised her briefly held role as leader.

"Form the Praetor Megazord!"

At her command the Zords began to reconfigure themselves, the Peacock Zord breaking almost in half and reshaping itself entirely as it formed a pair of legs, its' taloned feet forming knees whilst the wide fan of broad and shimmering tail feathers formed an armoured skirt like those worn by ancient centurions.

The Pangolin Zords' limbs and head tucked into its' body whilst vast sections of its' armoured exterior began to reorient itself and form a well protected and broad shouldered torso which resembled some form of heavy plate armour, its' hindquarters and tail rotating forwards as the Wolf, Giraffe and Eagle Zords took their customary places to form the arms and head; the Pangolin Zords' tail splitting in half down the centre as the hind quarters slid back to cover the Eagle Zords' head.

Finally the Dragonfly Zord moved into position, smaller than the others it landed on the hand formed by the Wolf Zords' skull, its' tail looping around the Wolf Zord to fasten it in place whilst the head slid back and rotated; finally its' legs collapsed and its' wings fanned out and reformed themselves into a wide and angular shield which along with the armoured appearance and the spear formed by the Giraffe Zord completed the motif of some indomitable protector.

Without a word the three remaining Wild Force Rangers ascended into the cockpit of their Megazord with a single superhuman leap and Princess Shayla watched them go, silently hoping that neither her chosen protectors or her Zords would suffer any more than they already had.

* * *

"We need form the-AHHH!" Mercy's order was cut off by a sudden jerking sensation and almost thrown free of her seat in the Hawk Zords' cockpit as it was brought to an abrupt halt in the air; the Dragonzord had caught the smaller Zords' left wing in its jaws and warnings flashed across Mercy's display as armour and inner workings were crushed and torn as the Dragonzord worried its' prey like a hunting dog before finally throwing the Hawk Zord aside, forcing Mercy to devote every ounce of her willpower to the mental controls of her machine to keep it from careening into the ground.

Evacuation efforts had been put into motion the instant the Dragonzord had teleported into Mariner Bay's airspace and with the military having been proved to be no match for the Green Ranger's war machine their efforts had been redoubled meaning that there were several miles of empty and abandoned city leading away from the coastline which Mercy had been attempting to lure the Dragonzord to; the Red Ranger understood that the collateral damage would be extensive but saw little option, as long as the Dragonzord remained flying over the sea only the Hawk and Plesion Zords could effectively combat it and whilst the Red Ranger's initial plan had been to attack from multiple angles and force the Green Ranger to split their attention it had become increasingly apparent that the Megazord would be required as the Dragonzord simply outmatched them.

"I have them!" Tempestus declared, his bubbling voice filling Mercy's cockpit as she righted her Zord in the Air she watched as the Plesion Zord burst from beneath the waters' surface to grab a portion of the Dragonzord's segmented tail in its' jaws and attempt to drag the larger machine beneath the waves; the effort fell flat as the Dragonzord dove downwards and took one of the smaller Zords' rear fins in its' mouth before lifting the Blue Rangers' machine into the air and hurling it away, as the Plesion Zord crashed into the sea, sending towering waves of water into the air with the force of the impact the Dragonzord flexed its' clawed fingers and unleashed a salvo of missiles at the point of impact, though their target had long since swum away.

"Mercy!" Panthera's voice was panicked "We have incoming!"

"What?" she demanded, terror and disbelief vying for dominance in her voice

"One signal" Aslaug growled warily "Moving fast but too small to be a-" the Yellow Ranger trailed off and Mercy watched in awed silence as something streaked downwards like a comet and collided with the Dragonzord, ripping the Green Ranger from the sky with a howl of animal fury escaping the machine as it was sent hurtling below the water.

"Aegis Rangers, this is Taylor Earhardt. Wild Force Yellow" Mercy's eyes widened, she knew that Taylor along with several of her other teachers and instructors were former Power Rangers but she had never expected to fight alongside a Wild Force Megazord

"Form the Aegis Megazord" Taylor insisted as the Praetor Megazord rose from the crouching position it had landed in "We'll cover you"

The Red Ranger watched in something akin to awe as the legendary Rangers had their mecha stand at the ready, spear and shield poised as they searched for the Dragonzord only for the Green Ranger to burst from the waves behind them and swing its' drill-tipped tail into the Praetor Megazords' back, the sound of screeching metal filling the air the Wild Force Rangers desperately attempted to fight back; their struggle bringing her Mercy to her senses and forcing her to focus.

"You heard her!" she called out to her fellow Rangers "WE NEED MEGAZORD POWER!"

"_Megazord activation has been initiated"_ Mercy heard the now familiar synthetic voice and knew that it had been echoed in the cockpits of each of her team-mates' Zords; despite the damage to its' wing she brought the Hawk Zord into position and watched as Tempestus brought the Plesion Zord onto land; each Zord reconfiguring itself as they began the combination process.

"_Megazord activated" _the synthetic voice confirmed as the five Rangers were teleported into the cockpit, each of them feeling the rush of acceleration and becoming aware of each others' consciousnesses at the edge of their own as their minds were networked together.

"The Wild Force Rangers need help" Rensa observed, his gentle voice echoing in Mercy's mind and the Red Ranger was forced to agree; the spear of Praetor Megazord had been driven into the left wing of the Dragonzord, crumpling and piercing its' surface whilst in return the Dragonzord was trying to bite at its' attackers' face which was being protected and covered by the Dragonfly-Shield.

"It has enough weapons to fight us at the same time" Aslaug observed, her upbringing in the frozen forests of Mirinoi's polar region having taught her how to bring down many monstrous beasts but not quite preparing her for this particular battle.

"Yokai had four arms and a tail" Panthera mused, her mind returning to the first time she had met her fellow Aegis Rangers as a fierce smirk formed on her lips "We need more dakka"

"Well we've got that" Mercy grinned, all five Rangers' minds sharing a single thought and bringing the Aegis Megazord into action

"MEGA CANNON!" coruscating white light burst from the shoulder mounted cannon formed by the Plesion Zords' mouth and neck, aimed for the centre of the Dragonzord's back only for the thrashing mecha to jerk aside at the last moment in a savage attempt to tear at its' current opponent.

The blast struck its' right wing and obliterated it entirely.

The resultant shock-wave separated the Dragonzord and Praetor Megazord, whose spear was forcibly torn free of its' opponents' remaining wing which all but crippled and grounded the Dragonzord.

"Let's keep the pressure on!" Mercy ordered as she urged the Aegis Megazord forwards, wading into the sea and quickly reaching a full sprint which was halted forcefully as the Dragonzord rose to its' feet and opened its' maw wide. Mercy saw lights scattered around the surface of its' chest armour, which greatly resembled that of its' predecessor begin to flash and knew what was about to happen even before the swirling nexus of light had appeared in the Zords' gaping jaws but still could not react fast enough to prevent it.

"GET BACK-" she and her fellow Aegis Rangers were blinded by the beam of green light and the explosion that followed it and deafened by the warnings of critical damage that filled the cockpit.

The Mega Cannon had been struck directly and destroyed which had in turn ripped away armour from the Megazords' head and torso; most shocking of all however was that when the Rangers tried to bring their mecha to its' feet they realised that the left arm had been torn completely free of its' body in the explosion.

"Here they come" Panthera spat as she saw that the Green Ranger had chosen to press their advantage and bring their Zord lumbering towards them to deliver a killing blow

"Well if this is where my saga ends, it's been one worth telling" Aslaug laughed bitterly

"We're not done!" Mercy snapped "Not yet" through sheer force of will she brought the Megazord to its' feet alone; blood trickling from her nose as the strain of piloting the mecha took its' toll on her until she felt the mental weight be lifted and shared as her fellow Rangers followed her example. The Dragonzord rushed closer until the Praetor Megazord announced its' return, bursting from the sea and clutching the drill tail of their opponent in the hand formed by the Wolf Zord; the Green Ranger did not take the attack idly however and brought their mecha whirling around counter-clockwise and bringing their tail-mounted weapon screaming into life; the Aegis Rangers watched in horror as the head of the Wolf Zord was shredded and torn free of the limb before the Dragonzord bit down on the centre of the Dragonfly Zord and began to crush the smaller mecha; the Praetor Megazord managed to stab its' spear into the neck and shoulder of the Green Ranger's war machine and do considerable damage but in the end the shield and the Zord that formed it were destroyed entirely and the Dragonzord continued its' assault

"We have to help them!" Tempestus all but screamed as he watched the tail of the Dragonzord enter the back and burst through the chest of the Wild Force Rangers' mecha in a shower of sparks, shrapnel and various fluids. The Aegis Rangers agreed and as one the manifested their Megazords' gigantic claymore, wielding it their mechas' remaining hand as they charged.

The Green Ranger prepared to fire the Dragonzord's primary weapon into the Praetor Megazord, only for it to fizzle out at as the Wild Force Rangers drove their spear in the monstrous machines' chest and damaged something vital, leaving flames billowing from the inside of the Dragonzord. The Aegis Rangers picked up speed and prepared to charge, in response the Dragonzord abandoned its' current prey and used what little remained of its' propulsion system to launch itself into the air and clutch the Aegis Megazord in its' talons hurling it back into shallower waters before falling upon it

"WE'RE HIT!" Tempestus called out

"WE CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER BLOW LIKE THAT" Aslaug's voice was the most fearful Mercy had ever heard it and for good reason; as it lunged at them the Dragonzord had drove the swept back and streamlined fin atop its' head into the chin of the Megazord and several feet of its' length had burst up through the floor of the cockpit between the Red and Yellow Rangers, leaving their display flickering and sparks issuing from several damaged components; yet despite it all the Rangers could feel each others' presence in their minds and know that none of them had been injured and the Megazord continued to function.

"It's gonna crush us!" Rensa exclaimed as the spiked fin was ripped free of the cockpit and the Dragonzord's snarling face came into view before them with its' jaws opened wide; its' talons still gripping them too tightly for them to resist.

Then the spear of the Praetor Megazord burst through its' chest and left the Green Ranger's mecha vomiting fluids as it staggered away and faced its' latest attacker.

The hope that came with their rescue was short lived as the Aegis Rangers watched events unfold in horror; the Dragonzord's tail whipped around and ripped into the knee of the Praetor Megazord, all but severing the mechas' right leg as it tackled the lager machine and sunk its' claws into the skull

"NO!" Mercy screamed as she saw missiles deploy and a second later was forced to shield her eyes as ten warheads were sent burrowing into the cockpit of the Megazord, the explosions tearing its' head asunder from the inside and leaving the mecha motionless on the sea floor with waves lapping at its' body.

The Dragonzord turned to face the Aegis Megazord as it rose to its' feet and the Rangers' saw that its' clawed forelimbs had been reduced to twisted and molten stumps in its' gambit; prompting Mercy to let out a fierce declaration

"WE'RE FINISHING THIS NOW!" the Rangers' minds were in perfect unison as they brought the Aegis Megazord into a charge whilst the Green Ranger did the same with his own Mecha and as the two colossal machine collided with earth shattering force time seemed to stand still.

The Dragonzord had opened its' jaws and made to pounce upon its' prey in the same instant the Megazord had thrust its' sword and the end result was that the Dragonzord now hung limp and lifeless; suspended on a blade that had entered its' mouth and pierced the back of its' neck, severing all controls to the Zords' body.

"It's over" Tempestus breathed out, body sagging with the exhaustion of both the physical and emotional strain of the battle; Mercy's eyes narrowed as she saw a hatch open as the last of the light faded from the Dragonzord's eyes.

The Green Ranger was trying to escape.

"No" she answered coldly "It's not over"

* * *

The Aquabase had been thrown into blind panic the instant the Green Ranger had turned their sights upon it and it was only through sheer force of will that things were beginning to be brought under control once again.

Currently Kimberley was alone in Justin's now dark laboratory having been ordered to remain behind by Dana so that she could serve as mission control once power was restored to the base; something that was taking a worrying amount of time to occur.

"Justin what's your situation?" the former Pink Ranger demanded, trying her best to remain level headed despite the fear that left her feeling physically ill.

"Things are taking a little longer than expected" Justin answered, voice heavy with tension "Water damage means we're having to re-route some things but-"

"Be careful" Kimberley breathed out; the primary reactor that powered the Aquabase destroyed along with the entire subsection of the facility which housed it being consumed in the blast and the damage done to nearby areas restoring power and damage limitation had become priorities and Justin had immediately volunteered to be the one to lead the effort to get emergency power online despite the back up power supplies for the base being unresponsive.

"Okay" Justin's voice wavered as he breathed the word out "Moment of truth….Kim, wish me luck"

"Good luck" if Justin responded she didn't hear it, instead she only heard a low metallic thumping sound followed by a whine which built in pitch and intensity until it was deafening

"Justin? Justin?" she exclaimed, growing steadily more panicked until the darkness that surrounded her was illuminated by the red glow of emergency lighting and alarms began to blare throughout the base.

"We've got power back to the critical systems!" Justin exclaimed, overjoyed despite the severity of the situation "I can access other systems from here, contact Dana and tell her that we don't have teleportation yet but I can get her a secure route out of the base"

"Understood. See you soon Justin, may the Power protect you" Kimberley ended the communication and cast her eyes around Justin's workspace and first disabled the alarms and took a moment to centre herself; forcing her breathing into slow and regular inhalations and slowly allowing herself to think logically. Opening her eyes again she turned her attention to Justin's computer which was in the process of rebooting itself, it would only take a few moments though it limited what she could do right away and left contacting Dana as the next logical step by process of elimination.

"Vice Admiral, it's Captain Hart" Kimberley spoke into her communicator

"What's our situation Captain?"

"As you can see emergency power is on, we've lost teleportation and I can't confirm the Rangers' current status at the moment-"

"Damn it" Dana hissed through clenched teeth "We have kids on base Kim we need to get them out"

"Justin has eyes on your location, he's clearing you a path as we speak"

"Understood" Dana seemed fractionally more hopeful "Eric managed to recover the machine the Green Ranger implanted into our system and a blood sample; he should have reached Doctor Manx by now. TJ and I will lead the evacuation effort I need you to re-establish contact with the Rangers and find Zebidiah"

"Will do" Kimberley answered confidently before ending the communication and turning her attention back to Justin's computer and entering the password that he had given her; quickly she began searching for the former Lord Zedd only for her mouth to hang open in shock once she found him.

The sorcerer was keeping the seawater at bay.

His robes billowed around him and behind him stood many of the Silver Guardians with latent magical abilities who had become his students, Bridge Carson being recognisable among them; each of them wore expression that spoke of immense effort and grim determination as they kept a solid wall of water from flooding a vast section of the Aquabase which had been breached by the Dragonzord's attack. Cursing she quickly began entering commands with the goal of finding which computer Justin was currently using and once she had done so she sent him an urgent message to seal the blast doors nearest to the breach so that Zebidiah Lord and his students could join the evacuation; her hands trembled with nerves as each second seemed to last an eternity and she watched a lone student, a young girl whose powers had only recently been discovered as she played with an Ouija board collapse from exhaustion and be picked up by a fellow cadet until finally the blast doors were brought down and the seawater was stopped from flooding any more of the base.

"One down" Kimberley breathed out before beginning a video call to Doctor Kat Manx she needed confirmation that Eric Meyers had reached the medical facilities. The quality of the footage that greeted her suggested that Doctor Manx had answered on her phone, Kim's attention however was immediately drawn to the bloodstained scrubs that the feline alien wore

"What's going on?" she demanded "I thought medical had its' own power you should have been-"

"We do but there were injuries in that blast Kim….Not to mention casualties" her voice wavered "This needs to be important, I have critical-"  
"Eric!" Kimberley exclaimed quickly "Is Eric with you?"

"Yes" Kat nodded though her expression darkened "He got here just after the Wild Force Rangers….We managed to get them stable"

"What?"

"They managed to evacuate before their Zords were destroyed, apparently Earhardt was prepared and had a remote teleporter" Kat explained before turning the camera towards a series of beds in the crowded triage that her small hospitals' waiting room had become; Kimberley felt bile rise in her throat as she saw Max Cooper lying unconscious with his prosthetic arm reduced to ruined splinters, Merrick trying to rise to his feet and return to battle despite Doctor Manx's assistants trying to force him back into a bed so that the lacerations to face and chest and his burns could be examined whilst Eric held the hand of a glassy eyed and barely conscious Taylor whose chest and left shoulder were wrapped in bloodstained bandages where a piece of the Praetor Megazords' superstructure, something akin to rebar had been embedded in her body.

"I have to go" Kimberley gasped, ending the call without another word. Eric had arrived at the medical facilities which meant that the sample of the Green Ranger's blood was there but the sight of the Wild Force Rangers pushed all other matters from her mind.

She had to contact the Aegis Rangers and assure herself that they were safe; no Rangers would die in her care.

"Come on, come on" she muttered to herself as she began trying to find a camera feed that would allow her to see the Rangers rather than merely view events as they unfolded through their visors; eventually settling on a heavily magnified live feed from one of Projects Lightspeeds' many satellites that had been designed and manufactured by Promethea.

What she saw made her stomach lurch.

The remains of the resurrected and redesigned Dragonzord and the Aegis Megazord remained frozen in position after their pilots had abandoned them, the former missing its' wings and forelimbs and having impaled through its' torso and neck in addition to considerable other damage; the latter missing an arm and much of the armour from its' torso and left shoulder whilst also sporting gouges left by monstrous claws and severe damage to its' head.

What truly scared Kimberley however was the sight of the decapitated and destroyed Megazord that the remaining Wild Force Rangers had piloted laying lifeless close enough to the shore that the waves didn't submerge it entirely; or more accurately she was scared by what stoop atop the wreckage.

The Green Ranger had obviously leapt onto the ruins of the Praetor Megazord after abandoning their own machine and the Aegis Rangers had given chase.

* * *

The Aegis Rangers watched the Green Ranger rise from the crouch the had landed in; armour still damaged from their confrontation with Zen-Aku and sporting additional burns most likely caused by damage to the cockpit of the Dragonzord and a visor so heavily cracked it was a wonder they could see out of it.

Mercy's hands balled into fists, her breathing ragged and her blood pounding in her ears as she struggled to keep the red mist that had settled over her vision from taking over.

"Stand down" she demanded voice strained by the effort of not simply screaming and raging at the Green Ranger for everything they had done.

"Surrender and power down, or we're gonna bring you down"

"I'm sorry" the Green Ranger's distorted voice lamented, seeming almost genuine "I can't do that cousin"

Mercy gave into the rage, the Green Ranger's words having robbed that last of her self control. She crossed the distance between them in an instant and the pulse of crimson light as she manifested her katana gave her opponent a mere fraction of a second to manifest their own blade

"WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT?" the Red Ranger screamed, her usual agility and skill replaced by the unrelenting power of a berserk rage which forced her opponent back several paces with each frantically blocked strike; the blade of her sword wielded in a way more in keeping with a blunt weapon, battering and bludgeoning her opponent

"ANSWER ME!" Mercy roared her throat raw and voice cracking, the Green Ranger finally seemed to come to their senses enough to begin to fight back though it seemed far too little too late, where in their previous confrontation the Green Ranger had been capable of overpowering each of the Aegis Rangers now the Red Ranger was an unstoppable force and the two exchanged only a few blows, parrying and redirecting one another's swords at blinding speed until the Dragon Blade was knocked from the Green Ranger's grasp and Mercy brought her katana down in an overhead, hacking motion.

The Green Ranger caught the blade between their palms though its' edge still bit into the surface of their helmet and they were slowly forced to their knees

"Answer me!" Mercy repeated as the two of them struggled

"They really never told you what you are?" the Green Ranger's voice was openly surprised and almost gentle in spite of both the exertion and the distortion that garbled it and masked their identity

"We're the same" they continued even as Mercy's blade cut deeper into their helmet "The same but different, like reflections in a fun house mirror….And I never wanted to have to kill you cousin, I never wanted to kill anyone" the genuine regret and grief that filled the Green Ranger's voice may as well have been a klaxon or siren with the way it set Mercy on edge and pierced through her rage with its' chilling finality.

She saw everything happen in slow motion and was powerless to prevent it.

Cracks formed along the blade of her katana, hairline fractures that preceded the blade being shattered and broken in half; with the tension between them being broken Mercy staggered forwards into an oncoming blow from the Green Ranger who then thrust the broken blade of her katana directly at her heart.

"MERCY!" Several voices screamed as one Mercy felt herself being pulled backwards yet still felt the sensation of her own blade cutting into her. Looking down at her armour Mercy saw that she'd been slashed along her left flank, the wound running almost parallel to her bottom rib and her armour flickering as it phased in and out of existence around the injury; it was painful in the extreme yet not incapacitating though Rensa and Panthera still held her at bay whilst Aslaug and Tempestus attacked the Green Ranger.

The three of them were a blurred maelstrom of blows as they fought with the Green Ranger being forced further back along the remains of the Praetor Megazord until they were almost at the upper edge of the machines' torso where smoke and flames still rose up from the twisted and blackened mass that was all that remained of its' head. The Green Ranger leapt over Tempestus's spinning sweep at his legs and delivered a spinning kick to the Blue Ranger's helmeted face only to receive a crushing blow from the Yellow Ranger that flung them backwards; as they rolled to a stop and pulled themselves to their feet they were beset by blows once again and narrowly avoided a knee aimed at their skull, driving an elbow into the Yellow Ranger's helmet to knock them aside.

Tempestus allowed no respite and unleashed a ceaseless torrent of attacks, each blocked strike simply leading into another until the Green Ranger's knee was buckled by a punishing kick and a blow landed between their shoulder blades

"Enough!" their distorted voice roared as they flung themselves backwards, rising to their feet and slamming their elbow into the Blue Ranger's solar plexus before spinning and grasping Tempestus by the torso in a single motion then throwing away, hurling him from the torso of the ruined Megazord and onto its' right arm.

The victory was short lived as they saw the Pink and Black Ranger rushing into the fray, a moment too late they registered the movement in the corner of their eye as Aslaug delivered a running haymaker directly into their skull.

Kay's helmet shattered as they hit the floor.

"You!" Aslaug demanded, skidding it a halt and staring in disbelief at the sight of the person beneath the helmet; someone that she had been ready to call a friend

"I said I didn't want to kill you" Kay panted out as they dragged themselves to their feet, their voice heavy with exhaustion and their inhuman eyes focusing on the Pink Ranger "Panthera-"

"Why?" the single syllable trembled under the weight of the sheer hatred in encompassed and without their helmet to distort their voice Kay's reply was a choked half sob

"This is what I was made for, this is what I am" a bitter sound that could almost have been a demented cackle escaped them "I don't know what else I'm supposed to be"

"We're bringing you in" Panthera stated flatly, though her voice began to rise with each syllable that followed "We were ordered to kill you and I fought against it! One way or another this ends and if you won't let us bring you in alive….then fine" Kay looked at Aslaug, Rensa and Tempestus before them and glanced at Tempestus returning to his feet to their right; they gave a single nod of understanding and shifted their weight as they prepared themselves for what was about to happen.

Then their world exploded into pain and breathing suddenly became impossible.

Looking down they saw the broken remains of the Red Ranger's Katana protruding from their already damaged chest shield; glancing back up they saw Mercy had returned to her feet and had obviously gathered all of her might to hurl the blade at them from behind the other Rangers.

The Green Ranger staggered backwards several steps and saw the Aegis Rangers rushing towards them, before they could do so they had toppled backwards over the edge of the Megazord and into the waves below.

"KAY!" Panthera screamed, the other Rangers gathering around her

"If they come up for air we form the Power Blaster" Mercy ordered coldly, even as she sagged int0 Aslaug's body, bleeding profusely from her injury "We've given them enough chances" despite her tone Mercy was uncertain, her resolve wavering where her fierce words didn't as she tried to convince themselves that this would be no different to attacking any other monster or warrior of the Dark Empire.

Her resolve went untested as her Morphed state failed and the Green Ranger never resurfaced; her fellow Rangers finally leading her towards whatever remained of the Aquabase under the belief that Kay had drowned.

* * *

The Green Ranger had survived.

It was the dead of night by the time they returned to the basement of a derelict and abandoned town house in a disreputable area of Mariner Bay; falling through the open window and hitting the floor with a wet thud and remaining unmoving motionless with their vision blurred and head spinning before dredging up the last of the seawater from their lungs with a fit of violent, hacking coughs.

Kay's Morphed state had failed as they vanished below the waves, the fragment of the Red Ranger's sword which protruded from their chest vanishing shortly after and allowing the wound to heal at an accelerated rate, though the blood loss had still left them dizzy and the pain persisted even now. It had taken an act of supreme will for Kay to swim ashore, lungs burning as they remained below the waters' surface and several hours of flitting through evacuated buildings and lurking in shadows before they could return to their impromptu base of operations as they avoided the authorities as the police, military and Silver Guardians had deployed in force throughout the city and patrolled the streets whilst helicopters cast searchlights on the ground from above in an obvious attempt to both reassure the public that they were safe and ensure that no opportunistic criminals took advantage of the disarray by looting.

Eventually Kay, bloodied, soaked, exhausted and shivering as they were forced themselves to move; crawling across the floor of the basement as they knew without question that their legs would not be able to support their weight in that moment until they finally reached their stasis pod. In addition to its' medical and communication systems the sarcophagus which had brought them to Earth and fused arcane magic with technology also incorporated a short range teleporter; it would be unable to get Kay off of the planets' surface and in truth its' range would most likely not even span the entirety of Mariner Bay but it had allowed the Green Ranger to seemingly vanish at will in their conflicts with the Aegis Rangers, unfortunately Kay's homing beacon had been damaged by the seawater and rendered useless and they would now be unable to rely on the machine.

There were more important matters at hand and Kay forced themselves to focus even as they struggled to cling to their consciousness, slumping against the side of their stasis pod as they opened communications.

"Kay" Lord Zedd's rumbling snarl pierced the air as the flickering and translucent image of the warlord came into view towering over them

"I was summoned?" another, silky and domineering voice enquired "My Lord" Kay glanced up at the speaker, clearly an Acheron hybrid like themselves though she sported a chitinous and insect-like armoured carapace and splayed wide mandibles adorning her cheeks.

"Paradoxa, my Green Ranger" wishes to report

"Yes my lord" Kay managed to murmur, their voice betraying their current frailty "The plan proceeds"

The booming laughter that filled the air gave the Green Ranger far less comfort or pride than they had thought it might

"You've done well Kay" lord Zedd declared "Tell Paradoxa here what you have managed to achieve, with less resources and time than her Vanguard Fleet" Paradoxa's face betrayed the faintest ghost of a glower before she forced her expression into a mask of neutrality and kept her posture rigid, betraying nothing.

"Two of the Rangers Megazords have been damaged beyond repair, though the Dragonzord was lost in the process….the Lightspeed Aquabase, the seat of the Rangers power has been destroyed"

"And the Rangers themselves?" Paradoxa asked gently, the merest hint of a sneer in her voice.

"My cousin….the Red Ranger was injured" Kay nodded wearily, missing the way Lord Zedd's fists clenched at the way they described Mercy "But they live….they throw themselves into fire for each other, take killing blows for each other. I had no one to rely on-"

"You're time away from your people has made you soft child" Lord Zedd rebuked forcefully, bringing a quickly hidden amused smirk to Paradoxa's face "Our forces are always outnumbered, it is the Acheron Way; we wage war against larger foes and consume them whole after breaking their defences"

"Then perhaps the Acheron way could be improved" Kay noted, their voice a mixture of quiet thoughtfulness and open defiance as their human and Acheron natures wrestled with one another.

"Learn your place child!" Paradoxa spat venomously, though the Green Ranger paid her no mind and instead locked eyes with the holographic form of their fathers' masked face.

"Why do we do this? Why is it our way?" Kay demanded weakly "If the Acheron way is to make more of ourselves, take that which is useful from other cultures then we should work with the Alliance….their worlds and cultures willingly share the best they have to offer with each other; we could have a victory without wasting lives-"

"It would appear" Lord Zedd's voice was a rumbling of thunder, sending tremors through the ground as arcane energy crackled around their armoured form "That the knowledge implanted into you as you grew was not sufficient….too clinical perhaps, didn't instil the proper appetites in you. Paradoxa"

"Yes my Lord?"

"Prepare your fleet for an attack on Earth at once, we cannot allow them to recover"

"I will raze their cities to the ground my Lord" Paradoxa's face morphed into a leering grin that spoke of some primal hunger

"Kay you will present yourself to Paradoxa's forces….You will join the Vanguard Fleet and aid her in her conquests, perhaps some time at the forefront of my Empires' expansion and her guidance will make a proper Acheron of you"

"It will be my pleasure" Paradoxa's sneering tone promised nothing but endless cruelty and wanton bloodshed.

"Yes….father" Kay ground out before ending the transmission before waiting to be dismissed; their head falling back against the metallic surface of their stasis pod as they tried to decide on a course of action that would be more palatable to them than the few options currently available to them.

As Kay's vision dimmed, their endurance reaching its' limit and darkness finally claiming them the Green Ranger gave a soft smile.

They had a plan.

**Authors' Notes:**

Okay before you do anything else I need you to go to /watch?v=6adTUKgeA1s&t=829s on Youtube; Power Rangers Unworthy Vol.3 has been released and you should all watch it and subscribe to Unworthy Productions because the work they're doing is amazing.  
You should also consider joining the Power Hour Discord server and Twitch stream.  
Now that's out of the way, we're two thirds of the way through this arc and oh boy am I having fun with it….now we've just got a final confrontation and a wrap up that will lay the groundwork for the second act of this story, because everything that's happened thus far is just the beginning.

That being said, let's summarise shall we:  
Okay so first off the Dragonzord functions a little differently to the Aegis Zords due to it being made by someone else and also out of necessity; the Aegis Rangers Rangers each control their individual Zords mentally and merge their consciousnesses Pacific Rim style when they form the Megazord to deal with the strain, the Dragonzord is roughly Megazord size on its' own so it actually has a level of AI that bolsters Kay….hence the whole primal urge to kill  
Think of it this way, the Aegis Zords' of Jaegers, the Dragonzord is an Eva unit.  
I feel like Kay got a lot of development this chapter that started with the realisation that they had a lot of information pushed into their mind as they were developing but they're genuinely experiencing everything for the first time, everything is new to them.  
The brief fight with the military was obviously inspired by Godzilla and Evangelion _(In my mind the tanks getting blown up is definitely that one shot from the first episode)  
_Also yes, we upgraded our tanks and jets with alien shit because of course we did.  
So, that's what the little robot was for….it was telling Kay where to use the Godzilla breath attack.  
See Kay doesn't want to be doing this.  
And now it's time for a Zord showdown.  
Yeah Merrick knew Zen-Aku had died the instant it happened.  
And have some backstory on what happened to the Wild Force Rangers; Taylor was left behind to help a resistance effort, Merrick and Zen-Aku couldn't be found, Max was at the battle of Acheron and was the only survivor from the Wild Force Rangers and most of the Wild Zords were scrapped.  
Also with Danny's last name I was tempted to have Z from the SPD Rangers be related to him; especially since she's an orphan but it wouldn't fit within the timeline I've established.  
Merrick went full Anakin Skywalker with the yellow eyes.  
Organic prosthetics because under no circumstances will Princess Shayla have technology on the Animarium.  
I feel like someone is gonna complain about the way I write Taylor one day but I'll stand by it; she literally wrote a rulebook on how to be a Power Ranger, she was a fighter pilot and when Wild Force ended she went back into active duty, she's a soldier and Princess Shayla refused to ally herself with the rest of the planet against Lord Zedd I think she would be okay with forcing her.  
So let's address the Praetor Megazord….there were about a hundred new Wild Zords introduced at the end of Wild Force and _a) I wanted to use them and b) it feeds into that whole 'rag-tag' group aesthetic that's one of my favourite tropes; two primary Zords from different Megazords, a secondary Zord and three new Zords.  
_I want with the centurion aesthetic because one of the Wild Force Megazords, the one with the Gorilla already had a gladiator look and I wanted to expand on that.  
I'm just gonna come out and say it, I watched the Odachi and Leatherback fight against the Jaegers in Pacific Rim so many time before writing the Zord fight.  
And yes the Green Ranger did the smart thing that nobody else ever does; fight somewhere where not all of the Zords can deploy effectively and then stop them forming the Megazord by keeping them apart.  
That scene where the Dragonzord bursts out of the water_ specifically _is a Pacific Rim reference.  
"_We need more dakka"_ another call back to Arc01, it seems fitting as we're closing out the first act of the story.  
Looks like the Megazord was_ 'disarmed'_.  
I really was pushing every Zord to its' limits in this fight and I had to take a mental note to break them in places that weren't a connection point between two Zords because they could hypothetically work around that.  
The head-spike bursting into the cockpit was another Pacific Rim reference, specifically to the part where Odachi crushes Crimson Typhoons' cockpit with its' tail claws and there's a shot of the inside of the cockpit.  
Impaled twice and still not dead.  
Seriously, missile claws work great up close as well.  
That dramatic ending though.  
So the Aquabase was critically damaged but mission control are all still alive.  
The blood sample is important, the Rangers might have found out who was under the Green helmet but they don't know what Kay is yet.  
Just the idea of the former Lord Zedd literally standing in front of the breach and holding the seawater at bay through sheer willpower and magic was something I had to write once it occurred to me.  
I mentioned Ouija board girl in an earlier chapter, have a callback.  
Obviously Kim didn't have any idea how the Zord fight was going.  
The Wild Force Rangers lived, but were all injured….also Taylor definitely had that teleporter on the Animarium in case of emergency.  
Showdown against a rogue Ranger on top of a destroyed Megazord; peak drama.  
There had to be a point where Mercy snapped and I think this was a pretty good pace for it.  
"_The same but different, like reflections in a fun house mirror"_ Kay broke into the theme park/fairground with Panthera literally the night before, that would have been the only time Kay had ever seen a fun house mirror….enjoy those feels.  
And I'm not even being subtle about the connection between Kay and Mercy but it will be explained properly next chapter.  
I was gonna have Mercy get skewered again but I decided against it, she only got stabbed last arc.  
Aslaug is two for two on shattering helmets when a dramatic reveal is needed.  
"_Why?"_ because one word is sometimes all you need for feels.  
Also, for any of my readers who also follow RWBY….Kay gave me some serious Ilia vibes in this scene, the fight with Blake in Vol.5 and _"I don't know what else to do!"  
_Mercy hasn't really got in her to shoot a Ranger like that.  
Also come on, you knew they weren't dead; if it wasn't for that hybrid physiology though they probably would be.  
Yeah I had to explain how Kay was doing that dramatic vanishing act; the Dark Empires' teleportation technology is not on the same level as the Alliances' but they can still give their Power Ranger some manoeuvrability.  
Have some Paradoxa, she's been absent the last few chapters.  
And the time honoured villain tradition of playing your generals off against each other begins.  
"_But they live….they throw themselves into fire for each other, take killing blows for each other. I had no one to rely on"_ anyone else feel bad for Kay here?  
Kay's argument is a pretty solid one; they've spent their time since being 'born' in a multicultural city that's part on interplanetary alliance and made friends with people from all over the galaxy, it kinda makes conquering everything seem pointless.  
Does anyone really think Kay is gonna follow those orders?

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	26. I Will Win

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 25 – I Will Win**

The lighting in the Command Centre was kept dimmed in an effort to conserve what power the back up supplies could provide, creating a heavy an oppressive atmosphere in Justin's workspace that was only added to by the silence between those present, which in turn was left all the more intense by the absence of the ambient sounds of Justin's countless machines and experiments filling the air.

Kimberley, Justin and Zebidiah Lord were gathered around Justin's main computer sharing meaningful looks; each seeming to will the others to speak first as they stared at the documents before them until finally Justin broke the silence

"We're telling her. We're telling all of the Rangers everything" his voice was shaky even as he squared his shoulders and set his jaw; appearing resolute despite his concerns

"Agreed" Zebidiah nodded solemnly, pushing his robes away from his face to reveal the haggard weariness lining it in the wake of the vast effort that holding the sea at bay had been.

"Dana hasn't cleared them for this….it's beyond classified" Kimberley noted, before shaking her head as she realised exactly what she was saying "But I agree, we should have told them the moment the Green Ranger appeared"

"Tell us what?" the Ranger's presence was announced by the sound of Mercy's voice, words delivered through clenched teeth and with an audible wince. Justin, Kimberley and Zebidiah turned as one and took in the sight of their charges; all of them were bruised and exhausted though the Red Ranger herself was clearly in the worst shape, leaning against Aslaug for support and wearing a loose fitting tank-top which left part of the bandages wrapped around her torso visible, her injury wasn't life threatening but would be yet another scar added to her slowly expanding collection.

"Should you be up and about?" Justin asked gently

"Doctor Manx has more important patients and she needs the beds" Mercy countered with a one-sided shrug

"You're stalling. Tell us what?" Panthera hissed with open distrust out and out of the trio of adults acting as mentors to the Aegis Rangers Kimberley was the first to give her successor an understanding and sympathetic look, knowing from experience how the Pink Ranger felt.

"In due time" Zebidiah stated bluntly before nodding to a collection of empty seats "Though I suggest you sit" the Rangers remained standing.

"First thing's first" Justin sighed "You're gonna be stationed here until the Green Ranger situation is resolved but then you're shipping out to a new base"

"Understandable" Tempestus murmured

"Yeah" the former Turbo Ranger nodded "Dana is busy organising the relocation efforts at the moment, most of the cadets are being shipped out to Silver Hills and Reefside, some of Zebidiah's students are being sent to Briarwood….The Aquabase is gonna take years to rebuild, we can't run operations from here with it so heavily damaged; we're having to send the Aegis Zords to one of the colony ships for repairs so that's most likely where you'll end up"

"I….Understood" Mercy nodded, the Aquabase had been her home for as long as she could remember and though she knew that there was nothing that could be done that knowledge did nothing to stop her eyes from beginning to sting and a lump forming in her throat, something important had been taken from her and she was simply not ready to let it go.

"As for the matter regarding the Green Ranger" Zebidiah began, leaving the Rangers deeply concerned with the fact the normally stoic sorcerer appeared to be unsettled "You may have seen their face, you know who they are but not what they are"

"But you do" Mercy surmised, gasping as she realised that something was unspeakably wrong with the situation in a way she couldn't yet articulate "You know why they keep calling me their cousin?"

"I do" Zebidiah nodded "It stems from what Strike-Squad Alpha stole when they went rogue, something named Project Crucible….The people of Acheron have never been able to produce warriors capable of using the Power of the Morphing Grid despite our ability to splice our genetics with any species we encounter; with my experiments and research into the conundrum during my previous life I had gathered enough knowledge to create the perfect the Ranger candidate for Project Lightspeed, gene splicing the genetics of several previous human Rangers and boiling them down to their purest essence….It would seem that my second born son has used my work to solve the millennia old problem and create a human Acheron hybrid capable of becoming a Power Ranger"

"You're sure of this?" Panthera breathed out, utterly stunned

"We recovered a blood sample" Zebidiah nodded "I would know those Acheron genetic markers anywhere….they are of my own bloodline, the Green Ranger who you know as Kay is my grandchild"

"But wait" Mercy's deep brown eyes were wide in horror as the realisation came to her "If Kay is artificially made to be a Ranger and they call me cousin then"

"We always planned to tell you, but never like this" Justin croaked out, tears beginning to well up in his own eyes. The Aegis Rangers glanced from the senior officers before them to mercy and saw that the Red Ranger's hands were trembling

"The story you were told about your parents being killed in an alien attack was a lie" Kimberley admitted, not daring to raise her voice above a whisper as if it would somehow lessen the blow "A cover story had to put in place….Mercy you were the end result of Project Crucible, you were made to be-"

"No" Mercy cried, tears spilling from her eyes as her world came crashing down around her with the revelation that everything she had known about herself was a lie "No, I'm nothing like them; I'm not-I can't be!" there was a single moment where her fellow Rangers could see the maelstrom of conflicting emotions in her eyes and Aslaug reached out to comfort her but by the time her arm had begun to move it was too late, Mercy had simply turned and run; desperate to be as far away from the waking nightmare she had found herself in as possible.

"I'm going after her" Aslaug stated bluntly, treating Kimberley, Zebidiah and Justin to a look of utter disgust and contempt before leaving the Command Centre.

"What about the rest of us?" Rensa asked, his usually quiet and gentle voice dropping even further in volume until it was nothing but the ghost of a whisper, each word dripping with fear

"Were the rest of us made to be Rangers….was I sent to a prison world in the Dark Empire just to be toughened up and found later?"

"No" Zebidiah assured him "Shortly after Mercy was….born I suppose is accurate William Mitchell died and Dana took his place, she found Project Crucible to be distasteful and had it halted. Mercy is….or rather was the only one of her kind" Panthera let out a mocking cackle as she turned on her heel and stalked away

"Oh don't worry Lord Zedd" she let the insult of using his former title linger for a moment before adding "We've met you're Grandchild….I can assure you that Mercy is still the only one of her kind"

* * *

Kay had put their plan into motion.

It had been a hard decision to make, in truth the hardest choice the Green Ranger had ever made in their short life; weighing each aspect of Lord Zedd and the Dark Empire's goals against their own experiences on Earth along with their own personal thoughts and beliefs and what they slowly realised was their own developing character and identity. It became increasingly clear that the goals for which they had been made and who they were as a person were entirely incompatible with one another and that Kay would have no choice but to act.

The first step had been destroying the stasis pod that had brought them to Earth in its' entirety.

The second step would be a difficult one but the Green Ranger knew it could not be avoided; the Aegis Rangers had seen their face and now it would only be a matter of time before Earth and the Alliance as a whole turned against them. Kay knew that Piggy had contacts and friends on worlds outside of the Alliance and intended to ask the kind-hearted alien for safe passage off of the planet; the advantage of this was that it would allow them to continue exploring the galaxy and see and experience countless new things, with the obvious downside being that they would almost certainly never see anyone that they had met on Earth again, including Piggy and his former wards Jack and Z or the Aegis Rangers.

Kay came to a brief halt at the sound of an odd sniffling sound escaping them, a sensation that they had never encountered before but understood themselves well enough to know that it was more than the product of some mere sickness that had befallen them.

As they made their way through the streets of the 'New-Tech' District of Mariner Bay with a misty drizzle falling upon them Kay tried to focus their attention away from their various injuries which even their accelerated and inhuman healing had failed to mend entirely, they were almost certain that they had several fractured bones but could do nothing to solve the problem and the wound in their chest left by the broken shard of the Red Ranger's katana may have stopped bleeding but it still throbbed and sent waves of pain through their body with each breath they took, their clothes were still sodden and they found themselves shivering as they limped closet to their destination.

As they went Kay saw few pedestrians despite this part of the city being usually bustling with activity at all times and those few citizens he saw, comprised of various different species all wore fearful expressions which the Green Ranger was saddened to realise were not simply the product of the recent attacks that they had committed as the Green Ranger but were in fact directed at their current bloody and bedraggled state.

Eventually Kay reached Ernie's Juice Bar and mercifully found it to be open for business to some degree or another, the crowding and presence of sleeping bags indicating that it had been used as a shelter once again.

"We're full at the moment but if you head over to-" Piggy came to a halt, the rough scaly plates around his face flattening in a gesture of utter shock "Kay?"

Piggy had hurried from behind the bar and closed the distance between them faster than the Green Ranger could think of anything to say; he grasped them as gently as he could and began examining their various injuries whilst making several soothing sounds mixed with alarmed exclamations

"I got lost in the Aquabase" Kay murmured, realising that they had to say something and loathing the fact that it had to be a lie "When it was attacked I couldn't find Jack and Z or their friends….I didn't make it out with the rest of the evacuation"

"Well you're here and that's what counts" Piggy countered, eyes darting away from them as he spoke

"Actually….there's something I wanted to ask you" Kay screwed their unnatural pink and black eyes shut and took a moment to compose themselves before asking "Would you be able to get me on a ship away from Earth?….with everything that's happened I think I just need to be somewhere else, away from everything; that might have been what made me think joining Lightspeed was a good idea"

"I understand" Piggy nodded slowly as they croaked the words out, standing back they took a moment to simply stare at Kay before sighing and pointing to one of the few tables left in place "Go wait over there, I'll see if I can arrange something for you on short notice….I'll grab some clothes for you out of Jack's closet" Kay watched Piggy vanish out of view as he returned behind the bar and then into areas of the building not open to customers before turning and making their way over to the seat that had been offered to them; simply being able to collapse into the seat and not worry about dragging themselves any further was a welcome relief and Kay almost immediately felt their bone deep weariness begin to take over and their eyelids get heavier

"Do you work for Project Lightspeed?" Kay looked down and saw a small alien child which they presumed was a girl due to the outfit they wore, her skin was a pale blue-grey and her eyes were disproportionately large and oval shaped with no nose between them; she looked up expectantly at Kay and blinked with two different sets of eyelids whilst another alien Kay guessed was a parent of guardian tried to call her away

"Yesterday was my first day" they gave a weak grin, realising that their soaked and bloodstained uniform had given them away and piqued the child's curiosity rather than her fear

"Do you know the Power Rangers?" she asked hopefully

"I've met them" Kay nodded

"Awesome!" the alien girl gasped, her mannerisms so like those of her human counterparts that Kay assumed she must have been born on Earth.

"I wanna be a Power Ranger when I grow up" she continued "It's like the coolest job ever!"

"Even now?" Kay asked, having no desire to crush his chatty new acquaintances dreams but merely curious "It was a Power Ranger that attacked the Aquabase, fought with the other Rangers"

"And they're really dumb for doing that" the alien girl pouted, letting out an annoyed sigh as she placed her hands on her hips "I don't get why Rangers fight each other and don't want to be friends sometimes but they always fix things later on and they always win….that's what my teacher said anyway"

"Maybe your teacher was right" Kay chuckled, eyes darting to where their Morpher was currently hidden beneath a long sleeve; they had considered simply destroying the device or even giving it to the Aegis Rangers but had eventually decided against it for the simple reason that they were the Green Ranger and didn't know who they would be if they weren't, but this hopeful and exuberant child gave them a sliver of hope that maybe things could be different one day.

"Kay" hearing their name they looked up and instantly realised that something was very wrong. Piggy had returned to the bar and was flanked by Jack and Z who both wore hateful expressions whilst Sydney covered the exit to the bar and Bridge and Sky tried to usher the other patrons away from Kay.

"Go back to your mother, I need to talk with them" the Green Ranger instructed gently before rising to their feet

"Don't move" Jack ordered as he produced a laser pistol and levelled it at Kay's head

"We could have fixed this, we could have found a way" Piggy lamented "But you lied to me, you've been lying to me since day one….just let 'em bring you in quietly Kay, nobody has to get hurt" Kay nodded, almost as if agreeing

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt" the Green Ranger breathed out before locking eyes with Jack Landors, their vivid pink irises seeming to flare with light as deeply ingrained instincts etched into their very genetics rose to the forefront

"Tell Sydney to let everyone else out. Then I'll let you _try _to bring me in"

* * *

Aslaug had slowed her pace to a deliberately unhurried one as she followed after Mercy, intending to give the Red Ranger some time and space whilst also wanting to offer her help in whatever way she could.

Mercy had predictably bolted towards the living areas the Aegis Rangers shared and Aslaug the entrance to their home several minutes later; letting herself in and seeing Klo, the large wolf-like hunting beast she had brought from Mirinoi pacing and growling agitatedly

"Quiet boy" Aslaug urged softly before turning her attention towards the door to Mercy's room and seeing it open she stepped inside.

The sight that greeted her broke the Yellow Ranger's heart.

Posters had been ripped from walls and clothes had pulled from her closet though it was far from an organised effort to pack and if Aslaug concentrated long enough she was sure that could pinpoint the exact moment were Mercy had given up on frantically trying to gather everything she could and escape to anywhere other than her current predicament and had simply given up, the crack in the wall where she had struck it being a likely candidate.

Mercy herself was curled up in a corner of the room sobbing and Aslaug had made her way over to her without ever needing to think about it; lacing her fingers' through the Red Ranger's and bringing her bloodied knuckles up to her lips to kiss them gently as she sat beside her

"Just leave me alone" Mercy croaked out, wiping her eyes

"Is that what you really want?" Aslaug asked cautiously, having no desire to leave Mercy in this state but willing to respect her wishes

"I don't know" Mercy finally answered, choking back more tears "How can I know what I want, I don't even know who I am!"

"I don't understand" Aslaug admitted after a moment of heavy silence "I can understand that you were lied to and you are right to be angry at that but….is this knowledge of where you come from not just proof that you were destined-"

"I wasn't destined for anything. I was made in a lab!" Mercy snapped "Am I even a person? Am I just a weapon?"

"You've never been less than a person to me, a truly amazing one at that" Aslaug assured her, squeezing her hand a little tighter "I promise you that none of this changes the way I see you"

"Thank you" Mercy leaned into the taller woman, soaking her clothes with tear-stained cheeks

"I just….I've always wanted to be the hero, to save people ever since I was a kid and first learned what the Power Rangers were" Mercy paused to take a deep shuddering breath "I never thought I could ever be a Ranger but I still wanted to be that kind of person and now I don't how much of my life was really me; I was made to be a Ranger so how many of my choices were really mine?"

"I don't know" Aslaug shook her head "The Frost Claw Tribe, my people….we're more practical we don't have hours of debates about philosophy like your Star People and these questions are beyond me; you simply are who you are and the circumstances of your birth are irrelevant. What I do know is that you can choose"

"What do you mean?"

"If you think you've been manipulated and used then take off your Morpher and tell Lightspeed that their betrayals are too great to be forgiven-"

"I can't-"

"You can" Aslaug interrupted "And I would follow you and I would understand your decision but you won't…..because you were born to be a Red Ranger and a leader, but I don't think it was science or magic that decided that" Mercy slowly forced herself to pull back and meet Aslaug's gaze

"You'd come with me?" she asked shakily, as if she couldn't quite believe the words

"In a heartbeat" Aslaug nodded "I told you that where you lead, I follow. We wouldn't have to abandon the Alliance, we could make contact with Andros and his band of fighters, wage war against the Dark Empire on our own terms….or you could come with me to Mirinoi?"

The two stared at each other for a moment that seemed to stretch out for an eternity, Mercy's deep brown eyes boring into Aslaug's icy blue

Then Aslaug was almost knocked backwards by the force of Mercy colliding with her, her lips crashing against the taller girls', messy and uncoordinated as she clung onto her desperately; Aslaug's calloused hands cupped Mercy's cheeks gently as they two broke apart and gently rested her forehead against Mercy's, the two remained like that for a while, moving only to plant brief kisses against one another's lips; both of them knew that things had changed between them and that there would be no going back from this point and in light of the revelations that the day had already brought the knowledge left both of them more scared than they might have been otherwise, so both girls stayed silent, neither being willing to be the first to broach the obvious discussion about what happened next.

Then their communicators began to chirp in unison, the familiar tone bringing a scowl to Aslaug's face

"One day I will cast this accursed device into the sea" she growled and the comment was enough for Mercy, in her fragile emotional state to begin giggling uncontrollably, quickly muffling herself behind her hands as Aslaug answered

"The Green Ranger has been located, a group of cadets were the first on the scene" Kimberley's voice issued from the communicator "They don't have a chance on their own-"

"Understood" Aslaug interrupted

"Is Mercy with you?" the former Pink Ranger asked and Aslaug made no effort to answer, simply glancing up at Mercy who understood that she was being given the choice.

As if there was any other choice she could make

"I'm here" she answered, speaking loud enough for Kimberley to hear her and trying her best to sound confident and determined. Aslaug ended the communications and gave her a cautious look

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah" Mercy nodded as they both rose to their feet "You're right….whoever I am or was supposed to be, I'm still me. I'm still a Power Ranger"

* * *

"We're nearing our target Captain" one of the warships' bridge crew intoned, clearly trying to remain clinical and detached even as an admirable level of Acheron bloodlust brought a snarling edge to their words.

"Drop us out of warp, transmit orders to the fleet" Paradoxa declared, rising to her feet as she decided that breaking the back of the Alliance and sundering one of its' core worlds was not a task to be undertaken whilst lounging comfortably in a command throne that was not her own.

"Yes Lady Paradoxa" the bridge crew chorused, much to the seeming annoyance of the actual commander of the vessel who had been relegated to standing at Paradoxa's right hand.

Lord Zedd had instructed her to attack and rendezvous with the Green Ranger that he had sired and her orders would be followed but she was also far from foolish and did not intend to gamble her life, her resources or her standing and favour with Lord Zedd on the outcome of a single full scale assault and so the Heliothis had remained grounded on Unus whilst Paradoxa had assumed command of this vessel, named the 'Unrelenting' and took direct control of this operation, bring ten fully armed Empire battleships, each filled with Putties and countless other footsoldiers speeding towards Earth at faster than light speeds. As Paradoxa's order were followed the viewscreen spanning the entirety of the front of the command bridge showed a vast change in the appearance of reality outside of the ship, the field of pure unbroken white seemed to shatter and waves of darkness rushed in and filled the space until the stars appeared as pinpricks of distant light once more and the flashes of the rest of her attack force dropping out of warp lit the void for a fraction of a second at a time.

It became instantly clear that something was wrong.

"We have incoming! Energy signatures on all-" the member of the bridge crew attempting to scream a warning was silenced and promptly flung from their post by the first salvo of missiles, laser and plasma weapons that collided with the forcefields of the Empire ships and rocked the vessels with the their hastily absorbed force.

Paradoxa glared at the viewscreen after she had steadied herself and saw Earth in the distance, a gleaming jewel of a world in the void of space; its' lone moon illuminated by the lights of a ring of colony ships orbiting the planet and forming a defensive wall whilst countless ships swarmed around them; the more immediate problem was quickly brought into focus however, almost forty Alliance ships has used the more advanced and powerful teleportation systems at their disposal to encircle her forces and had opened fire without warning

"RETURN FIRE!" she demanded furiously as she watched one of her ships be torn asunder by a barrage of missiles which tore through its' command bridge.

"We're being hailed Lady Paradoxa"

"Audio only, continue the counter attack!" the insectoid warlord spat, taking her seat upon the throne at the centre of room once more so that she might seem regal and in control of the situation despite remaining unseen to her adversary

"This is Captain Paradoxa of the Vanguard Fleet" she declared with cold confidence "To whom am I speaking"

"This Commander Cruger of the Lightspeed Moonbase" a growling voice answered her "Stand down, surrender your vessels and prepare to be boarded….or prepare to be destroyed. And should that bastard Ivan Komarov be aboard one of your ships, tell him to prepare for a reckoning"

"You are certainly welcome to try" Paradoxa sneered before silencing the comm channel and focusing her attention on the tactical display of the battle occurring around her; her ships were being vastly overpowered and it was clear that this battle could only end one way

"Prepare to jump to warp" she ordered, forcing herself to remain calm and collected "Use the explosion of the next ship to fall to mask our departure" as she gave the order she quietly began using her own privileges as overall commander of the Vanguard Fleet to remotely enter a series of commands to all the ships in her attack force, ensuring that should any of them be boarded the computers and logs would be wiped and powerful nerve gasses would fill the interior of each vessel to ensure that no prisoners could be taken.

A moment later an explosion announced the destruction of a vessel named the Warmonger and the bridge crew of the Unrelenting sprung into action, bringing the vessel up to faster than light speeds in an instant; the vessel rocking and warnings being blared throughout as the burning debris of other ships struck its' hull.

Paradoxa had far more important concerns however.

Ivan Komarov had always insisted to her that the Lightspeed Aquabase located in the human city of Mariner Bay was where the Power Rangers would operate from and was by far the most important of Earths' military installations; at no point had the man eve mentioned a Moonbase and she now realised that he had most likely intended to hold that information over her head and use it at an opportune moment, a savvy move that Paradoxa could respect. Ivan was dead however and Paradoxa had no intention being the one to be executed for this abject failure of an attack so she desperately scrambled for a pawn she could offer up as a sacrifice to the fury of Lord Zedd.

A twisted smirk crossed her face as she realised that there was an obvious choice.

"Set course for Unus, multiple misdirections in case we're followed" she ordered silkily "We were promised that they would be unprepared, we were ambushed….Lord Zedd must be informed that his Green Ranger has betrayed him"

* * *

Even without Morphing and even in their injured state Kay was of an entirely different calibre of fighter to the cadets that had attempted to apprehend them, something that they readily proved with each exchange of blows.

Jack aimed his laser pistol, a side-arm he had recently been issued by Project Lightspeed at the half-human hybrid once again and fired yet even as his finger tightened around the trigger Kay leapt into the air and landed a spinning kick to his wrist, the bolt of light ripped through the air and seared a scorched and blackened hole into a wall as the weapon was sent flying from Jack's grasp; yet the young man was far from defenceless even when unarmed, he and Z had both spent years living on the streets before they had been found first by Piggy and then by Lightspeed and had done whatever they needed to in order to survive, including fighting in ways that were not taught or condoned by the silver guardians.

The moment Kay's feet returned to the ground Jack brought his forehead crashing into the bridge of their nose and sent them staggering backwards with a satisfying crunch; Kay almost reflexively lashed out with a right hook which left Jack seeing double as it connected with his cheek, yet he fought through the pain and sudden dizziness and used the momentum of the blow to carry himself into a low spinning sweep which knocked the Green Ranger's legs out from under them

"Z NOW!" Elizabeth Delgado in an even greater example of winning by whatever means were necessary rushed into the fray brandishing a particularly sharp steak knife which had been intended to cut some of he tougher alien dishes Piggy served.

Kay scrambled back to their feet and attempted to parry the blow, letting out a pained cry as the blade pierced through the palm of their left hand and out of the back. Z was caught off guard by the turn of events and couldn't react fast enough to stop Kay from forcing their hand along the remainder of the blade and seizing her fist, breaking her wrist before kicking her aside with enough force to send her crashing into the bar where she remained in a motionless crumpled heap

"Z!" Jack let out a roar of pure, unfettered rage as he charged at Kay and attempted to tackle them; in an impressive display of acrobatics Kay responded by somersaulting over Jack mid-lunge and landing a two-footed kick between his shoulder-blades. The Dark skinned young man hit the floor with a disturbing wet snapping sound as at least one of his ribs was broken yet Kay had no chance to savour the minor victory or even catch their breath.

Sydney's punch to the Green Ranger's face came completely unannounced and sent them reeling, as their vision stopped swimming they caught sight of a green light of a different shade to their own energy attacks and realised a moment too late that it was in fact Bridge Carson manifesting his arcane abilities; a blast of powerful but unfocused magical power struck Kay in the chest and where it could have crushed them like oceanic pressures or torn a hole through them instead they were merely flung backwards, into a several cheap metallic tables and chairs lining a wall which were twisted and bent by the collision.

"Stay down Kay" Carson warned, Jack and Z had given Kay an image of their squad-mate that painted him as somewhat lax and bumbling; that individual was entirely absent however and had been replaced by a fierce fighter whose fists crackled with magic even now.

"I can't do that" Kay sighed sadly as they dragged themselves free of the debris and back to their feet, their previous sorry state only worsened by the blood dripping from their lip even as it healed rapidly in front of their opponents' faces, their nose had ceased bleeding but was still swollen and discoloured, leaving bruises around their eyes and as they looked down at their hand they saw that it was still bleeding profusely; a condition that halted a few moments after the ripped the knife free of it with a hiss of pain.

Jack and Z were removed from the equation, but Bridge and Syd were more challenging opponents; Kay had a knife now, but Sky was entirely unaccounted for.

These were not the worst odds that the Green Ranger had faced.

The three of them charged towards each other in the same moment, Kay thrust the blade in their hand toward Bridge's shoulder, intending to disable rather than kill; the cadet placed their palms on either side of the knife before it could reach him and waves of concussive force simply warped and bent it out of shape; the now useless weapon fell from Kay's hand as the fingers of their right hand were cracked and fractured by the violent tremors.

Refusing to be beaten the Green Ranger used Bridge's preoccupation with taking the knife to pivot at the waist and drive their elbow into the cadets' temple, leavinghim collapsing to the floor unconscious. Kay followed the motion into a spin and used their elbow to block another of Sydney's absurdly powerful punches whilst standing at an angle to her before delivering a back-kick into the inside of her knee; following up with a spinning heel kick to the head as she fell.

Their sense of victory was short lived as it was undercut by the sound of weapon being cocked back.

"Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head" Sky barked, Kay simply turned to face him and saw that the sole remaining member of Jack and Z's squad stood beside Piggy who had evidently provided the young man access to some of the more illicit good being stored in his basement; an alien firearm arranged like a rifle with twin rods in place of a barrel that emitted a low whine as arcs of energy coalesced between them, some form of compact rail-gun for sale on the black market.

"You too Piggy?" Kay fought to keep the hurt out of their tone, understanding that by the laws and code of honour he followed Piggy was doing the right thing and whatever limited understanding of fairness the Green Ranger had gave them no real reason to expect a different outcome.

"I said get on the floor" Sky repeated icily and Kay could tell with the distant and detached look in his eyes that he would certainly fire if given any provocation.

Kay sunk to their knees and placed their hands behind their head and Sky lowered his weapon a fraction, realising that with Jack, Z, Bridge and Syd all unconscious there was nobody all to restrain their target. He transferred his weapon into Piggy's hands and quickly produced a pair of handcuffs and in doing so utterly failed to notice that Kay had rolled down one of his sleeves to reveal his Morpher.

"My Father was a Power Ranger and you're an insult to everything he stood for" Sky growled as he stalked towards them "I'm gonna make sure you never see the light of day again"

"I'm sorry Sky, I really am"

"You think that makes a difference-"

"I'm sorry that this victory meant so much to you and you won't get to savour it" the two locked eyes and Sky realised with utter terror what was about to happen

"Dragonzord!" a flash of forest green light filled the air and Sky flung himself backwards at the same time that Piggy fired the weapon in his hands; the recoil was enough for the bartended to drop it and the Green Ranger easily sidestepped the incoming attack which blasted a hole in the wall behind them, the pain and weariness that had been fogging their senses and weighting down their limbs instantly abating.

"All I wanted" they snarled, their voice distorted by their helmet "Was to leave"

Kay was unsure of what would happen next, they had never considered events happening the way they had yet the matter was rendered moot by five streams of blinding multicoloured light bursting into existence in the space between the Green Ranger and Piggy and Sky; before the teleport streams could even fully dissipate and the newcomers identities be revealed a weapon was hurled towards the Green Ranger, a pair of curved blades joined at their handles which Kay instantly recognised. They managed to avoid the attack which had likely been aimed simply to stun and the spinning blade returned to Panthera's hand as the Aegis Rangers appeared in the epicentre of the disturbance.

"Piggy run" the Pink Ranger ordered calmly

"Sky, get your team to safety" Tempestus added "We have the situation under control" Kay offered no scathing or mocking retorts, truly they were tired and had no desire to carry this battle on any longer. The Green Ranger stared at Mercy yet even with her face obscured by her own helmet they could see that the Red Ranger would offer no respite.

"Let's not do this cousin" Kay sighed, disabled the distortion of their voice with a thought so that they could speak to one another properly, there were a few moments of heavy silence before Mercy answered with a sense of finality

"I don't have any cousins"

* * *

The tension in Justin's workspace was palpable and the atmosphere between Justin, Kimberley and Zebidiah felt charged as though a thunderstorm might be imminent as they waited for any contact from the Aegis Rangers after being forced to deploy them almost blindly.

The silence was shattered and the tension was momentarily broken like snapping guitar strings as Vice Admiral Dana Mitchell stormed into the Command Centre, eyes blazing and hands clenched into white knuckled fists

"What in God's name is happening out there?" she demanded "I had reports of another attack-"

"Some of our cadets encountered the Green Ranger trying to solicit a way off of the planet, they visited a bar in the New Tech District" Kimberley explained "They managed to hold the line until we could deploy the Rangers"

"Do we have visual?"

"Negative" Justin shook his head "There's no cameras to use so we had to use the GPS of the cadets phones to approximate a drop zone to teleport the Rangers into….we only have their helmet feeds and fighting that fast, in an enclosed area-"

"Damn it!" Dana snapped

"Justin can deploy you and I" Zebidiah offered "You're aware of who and what the Green Ranger is….perhaps I could reason with them; if that doesn't work the Titanium Ranger would certainly-"

"No" Dana shook her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as if to steady herself; when her eyes opened again they seemed different in some hard to define way, colder and more distant.

"Justin, pull the Rangers out"

"What?" the question was gasped and exclaimed by all present yet the former Lightspeed Pink Ranger remained unflinching

"Dark Empire ships dropped out of warp in system" Dana explained, those words alone enough to silence any further outbursts "The Moonbase detected them from light years away and the threat has been neutralised….but we don't have functioning Zords, we can't take any more chances"

"Dana what are you doing?" Kimberley demanded in utter disbelief, the steel in her superior officers' voice disturbing her on a deep, primal level

"I have clearance to order an air-strike" Dana said simply "Pull the Rangers out. The Green Ranger has to be neutralised by any means-"

"Not any means" Kimberley shook her head "Not like this"

"You're gonna kill civilians" Justin breathed out "They're in the city! there's no way that carpet bombing the place thoroughly enough to take out a Ranger won't-"

"The Green Ranger already had killed civilians" Dana spat coldly "They will continue to do so unless and until they are stopped. This is war and the hard decisions must be made….pull the Rangers out"

"Ignore that order" Kimberley matched Dana's icy tone and the former Turbo Ranger made no effort to move or act upon the command.

"Are you sure you want to do this Captain?" Dana demanded "You're going to risk innocent lives to save an enemy combatant?" Kimberley gave no response to the specific question

"I'm relieving you of your duties and assuming direct control of this operation until further notice due to a lack of confidence in your ability to command. Stand down Dana"

The Lightspeed Rangers' hand flew to the Titanium Morpher on her wrist in an instant yet she never managed to activate it; instead she found herself frozen in place by some unseen force which weighed on her body, soon after she felt her feet leave the floor as she was hoisted into the air and rotated to face Zebidiah who stood with a hand outstretched and his robes billowing in some wind that affected him alone

"I can't let you do that I'm afraid"

"This is sedition" Dana snarled through clenched teeth as even speaking took monumental effort. Zebidiah stepped forwards, upholding his magical restraints as he removed the Titanium Morpher from her wrist

"Hardly the worst thing I've been accused of"

"Take her to the brig, or somewhere secure" Kimberley murmured, still not entirely willing to believe that the situation had come to this; Zebidiah silently nodded and did as he was asked, leaving Justin's workspace and levitating the Vice Admiral along with him.

"Did we just do the right thing?" Justin asked uncertainly, voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes" Kimberley nodded with utmost sincerity "Escalation, civilian casualties….I'm a Power Ranger first and an officer second. I can't follow those orders as a Power Ranger" Justin nodded silently, finding himself agreeing entirely but also unsure of exactly what would happen next.

* * *

Each blow sounded like a thunderclap as the Rangers fought.

"Panthera, Panthera stop!" the Green Ranger urged even as they moved at speeds that made it appear as though they were in several places at once whilst using the glowing edge of the Dragon Blade to parry the Pink Ranger's onslaught. Panthera fought like a woman possessed, leaping and darting around the room as unleashed a maelstrom of slashes from her twin curved blades with countless kicks, knees and elbow strikes interspersed between them; the attacks came from all angles and were ferocious enough that her friends were forced to halt their own attacks lest they be caught in the crossfire.

"Stop?" her voice was nearly a scream as she batted Kay's gladius away with a spinning back-handed slash before unleashing her follow up right and scoring a deep groove into their visor as they attempted to avoid it

"You used me!" she raged, pouncing like a savage predator and kicking them square in the chest before unleashing another stream of rapidly blocked attacks "You used me to come into our home and attack us!" green and pink sparks sprayed outwards as her blades dragged across the shield covering the Green Ranger's chest.

"Then you're leaving me no choice" Kay answered, voice seeming to waver before they back flipped over a slash aimed at their midsection and sent the Pink Ranger reeling backwards as their foot connected with her chin, they landed in a crouch and launched themselves forwards without hesitation and flipped their sword in their hand before bringing the pommel of the weapon crashing against the visor of Panthera's helmet, shattering it and leaving the Pink Ranger staggering back and unable to defend herself as Kay followed up with a spinning heel kick to the chest that sent her flying backwards and crashing into a wall.

Tempestus and Rensa leapt into the fray without hesitation, the Blue Ranger using his staff to keep the Dragon Blade at bay whilst the Black Ranger attacked from the side. Kay was not so easily overwhelmed however and their free hand lashed out faster than the eye could see to wrap around Rensa's throat as the Black Ranger leapt at them; Kay threw him aside before using a burst of power to force the Dragon Blade downwards and sever Tempestus's staff cleanly in half before leaping up and driving their knee into the Blue Ranger's skull as he staggered forwards.

They were under attack again before their feet hand returned to the ground.

Once again proving herself faster than one would expect of someone her size Aslaug had rushed out and seized the Green Ranger whilst they were in mid air and promptly hurled them across the juice bar; Kay landed in a crouch and thrust their sword downwards to bring themselves to a stop as they slid along the smooth floor.

A scarlet blur of motion was the only warning Kay received before Mercy fell upon them.

"I don't want to fight!" the Green Ranger snarled through gritted teeth as they struggled to keep pace with the Red Ranger's attacks

"Really!" Mercy demanded as her katana ripped through the place Kay had occupied "Everything you've done says different!" she continued with her attacks and gave no ground or quarter; their blades clashed in explosions of sparks and flashes of light until eventually Kay managed to bring her to a halt

"I know what you are" Mercy hissed as the two of them grappled and sought to overpower one another

"What we are" Kay corrected

"I am nothing like you! I'm a Power Ranger, you're just the Empire's weapon" Mercy insisted, forcing Kay back a step only for the Green Ranger to redouble their efforts and lean closer, looming over her

"Not so different after all" the words were enough to make Mercy falter, a mistake she paid for as Kay broke free of their tangled attempt to force each other back and simply dropped to one knee whilst driving their palm into the ground; the entire building shook and floor cratered as an Aura of green light which engulfed their palm flashed outwards into a shock-wave of light and concussive force which flung her away.

As Mercy leapt to her feet she watched Aslaug storm into the fray and felt her blood run cold as the Yellow Ranger swung her axe, only for the Green Ranger to outmanoeuvre her this time. Expecting the blow Kay rushed forwards and into Aslaug's guard, driving their shoulder into her chest and seized her axe in both hands they used her own momentum to send her crashing to the ground and placed a foot on her neck as she tried to rise.

Panthera's weapons tore through the air as the Pink Ranger prepared to rush into the fray once more only to be batted aside by the Green Ranger's own blade and as Mercy leapt to her feet Kay pointed the Dragon Blade down at Aslaug's skull even as the Yellow Ranger struggled.

"Everyone stand down!" Mercy called out, not daring to move an inch. Tempestus and Panthera shifted their weight nervously whilst Rensa skulked behind the Green Ranger with his knives at the ready but the Red Ranger was not willing to risk failure.

Not where Aslaug was concerned

"Lord Zedd has ships heading towards Earth" Kay panted out "I was instructed to join Paradoxa and her fleet. I refused….I was looking for a way off world to go somewhere else, anywhere else"

"I don't believe you" Mercy answered, her katana wavering in her hand as she desperately sought a way out of her current predicament

"I don't want to see Earth fall to Lord Zedd's Empire….what would be the point? I've never seen anything beyond this city; it's the only place I've ever known….Why would I want the galaxy to be enslaved when I haven't seen any of it?" the Green Ranger's voice cracked as their frayed emotions finally began to get the better of them "This is all I know how to do and I don't want to do it any more!"

"Then put the sword down Kay" Panthera croaked out, amber eyes shining in the light and visible through her broken visor

"We are what we are" Mercy added, voice thick with emotion as she dared to hope "It's what we do with the gift of life that's important"

"If I lower my weapon you'll kill me" Kay answered, their exhaustion giving way to the first hints of true fear and utter loss of direction

"Let Aslaug go and surrender" Mercy urged, not daring to raise her voice "I promised that I wouldn't kill you unless you gave me no other choice….so give me another choice, I don't want to be a killer"

Seconds seemed to last an eternity and Kay's ragged breathing was the only sound to fill the ruined remains of the Juice Bar until in a flash of green light the Dragon Blade vanished. Mercy waited with baited breath, terror clenching her heart as she waited for the seemingly inevitable betrayal and for Kay to unleash a stream of energy that would atomise the Yellow Ranger.

Instead they took a single step back and in a motion that was both anticlimactic yet somehow the greatest resolution that Mercy could have hoped for the Green Ranger de-morphed, their armour being reduced to countless glowing and incandescent fragments which swirled around them.

Kay themselves fixed Mercy with a look that was both apprehensive and grateful before their fatigue and injuries finally drained the last of their stamina; Panthera de-morphed and caught them as they collapsed forwards and Mercy quickly pulled Aslaug to her feet whilst Tempestus and Rensa drew close, even in their silence their shock at the turn of events was plain to see.

"Mercy to mission control" the Red Ranger whispered opening a comm channel "We have the Green Ranger….we're bringing them in alive"

**Authors Notes:**

So the penultimate chapter of not just this arc but the entire first act of the story.  
Obviously the fallout of the last chapter and this chapter completely changes the paradigm of the story so the final chapter will be wrapping up some loose ends and setting the stage for what comes next, establishing what the 'new normal' is going to be and things of that nature.

But anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Justin has been the one consistently saying to tell Mercy about Project Crucible since Strike-Squad Alpha attempted to steal it; I'm sure you can figure out why.  
Being slashed along the side of the chest with a katana is, to quote the Black Knight_ "A flesh wound"_.  
Panthera is tolerating no bullshit today.  
So that's gonna be the first difference between the first and second act; new base….the Aquabase got wrecked, on top of the damage done to the Zords they need to relocate to be effective.  
_Silver Hills, Reefside, Briarwood_….References.  
The 'Cousin' thing is obviously bothering Mercy; mainly because it's clearly aimed at her specifically, none of the other Rangers were called it.  
And there's the real I've been holding onto; Mercy and Kay were made the same way with the only difference being that Kay has Lord Zedd's DNA along with a collection of human/previous Power Ranger samples; I've been dropping hints with comments about Mercy being _"The best we could make"_.  
Just 100% confirming it, I didn't steal the Warhammer 40k storyline of the Primarchs being sent to various death-worlds to be reunited later on.  
Also Crucible was William Mitchell's project, Dana scrapped it….I'm sorry but the man tried to replace the Lightspeed Rangers with robot clones and built a Morpher that needed a more than human physiology to be used, this is exactly the sort of stunt he'd pull.  
Oh Panthera is pissed.  
Kay is finally dissatisfied enough with Lord Zedd to act and jump ship.  
'_A__n odd sniffling sound'_ everything is new to them, they've never cried before.  
Kay's rapid healing has limits, just so they're not entirely unstoppable.  
Okay I know the whole scene with the alien girl was cliché and probably a little cheesy but honestly I wanted Kay to have a genuine interaction with somebody that he didn't have to lie to or wasn't fighting against before the end of the arc.  
"_T__hey were the Green Ranger and didn't know who they would be if they weren't"_ and there's what Kay is going to have to develop and grow beyond; they currently don't have any sense of identity out of what was given to them.  
The SPD Rangers really think they're the protagonists here….  
Well, now Kay has got some company for that identity crisis.  
Aslaug's point of view is kind of an understandable one for someone looking in at the situation from the outside to have; the question is_ "Was Mercy born to be a Ranger because of Project Crucible, was it destiny or just who she is as a person"_ Aslaug is of the opinion _"Does it make any practical difference? You are who you are".  
_"_The circumstances of your birth are irrelevant"_ Yes, Aslaug the space Viking Yellow Ranger just quoted Mewtwo because that quote is important and everyone needs to hear it.  
The kissed, shippers rejoice….Obviously this is far from over and they need to have a talk about feelings and stuff.  
Anyone who knows my writing saw that interruption coming from a mile away.  
And that's why Paradoxa has never just tried to attack Earth, it's one of the most well defended planets in the Alliance….After so many alien invasions humanity got a little paranoid.  
Yes Paradoxa literally nerve gassed a sizeable chunk of her forces just to make sure that there were no prisoners who could tell the Alliance where their base is.  
Ivan clearly never trusted Paradoxa and the fact that she killed him just came back to bite her….the Aquabase might be gone, but all of the intel was channelled through the Moonbase.  
The funny thing is that Paradoxa doesn't actually know that Kay has abandoned the Empire here, she's just throwing them under the bus because they promised an opening to attack and someone's head has to roll.  
Headcanon that Jack and Z fight dirty as hell.  
Well that Jack and Z out of commission, to quote Thanos _"All that for a drop of blood?"  
_Bridge has got hands….magic hands.  
Now I understand that Piggy have alien shotgun-rail gun hybrids in the basement looks really bad for him….but remember that Earth just had its' first monster attack in decades right on his doorstep; that's protection for the community.  
Rangers to the rescue, as if there could be any other outcome here.  
No visual….which means that Panthera was taking a very serious risk when she launched her weapon like that.  
Okay I'll admit it here, Dana's actions are kind of inspired by General Ironwood's character arc in Vol.7 of RWBY but honestly the seeds have been there for a while, Dana has been using steadily more un-Ranger-like tactics.  
This isn't the start of Dana becoming an enemy but I felt that a touch of that kind of realism was needed because as cool as the giant mech fights are I feel like at some point the government would just order a target bombed or nuked…..especially if it happened to be in a part of town that the _'other' _lives.  
And just so there's no debate I am firmly on Kimberley's side of this, the moment you're willing to sacrifice civilian lives you're the enemy.  
Yeah Panthera is definitely pissed….Remember that she was living on her ship at the start of the story; now she's lost two homes since she joined the Rangers.  
Notice that Kay was deliberately pulling punches; breaking Panthera's visor with the pommel of their sword when they could've easily gone for a kill shot.  
Mercy really did just throw her own fears about being nothing but a living weapon in Kay's face….oh they're gonna have some drama in the future.  
I'm sorry but Kay can only get blind-sided by Aslaug so many times before they get smarter.  
Okay I'll admit that I actually added Mercy using the same Mewtwo quote that Aslaug said to her as I read the chapter back to myself….It wasn't there originally but it should have been because it fits.  
_"I don't want to be a killer"_ Mercy and Kay really are more similar than either of them realise, killing Zen-Aku was where Kay realised that they really don't want to be involved in the Dark Empire any more.  
It was important to me to have Panthera be involved in trying to talk them down as well.  
Now I know that this chapter ended anticlimactically but honestly I think it was the only way it could end; I don't want the Rangers to kill Kay, they won't come back from it and Kay can't carry on doing Lord Zedd's bidding or be allowed to win by killing one of the Rangers….so it had to be resolved another way.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Well now you've seen what Kay was going to do.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	27. We Need A Hero

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 26 – We Need A Hero**

The corridors of the Aquabase seemed foreboding and sinister as the dim lighting provided by the emergency generators flickered, yet Mercy continued onwards resolutely and utterly certain that she was making the right choice.

Upon informing Mission Control that the Green Ranger had surrendered and was willing to submit themselves into Lightspeeds' custody the Aegis Rangers had been instructed to wait for reinforcements; shortly after the Quantum Ranger, Eric Meyers had arrived with a platoon of heavily armed and armoured Silver Guardians and Kay had been shackled and marched into the back of an equally heavily armoured vehicle after willingly relinquishing their Morpher and the Aegis Rangers had travelled with them, remaining silent as they each struggled to come to terms with what had happened and what was to come.

Upon arriving at the Aquabase Kay had been transferred into the custody of Zebidiah Lord who sealed the Green Ranger in several layers of magical shielding before escorting him out of the Rangers sight whilst Mercy and her team were led first to Doctor Kat Manx for a medical check up which was understandably less thorough than her customary rigorous procedure owning to the fact that several of her most critical patients needed to be transported off of the base in the coming days and preparations were already underway; from there the Aegis Rangers were instructed to meet with Kimberley Hart for a debriefing wherein they explained everything that had happened and it was in turn explained to them in vague terms that Vice-Admiral Dana Mitchell had been relieved of her duties.

The Rangers had been allowed a few hours rest and recuperation and upon returning to their living area each of the Rangers had returned to their own beds in weary silence; though Mercy had truthfully slept very little and suspected that the same could be said of each of her friends. The silence and time to contemplate had however allowed Mercy to come to simple conclusion that she needed answers about who and what she was and that she had no intention of being denied.

With that in mind she had made her way towards the Zord Hangar.

Justin Stewart had always been one of the most approachable of the Aquabases' senior staff, long before the Aegis Rangers had been formed and he had become part of Mission Control he had been someone that the younger cadets living on the base had seen as something of an uncle or older sibling, who often allowed them to bend certain rules or shared their interests and helped them wherever possible. Mercy knew that if there anyone who was both willing and capable of giving her the answers she needed and was relieved to find the man exactly where she expected him to be as she entered the hangar.

The first surprise was one that caused a sound close to a squeak to escape the Red Ranger, her eyes widened as she realised that alongside the twisted and ravaged remains of the Aegis Zords the Dragonzord had also been recovered and transported to the hangar

"Yeah that's a fair response" Justin laughed as he looked away from the gargantuan machines and set down the devices he was using to take readings of some sort "Thought you'd be packing?"

"Travelling light" Mercy shrugged, the Aegis Rangers would be travelling to their new base of operations later that day as the Aquabase was simply no longer fit for purpose; something which Mercy certainly had her own feelings about though they were subsumed by more important matters

"I came to talk" she sighed, deciding that there was nothing to be gained from talking around the subject "I've got questions and you're the best person to come to for answers"

"And I'm guessing the questions aren't about convention tickets?" Justin noted with a sad smile

"They weren't but now you've mentioned it" Mercy chuckled, the obvious questions that had consumed her thoughts since learning that she was a product of Project Crucible suddenly seemed far too daunting and so she began with a smaller one "What happened with Vice-Admiral Mitchell? It seemed serious and well….relieving her of duty is a decision that gets made lightly"

"You're right, it isn't" Justin nodded, expression darkening "She made calls that we couldn't follow in good conscience. She decided that the ends justify the means….I could never call Dana evil but I think she's been carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders for too long; her old man, Carter, Ryan….I think it's for the best she steps down and gets the help she needs and considering you brought the Green Ranger in alive with no casualties I can't see how anyone would argue against that"

"So who's going to be running things now?" Mercy asked nervously, as serious as Dana's issues were Mercy found herself unable to ignore the fact that her absence could create an opportunity for the Dark Empire.

"Most likely her duties are gonna be split between a few different people; obviously there's gonna be nobody stationed here except for my repair team….Kimberley could have had the Vice-Admiral job but she doesn't want it, most likely it'll go to Eric or TJ when all's said and done"

"Wait" Mercy gasped "When the Rangers move out you're not coming with us?" that had been unexpected and for the Red Ranger it was simply a blow to far, she had already lost so much of what was familiar to her and quickly found her eyes beginning to sting as she swallowed a lump in her throat

"Yeah….my relationship is already long distance enough and someone's gotta stay behind to make sure the Aquabase gets rebuilt" Justin nodded apologetically "Kimberley and Zebidiah are gonna be transferring with you and someone else will take my job….do me a favour and make sure that they give the monsters dumb names"

"Of course" Mercy gave a watery chuckle as she remembered the former Turbo Ranger's reasoning for the habit "It's important for morale" there was a moment of silence between them where they both knew what would be said next, with neither wanting to broach the subject until Justin finally braced himself

"You didn't come here to ask me about Dana"

"You're right" Mercy confirmed before taking a breath to steady herself and asking a question whose possible answer she was dreading "Project Crucible designed me to be the perfect Ranger candidate….what does that mean? Have my decisions ever really been mine or am I basically just a robot with skin-"

"Mercy" Justin interrupted gently, seeing that the teen would work herself into a panic attack if she continued

"I'll make this as clear as I possibly can, making you a Ranger candidate was strictly about giving you a strong compatibility with the Morphing Grid, do you know how small the percentage of people across the galaxy who can actually become a Power Ranger is? Humans are freakishly compatible compared to other species and even then it's less than one in a million. Project Crucible was about having a guaranteed pool of people we could call on before it was scrapped"

"Then there was no-"

"No psycho-conditioning of any kind" Justin nodded "We thought that raising you here, on the Aquabase around former Power Rangers would be enough and well, I think it's safe to say that it definitely was; you're a good person and that's all on you….The only conditioning was physical"

"What did you do to me?" Mercy demanded

"Mercy you're seventeen and you could spar with Zen-Aku; you've been impaled and survived" Justin stated flatly "The other Aegis Rangers have their own physiology on their side, we had to make you just a little bit tougher than the human baseline….I mean you're no superwoman, but you can give and take some pretty big hits" Mercy nodded in understanding, that particular truth stung in a different way; namely it was a wound to her pride as she had always considered her impressive abilities to be the result of her dedication to her training rather than anything innate about her own make-up.

There was one final question that she needed an answer to however and she met Justin's eyes with a hard gaze as she asked it.

"Who are my real parents?" she demanded "I mean, the dozen or so Rangers that were gene-spliced to make me, who were….oh my god, you were one of them" the realisation hit her as she saw Justin's eyes become watery as they had done when the truth had first been revealed.

"I was the youngest Power Ranger in history" he nodded whilst turning away, unable to meet Mercy's eyes "I was considered one of the most _'viable specimens' _for the project"

"Who else?"

"I don't know" Justin admitted as he shook his head "Names and identities were protected….I know that only human candidates were used so Zhane, Andros, Maya or any of the Aquitian Rangers are obviously out. I don't know for certain but I think DNA samples for the Lightspeed Rangers were kept on record, there was a rumour that they had samples from Tommy and some of the Dino Thunder Rangers from somewhere….I know for a fact that Kimberley wasn't a donor; if it's worth anything she's told me more than once that you look a little like Aisha"

"That's a lot of maybes" Mercy breathed out

"Yeah….I'm sorry" Justin admitted "And I'll get it if you think I'm a bastard for keeping this from you, it was-"

"Classified" Mercy nodded in understanding before turning away "I've gotta go make sure we're ready to ship out….but I'm gonna come to Mariner Bay sometime; maybe you should tell your partner that you've got a kid sometime" with that she left, both she and Justin trying to understand the implications of these developments.

Mercy decided simply that she knew who she was and that was what mattered.

* * *

Kay's eyes fluttered open slowly and the various aches and pains from their various injuries immediately made themselves known in addition to the various forms of discomfort that came with sleeping in an awkward position such as sat against a wall and slowly stooping forwards until their forehead was almost touching the hard ground; the handcuffs fastened tightly around their wrists only adding to the irritation.

Kay pulled themselves back into a sitting position, letting out a wince as twinges of pain passed through their torso and ribs that had almost certainly been broken at some point during their various altercations with the Power Rangers.

The skin that had been covered by their Morpher had become pale, flaky and itched tremendously and the fact that the Green Ranger was currently unable to scratch it was decidedly unpleasant and their head pounded, which the harsh and glaring lights of their cell did nothing to help.

To distract themselves the Green Ranger found themselves reflecting on how they had come to be in this position.

They had surrendered to the Aegis Rangers and shortly after a Red Ranger carrying a pistol shaped to resemble the head of a dinosaur had led a sizeable contingent of soldiers in an armoured convoy to take them to the largely abandoned Aquabase where a robed man that Kay had instantly recognised as their own Grandfather by the waves of arcane energy that radiated from them had encased them in a magical prison before taking them to a cell; several hours later Zebidiah Lord had returned and used his magic to force the Green Ranger into a deep state of torpor and upon awakening they had found themselves here, in a pitifully small cell with grey walls and an utter lack of furnishings that was unmistakably a different cell to the one that they had previously been held in.

Kay had no idea where they were or how long they had been unconscious and whilst they stood by their decision to surrender as it was the only way that their battle with the Aegis Rangers could have ended without more deaths that they had no desire to be the cause of, they couldn't help the fear and suspicion that began to fester in their mind as they wondered if this was to be their fate, to be stripped of their powers and then simply cast away and forgotten.

It seemed that Lightspeed and the Alliance had other plans as the door to Kay's cell was opened, revealing to the Green Ranger just how heavily armoured and reinforced it was but more importantly the figure behind it. A middle aged woman with a lean face framed by brown hair which reached to her shoulders and wearing a Project Lightspeed uniform which had been customised to some degree, as in place of the emblem that should have adorned its' right shoulder her jacket displayed a stylised pterodactyl.

The fact that Kimberley Hart was flanked by no less than half a dozen armed guards with weapons trained on Kay seemed entirely unimportant to both Power Rangers.

"At ease" Kimberley breathed out before stepping into the cell and closing the door behind her, the looks of panic on the guards faces convincing the Green Ranger that this was a deviation from whatever plan had been in place.

"You were a Power Ranger once" Kay observed, their usually musical voice a dry rasp "I can tell….everyone else is scared of me"

"Hard to blame them" the former Pink Ranger noted "But I'm a firm believer in second chances and helping people to be the best version of themselves….because my team of Rangers had a Green Ranger of our own; you happen to use their Power Coin"

that was a revelation to Kay, whilst they knew of the Power Rangers and of parts of Acheron history and the Dark Empire's expansion through the knowledge that had been forcibly implanted into their mind as they gestated, the Green Ranger had never been informed of the legacy behind their own powers and whilst the knowledge of their peoples' conquests was merely a collection of facts and cold data that they felt no real connection to this knowledge brought an odd feeling to Kay's chest, a sense of belonging similar to what they had felt whilst working at Piggy's bar.

Pushing their confusing feelings aside for the moment Kay asked a more practical question.

"Where am I?"

"Promethea One….a colony ship in orbit above Earth" Kimberley answered "More specifically you're in the maximum security detention centre of the Project Lightspeed base on the colony ship"

"And how long am I going to be held here?" Kay asked, tone lowering to become something dangerous and threatening at the thought of being confined indefinitely

"Honestly until we can figure out what to do with you" the former Pink Ranger answered with a small shrug "There was some brief talk about having you be compelled to cooperate or be used for research purposes….but no, not on my watch. That being said we can't just allow you to run around on your own; but you could always try to escape of course we both know that those cuffs aren't strong enough to hold you" Kay glanced down at the thin metal shackles around his wrist and the chain that ran between them, a single twisting motion broke them and Kimberley visibly tensed until the Green Ranger simply scratched at their itching skin and made no effort to move. There was a moment of intense silence between the two of them before Kimberley spoke again

"Why did you surrender….I've seen you fight, you could have escaped"

"I don't want to kill anyone" Kay answered simply, pausing as they chose their next words "Fighting is fun, I enjoy testing myself but I don't want to hurt people….I don't think it's part of who I am, but I don't really know who I am. All I wanted to do was see some more of the galaxy….I don't want it to be enslaved y the Dark Empire, it would be a waste of everything that makes things special"

"And there's some of the person I thought you could be" Kimberley beamed "The Morphing Grid doesn't choose monsters, no matter what science Lord Zedd has"

"What do you mean?"

"You want to see the galaxy and on some level you want to keep it safe….you're a fighter but you don't want to use your power against people. I think I might know a place where you'd fit in" Kimberley held out a hand to the Green Ranger "But first let's get you checked over by the doctors….make sure those injuries are healing right; then we'll get you a more suitable living arrangement, somewhere with a bed" Kay took her hand and allowed themselves to be pulled to their feet and escorted out of their cell.

Seeing the broken cuffs around their wrists caused the armed guards to ready their weapons yet Kay paid them no mind at all, the first steps out of the cell felt unmistakably like freedom and somehow like home.

* * *

Mercy cast her eyes around the shared living area of the Aegis Ranger's shared accommodations and realised that it would likely be the last time she did so.

"I'm gonna miss this place" she sighed as she sat down upon a suitcase filled with her belongings, one of several scattered around her that contained clothes, books and countless trinkets she'd accrued over a lifetime lived on the Aquabase and couldn't bring herself to part with. Around her were Tempestus whose belongings had been neatly packed into a single suitcase, though the Aquitian rehydration tank which he slept in had already been transferred ahead of them to what would become the Ranger's new home; Aslaug who travelled similarly light whilst Klo curled up at her feet and Rensa whose belongings amounted to a single duffel bag which was currently slung over the gaunt and diminutive teens' shoulder

"Where's Panthera?" the Black Ranger noted, even beneath his filter goggles it was plain to see that his obsidian coloured eyes had darted towards where Panthera's belongings sat; the Pink Ranger had lost almost everything she owned when her ship _'The Claw' _had been destroyed and even in the months she had been a Power Ranger had not replaced everything.

"She'll be here" Mercy assured him "She knows when we're leaving, she just had to go into the city" She knew this to be the case as the Pink Ranger had told her as much, Panthera planned to visit the branch of Ernie's Juice Bar that Piggy ran, or more accurately what was left of it at this point and spend a few hours helping the orange-skinned alien in any way she could since she had come to consider him a good friend and she knew that both Jack Landors and Z Delgado were currently in hospital having the broken bones that the Green Ranger had left them with treated. Seeing that Mercy still appeared to be dejected Aslaug reached out and laced her fingers' through the smaller girls'

"On to the next adventure?" Mercy managed a weak smile before looking down at the large and calloused hand holding her own and admiring the intricate tribal markings adorning Aslaug's forearm before her cheeks began to heat up at the memory of how she had thrown herself at the Yellow Ranger, needy and desperate as she had kissed her; it was clear that the two of them needed to talk and Mercy's mouth became suddenly dry at the thought.

It was neither the time or the place however and that fact was cemented by the door to their living area being opened, which preceded a slew of curses delivered in several languages and a chorus of metallic clunking sounds

"What the hell?" Mercy muttered

"Are you allowed to bring that through the Aquabase?" Tempestus noted as Panthera came into view; both wheeling her heavily modified motorbike and carrying several nondescript cardboard boxes at the same time

"There is literally nobody here who is going to stop me" the teal-skinned alien answered in a bored drawl as she sauntered into the room "Besides I paid good money for the bike, I'm not leaving it behind" the response earned Panthera several rolled eyes and Mercy found herself dreading the answer to the next question

"What's in the box?"

"Some knock off electronics, mostly phones and stuff….the guy who left 'em with Piggy got locked up and Piggy wants rid of 'em before the insurance people come round. If we're moving to a new base then I've gotta have a hustle" Mercy exhaled slowly, not sure whether to laugh or tear her hair out in frustration as it seemed that Panthera would always be Panthera no matter what happened.

She was spared having to make a decision by the sound of her communicator

"Okay Rangers" Justin's voice came from the small device and was loud enough for all to hear "I'm ready to teleport you….this is gonna take a lot of juice and the base doesn't exactly have a lot to spare after moving the Zords, so is everyone ready to go?"

"Yeah" Mercy managed to breath out, nodding sadly "Yeah we're ready….onto the next adventure"

"That's the spirit" Justin answered "Kimberley and Zebidiah are on site waiting for you. Remember, it's not a goodbye, just a see you later….may the Power protect you kids"

"You too Justin" Mercy replied

"Earth has been everything my Father told me it would be" Tempestus added with a smile "It's been groovy"

"Okay Rangers" the former Turbo Ranger's voice was suddenly businesslike "Prepare to teleport" the communicator fell silent and each of the Rangers readied themselves, remaining as still as possible save for Aslaug who reached down to grasp Klo and ensure that the monstrous alien canine didn't move; Mercy counted backwards from five in her head and the moment she reached zero the familiar tingling feeling of teleportation washed over her.

Their arrival at their new home was a little more dramatic than Mercy had intended it to be, as the moment the flash of light and outward rush of air dissipated several alarmed and panicked voices could be heard

"What the hell is that thing!" before the situation could deteriorate a familiar voice boomed out

"It's just a dog!….a really big dog" Kimberley Hart marched into view, flanked on her right hand side by Zebidiah Lord his customary flowing robes and on her left by an ageing woman with silver hair who wore a striking business suit and carried herself with a sense of authority

"I see things are as entertaining as always" the unfamiliar woman chuckled before introducing herself "Grace Sterling, former Red Ranger, head of Promethea; founder of the Terra Venture colony project….welcome to Promethea One" Mercy very nearly let a surprised expletive escape her as comprehension dawned on her, whilst she might not have known Grace's face her actions and her innovations were known all across Earth to be revolutionary and she was known across the Alliance as a whole to be one of humanities' brightest minds.

"Wait….does that mean you're our new tech support guy?" Mercy eventually gasped "I mean that you'll be taking over from Doctor Stewart"

"Oh goodness no" Grace laughed "I have my own affairs to deal with, although I will be happy to lend my assistance should the situation call for it; your tech support should be arriving in the next week or so"

"Miss Sterling has invited us to use Promethea One as a base of operations for the foreseeable future due to their being an existing combined Lightspeed and Promethea base here that can house and repair the Aegis Zords….which as you can see is where are currently" the Aegis Rangers took their first real glance around the teleportation chamber and saw that it was in fact very similar in design to the one within the Aquabase, though far larger and more open with several platforms arranged around the several story high chamber; which Mercy supposed was to be expected of a colony ship and noted would allow her to travel either to Mariner bay or to the colony ship of Angel Grove to meet with her old friends whenever possible.

"Being a combined effort between Promethea and Lightspeed this base was initially intended for research and development rather than active duty" Grace noted "It also functions as part of the universities' extended campus and has its' own dormitories; an area of which have been set aside for your use and needs….Miss Utahima if you would show the Rangers to their new residence and help them settle in?"

"Unless we're needed here for anything?" Mercy asked, naturally deferring to Kimberley

"Not tonight" the former Pink Ranger assured her "Unless the Dark Empire attacks you've earned some downtime, go make yourself at home" with that Mercy nodded and turned to the young Asian woman whom she assumed was one of Grace's students

"Marigold Utahima, pleasure to meet you" she introduced herself and held out a hand to each of the Rangers; Marigold stood at roughly five and a half feet tall, barely shorter than Mercy herself with light brown skin and auburn hair which fell over her shoulders and seemed to catch every available ounce of light, the lone bang which fell over her right eye especially so with a lone flower of the kind she was named after worn in her hair. She wore a wide collared and cream coloured coat which mercy noted featured Project Lightspeed and Promethea badges pinned to it as well as ones which presumably represented the university she attended.

"Okay Rangers" Mercy wished she had something more impressive to say but simply found herself shrugging "Let's go home….wherever that is now"

* * *

The ambient temperature around Lord Zedd dropped until his breath misted in front of him with each ragged snarl of a breath and the dreadful magic cascading from him froze and cracked the floor with each thundering step he took towards his throne; the pressure built in the air around until the nearest of his elite, Obsidian Putties simply imploded and its' body was crushed into a single, gleaming black diamond.

The warlord was furious beyond comparison and that rage had been given time to mature and simmer; rather than merely festering or burning out like a candle Lord Zedd's rage was a cold and calculating thing and the entirety of his considerable intellect was directed towards the source of his ire, namely the Power Rangers for whatever part they had certainly played in this latest sabotage of his Empires' inexorable expansion.

Reaching his throne Lord Zedd seated himself upon it, the armour of his clawed fingers drumming against its' surface whilst unnatural light blazed from behind the visor of his mask and cast the darkness of his throne room in a bloody glow for several moments until he reached out and mentally opened a holographic communication to both Paradoxa and his Green Ranger so that he could learn exactly what had befallen the Vanguard Fleet.

"My Lord" Paradoxa's flickering and translucent form knelt before his throne as the summons were answered; the tyrant rose from his throne once again and began to pace as he waited for Kay to answer until after several moments of silence it became obvious that the Green Ranger was either unwilling or unable to do so.

"I have reports that multiple ships from the Vanguard Fleet were destroyed" the ground itself trembled at Lord Zedd's words and Paradoxa understood the simple statement of fact as the accusation it was and more importantly what the punishment for her failures would be if she failed to explain them sufficiently.

"So Paradoxa, Captain of the Heliothis and Commander of the Vanguard Fleet; I'm interested in hearing your theories as to why Earth isn't under siege at this very moment"

"We were betrayed my Lord" Paradoxa answered quietly, the insectoid hybrids' smooth and silky voice wavering with fear

"Ten of our ships arrived in the Sol system and were immediately outnumbered four to one, they were waiting for us my Lord….the enemy fleet was confirmed to be receiving orders from Project Lightspeed" Paradoxa let out an audible gulp before casting blame, uncertain of how the news would be received "The Green Ranger has made no effort to establish contact or rendezvous with the Vanguard Fleet….it would seem that they lied about their successes on Earth"

"Rise Paradoxa" Lord Zedd's voice was not raised, yet its' intensity alone made it equal to any storm as he glanced first to his left where the hybrid stood and then to the vacant space at his right hand that the Green Ranger, the hybrid who bore his own genetic material should have occupied; it seemed that between his broken father, weakling brother and treacherous offspring that he was indeed the only one of his lineage befitting of the title of ruler.

Not that he would ever voice such an opinion out loud.

"It seems that attempting to harness the Power of the Morphing Grid truly was a futile endeavour….it is incompatible with our people on a fundamental level, look at how it has changed the Green Ranger" Paradoxa remained silent, having no answer to her masters' growled hypothesis

"No matter" he continued "Our hand has been played, our momentum robbed our advance halted….this cannot stand, it would seem Paradoxa that you will need additional guidance and leadership in order to complete the tasks assigned to you"

"My Lord I-"

"Silence" his rumbling tone tone took on an amused edge "Perhaps this is for the best….I've grown stagnant upon this throne, tinkering from afar whilst my Empire oversees itself. Prepare your base of operations for my arrival" he saw a look of surprise cross Paradoxa's face, her fierce yellow eyes widening before he ended the transmission.

Rearing up to his full, monstrous height of eight and a half feet tall; his armour which seemed to be comprised entirely of the broken and twisted blades of his fallen enemies and adorned with the fangs, claws and skulls of apex predators whirring and humming faintly as its' internal mechanisms made small adjustments to themselves. In a flash of light he manifested his gargantuan broadsword whose blade was longer than the average man was tall and was comprised of two narrower blades facing away from each other; a single barely perceptible motion summoned the remaining members of his retinue of Obsidian Putties to him and when the silent and menacing constructs had encircled him the Tyrant braced himself, three-toed and clawed feet sinking into the ground as his dark magic began to swirl around him.

Teleportation had always been an advantage the worlds of the alliance had over the Dark Empire, their technology allowing them to relocate entire ships or vast quantities of warriors and war-gear to where it was needed whilst at the same time removing civilians from harm whilst the Dark Empire could only teleport a few handfuls of warriors at a time and normally no further than beyond a single planet or star system.

Lord Zedd however was a juggernaut of arcane power and such pithy limitations did not apply to him.

With a single slashing motion, crimson light writhed along the blades of his sword and hung in the air as though a bleeding wound had been inflicted upon reality itself; seconds passed and the atmosphere within the throne room became charged and electrified before the crimson light expanded outwards and ripped a howling portal into existence which the towering tyrant strode through, his retinue of Obsidian Putties behind him.

The moment Lord Zedd took his first steps onto the dusty and blasted surface of Unus all activity stopped; slaves, overseers and various workers and warriors attending to their various duties duties upon Triforias' moon came to a halt and immediately dropped to a single knee with their eyes downcast, those nearest providing an example to those behind them and Lord Zedd watched the unified motion spread outwards like a wave before glancing downwards to find Paradoxa knelt directly before him, the light of his portal reflected in the shimmering black of her armoured carapace.

"Rise" he ordered with a low, growling purr "We have a galaxy to conquer"

* * *

To say that the sun had set over the colony of Promethea One would not be entirely accurate; rather the large town or small city that the space station contained was housed within an armoured dome whose exterior incorporated countless solar panels whilst the inside of the dome provided an artificial day and night cycle complete with artificial sunlight and a regulated atmosphere which was kept comfortable and the false sky projected across the domes' interior was entirely incapable of producing any unwelcome weather, although it also lacked any clearly defined seasons.

All of this had been explained to the Aegis Rangers by Marigold Utahima, whom it transpired was a nineteen year old student whose tuition fees were being paid for by a scholarship with Project Lightspeed and who hailed from another off-world colony by the name of Leslie Outpost as she had led the five of them to their new accommodations.

The Aegis Rangers new home was surprisingly not on the Lightspeed base itself, which was in fact a far smaller affair than the Aquabase but rather within the student dormitories situated on the close by university campus. Some precautions had been taken however and it had become clear to the Rangers their dormitory was not entirely similar to those given to actual students; firstly they had been housed in the top floor of the building, which was effectively an average sized apartment block and there were restrictions in place to limit entry; namely that there were no stairs leading to the uppermost floor and the elevator would only comply with a request to travel to that floor following a fingerprint identification. Upon arriving in the dormitories the Aegis Rangers had seen that the entire floor had been converted into what appeared to be a single large apartment for the five of them to share with enough bedrooms that there would still be several left empty after they each claimed one of their own and Panthera had noted that she had served on ships smaller than their current home as the five of them had begun unpacking.

Most of the Rangers were still in their new apartment, Tempestus contacting his adoptive parents on Aquitar whilst Panthera had been talked out of immediately acquainting herself with whatever nightlife or seedy underbelly had managed to eke out an existence on the colony ship; Mercy however had made her way onto the roof of the building and was currently gazing out and enjoying the view of the city of Promethea One that her current perch afforded her as she tried to make sense of her jumbled feelings.

By the time the entrance to the roof creaked open she had lost track of time and the sound of Aslaug's voice jolted her back to reality

"I thought you might get cold….it seems that isn't a problem here" the taller girl noted as she gestured at the fur cloak she carried, one of many that she brought to Earth with her when she had first left Mirinoi and Mercy, despite the lack of the biting cold in the regulated atmosphere happily accepted the cloak which she realised was made from the pelt of something that could only have been an apex predator from the icy forests of her home worlds' polar region and wrapping it around herself.

"Thanks"

"Are you okay?" Aslaug asked, her low husky voice gentle as she made herself comfortable beside Mercy "I know the Aquabase and Mariner Bay meant a lot to you"

"They were home" Mercy nodded "I've lived there my whole life….but hey we're living at a college, a lot of people move away for college so I'm just gonna make the best of it, this place doesn't seem bad anyway"

"Memories can't be replaced….but new ones can always be made" the larger girl shrugged and Mercy nodded silently

"Did you get the answers you needed when you spoke to Justin earlier?"

"Some of 'em" Mercy nodded "Enough to know that I'm still me….that I'm not just playing a role" Mercy shrugged, she wasn't entirely sure how true that was as she knew that psycho-conditioning or not she had still been indoctrinated since birth to see Lightspeed favourably although considering that they were the strongest line of defence against the Dark Empire to see them any other way was objectively foolish. Overall Mercy didn't know she had any more or less free will than any other human but decided at that moment that she had other, more important matters to deal with.

Like the fact that her heart was hammering against her ribs with Aslaug stood so close to her.

She swallowed and desperately searched for words only to find none and the silence between the Red and Yellow Rangers continued, growing more unbearable with each passing moment until finally Mercy managed to speak

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed "I shouldn't have kissed you like that, I just- I don't know I-"

"There's nothing to apologise for" Aslaug assured her

"But I shouldn't have" Mercy repeated frantically "I was just-"

"Perhaps I should apologise" Aslaug gave her a bemused grin as she took Mercy's hand in hers "For giving you the impression that I was unhappy with you kissing me"

"Huh?" Mercy's train of thought came screeching to a halt and she could manage nothing more profound than that single confused syllable

"You wanted to be sure that you were still real….that was certainly real" Aslaug took both of Mercy's hands and gently pulled her closer "This is real" she slowly leaned down and captured the Red Ranger's lips with her own and Mercy, after a moment of utterly blank confusion returned the kiss, slipping her hands free of Aslaug's and wrapping her arms around the taller girls' shoulders.

"So...um" Mercy struggled to find words as the kiss broke and she almost reluctantly stepped back "Is this gonna be a regular thing?"

"I would hope so" Aslaug chuckled "As long as you want it to be" Mercy didn't reply verbally, instead she stood on the tiptoes and reached up to gently kiss Aslaug again

"Oh definitely" she murmured "So does this mean we're….I dunno a thing now?" Aslaug cocked her head slightly in confusion

"Right, Earth thing….I'm guessing dating isn't a big thing on Mirinoi"

"Not amongst my people" Aslaug confirmed with a soft laugh "You'll have to show me how it works"

"Um, sure okay" Mercy managed to squeak as she felt a swooping feeling in her stomach and her smile threatened to spill over the sides of her face.

The threat of the Lord Zedd and his seemingly endless forces may have loomed over them all and the Green Ranger along with the revelations they had brought had shaken her to her core but at that moment, with Aslaug's arms wrapped around her and the other Rangers close by Mercy was happy.

And she would be damned if she would let something as small as the Dark Empire change that.

**Authors Notes:**

And there we go ladies, gents and others.  
That is the end of not only the Sixth Arc but also the entire First Act of this story, meaning we're roughly a third of the way through.  
I chose this point to mark the end of the first act as it represents a definite change in the story; _the Rangers have left the Aquabase__ and Earth__, the Green Ranger has left Lord Zedd, Mercy and Aslaug have actually made a move, Lord Zedd has entered the fray __directly__.  
_Also I may not be posting next week as I might need a little extra time to plan ahead for both of my ongoing stories.

Anyway let's summarise shall we:  
Even with no Morpher Kay was being handled with extreme caution and understandably so, because nobody is really sure exactly what they're capable of, only that they're a lot stronger and more resilient than a baseline human.  
Seriously they needed the rest but after the last few days there's no way in hell they got any sleep.  
All the cadets and kids on the Aquabase love Justin, 'cos he knows what it's like to be the baby of the team.  
Lightspeed has the Dragonzord.  
Convention tickets…..because Mercy and Justin are dorks.  
So yeah Dana isn't gonna be involved in the story from this point but also she's not gonna be going off the rails and coming back as a villain.  
I feel like I have to specify that Kimberley didn't want the job because to me she's the natural next in line; I didn't suggest Doggie because he was never the Shadow Ranger in this timeline and there's so obvious bias in favour of Rangers in the hierarchy.  
Boom, there's the first twist of the chapter; Justin is staying behind….and Justin asking Mercy to make sure the Monsters all get stupid nicknames felt like passing the torch.  
Okay just a little headcanon of mine, the reason so many evil empires attack Earth is because humans are a species that's just way more compatible with the Morphing Grid for whatever reason and any expanding empire wants to get rid of us before we get too big, it's also why all the crystals and whatnot that act as conduits for Morphers tend to make their way to Earth eventually.  
Also I wanted to make it very clear that Mercy was not given any sort of mental programming to make her obedient, because at that point the heroes stop being the heroes.  
Tempestus can survive deep-sea pressure, Aslaug is a space Viking who can break Putties by hand, Panthera's species are evolved from apex predators and Rensa was literally born on a death world and has poisonous bite….of course they made Mercy a little bit stronger than the average human.  
So there we go, we know at least one of the people whose DNA was used to make Mercy and one who definitely wasn't; beyond that it's still rumours and mystery.  
"_Maybe you should tell your partner that you've got a kid sometime"_ Read into that one what you will.  
Kay can heal from getting their face slashed, but sleeping in an awkward position is still enough to give them backache.  
Oh yeah Zebidiah and Kay had their first real meeting off-screen, that'll have to be addressed.  
Kay can spot a former Ranger, not by some innate power or aura that they have….they just carry themselves differently.  
Aww Kay feels like part of the big Ranger family.  
Promethea One, basically another Terra Venture which was in the comics designed by Grace Sterling of Promethea.  
Kimberley acting as the conscience of Lightspeed here, because look we all know that somebody would have made some pretty grim suggestions about what to use Kay for.  
Yeah Kay's pretty strong even without morphing.  
I think we all know that the place were Kimberley thinks Kay would fit in is gonna be with the other Rangers, just not immediately because that is just gonna be too much stress in one week.  
Obviously Mercy has the most stuff, she's the only one of the Rangers who never relocated to the Aquabase.  
Panthera is always gonna be Panthera, so of course she showed up with her probably illegal bike and something to smuggle and sell.  
"_Onto the next adventure"  
_The Grace scene was basically a cameo and I just had to have her drop her credentials like the Iron Man "Genius, billionaire, philanthropist" scene.  
So someone is gonna be replacing Justin, I'll you all take guesses at who it's gonna be.  
Marigold Utahima is a deep cut character that I wanted to bring into the story; she's "DekaGold" the Gold Ranger" in Dekaranger, which is what became Power Rangers SPD in the west, except she only featured in the movie which was never adapted.  
That being said I'm obviously going to have to make some changes to her character for her to fit, but also, just note that she isn't here for no reason.  
Oh Lord Zedd is pissed….which is as good a reason as any to flex his powers.  
"_Paradoxa, Captain of the Heliothis and Commander of the Vanguard Fleet"_ he just full-named her and made it very clear that_ "This fuck up was on your watch"_.  
So basically Lord Zedd is admitting that trying to create a Ranger isn't going to win him the war; meaning no army of Kay clones.  
Compared to how the rest of Lord Zedd's Empire operates in cells and has limited abilities to teleport and reinforce each other Lord Zedd himself being able to just appear on Unus is a pretty impressive show of force.  
Also Paradoxa is being relegated to a lieutenant now….fun thing wit the evil lieutenants, there's usually two of them trying to play off of each other.  
Just having some scene-setting for my own benefit, because things like Terra-Venture having a day/night cycle when it's literally an open dome that you can see out  
of bugs me.  
Also Marigold being from 'Leslie Outpost' is an homage to Dekaranger where she was from the planet Leslie….I might find a reason to have the mask she wore show up as well.  
And there we go, these two awkward dorks have finally taken the first step….even though they've been practically dating for God knows how long but neither of them have actually realised it.  
So….let's see how Lord Zedd can fuck up everyone's good vibes.  
Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Well we've seen how Kim reacts to Kay, now for Zebidiah….who is technically their Grandpa.  
The Wild Force Rangers and Kay honestly aren't that important to the story any more.  
I haven't actually specified that Ryan is still in a coma have I? Just that he isn't able to be be a Power Ranger any more due to the extent of his injuries.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	28. Perfidy (Arc 07)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 27 – Perfidy**

The dust covered and barren ground that formed the surface of the moon of Unus cracked and splintered with each step Lord Zedd took, the towering and armoured warlords' three-toed and clawed feet which were reminiscent of some ancient saurian sinking into the ground as he strode throughout the base of operations that Paradoxa had founded.

He had found it unimpressive.

Paradoxa's excuses had been feeble and lacklustre in the face of Lord Zedd's disgust at the lack of progress her Vanguard Fleet had made and the ruler of the Acheron people and their countless vassals had met each of the insectoid hybrids' attempts at reasoning with swift and decisive action to remedy her failures.

When questioned as to why her warship, the Heliothis had remained grounded for the duration of her campaign thus far Paradoxa had argued that it had been prudent to keep her command ship safe from harm so that it may serve as a base of operations; Lord Zedd had demanded that the slaves begin laying the foundations for a palace like outpost upon Triforias' first moon. When the swarm of enslaved workers began to drop like flies, either killed in accidents caused by their massively expanded workload or simply dying of exhaustion Lord Zedd had responded by having Gibil create droves of Putties specially modified to undertake the task; now the Dread Forge worked ceaselessly and was overseen by the same Putties that it churned out; Lord Zedd had sneeringly informed his underling that her piecemeal, grasping attempt at warfare was a relic of an outdated era and that full-scale automated decimation would soon become the hallmark of the Dark Empire.

Paradoxa's final concern however had been a reasonable one, with such rapid and large scale expansions there was a very real chance that the Triforians below them would learn of the outposts' existence before they were ready; the tyrant's answer to this had come in the form of his own magic, applied in vast quantities and even now Lord Zedd could feel a dozen sharp tugging sensations at the back of his mind like fishing-hooks whose lines lead back to the ward and rune engraved pillars of stone he had erected at the very edges of what would become the outer limits of this outpost; the pillars themselves had been simple things, a dozen or so feet in height and angular blocks made from the stone quarried on Unus itself yet once imbued with Lord Zedd's arcane magic they had blackened and the Acheron glyphs carved into their surface had begun to glow as they created an aura around the area which ensured that no magical or technological efforts to see within would succeed.

The Alliance would not be able to find the Unus outpost unless they physically wandered into it, with a side-effect of the magic being that the outpost now boasted its' own cursed atmosphere, a permanent night whose sky was filled with roiling clouds and screeching winds which gave the impression of having left Unus and entered somewhere else entirely.

None of these facts were of immediate concern to Lord Zedd as he strode away from the foundations and unremarkable beginnings of what would become a palace and towards the vast structure of the Heliothis which as of yet had still not left the dusty surface of the moon though he had felt other ships brush against the magical barrier which he had put in place and transmissions pass between them. Since Lord Zedd has assumed direct control of the Vanguard Fleet and its' expansion the once proud Paradoxa had found herself delegated to little more than an administrative role in his efforts, keeping the warlord appraised of scouting and raiding parties findings and occasionally directing the warships which had formerly been under her sole command and as he drew close to the hulking and distinctly centipede-like form of Heliothis he saw that Paradoxa herself stood at the foot of one of the many ramps leading into the vessel; Lord Zedd mused that it was good that she had finally learned to anticipate his demands, travelling the length of a ship which housed countless thousands to reach its' command bridge was simply inefficient.

"My Lord" Paradoxa bowed on a single knee and cast her eyes downwards whilst Lord Zedd let out a single rumbling chuckle as he heard the subtle change in her tone, where once she had been reverent and eager to serve there was now a note of bitterness at the command that had been taken from her.

As if she believed that she was ever truly in charge.

"What news Paradoxa?" he demanded, gesturing for the hybrid to return to her feet "What do your fleet have to report"

"The Sleipnir has confirmed that its' hit and run attacks on the Alliance outpost at Promixa Three was conducted with minimal difficulty, the bombing runs caused considerable damage and the Sleipnir received only minimal damage before the Alliance counter-attack forced the captain to pull back" Paradoxa began, her smooth voice devoid of emotion as she relayed the simple facts "The Typhon and the Hydra conducted their attack on Alliance supply lines and destroyed several cargo vessels before being intercepted, though the Hydra is in need of urgent repair-"

"Good" Lord Zedd's deep voice came as a low rumbling purr as he processed the information

"My Lord" Paradoxa took a moment to consider her next words carefully, realising that she was no longer in the favoured position that she had once held "May I ask what your goal is in these attacks?" she took care to keep any hint of accusation from her words despite the fact that in the weeks since Lord Zedd had arrived he'd had her ships sent on an endless string of missions against targets seemingly chosen at random without ever deploying ground troops

"Simple Paradoxa" the tyrant grunted "To inconvenience the Alliance and throw them into disarray as much as possible, whilst at the same tie allowing our attacks to simply become and accepted fact of life for them….so that when I make a decisive strike we have the element of surprise"

"I understand" Paradoxa bowed her head, admitting that the plan was a sound one even if it took her own callous disregard for the lives of her underlings and extend it into a reckless wastefulness.

"And now the time for the decisive strike is upon us" Lord Zedd's voice became a fierce and menacing growl "Our target is a manufacturing facility on one of the moons of the world the Alliance call Anvil Six"

"As you wish my Lord I-"

"You will have your flesh crafter create something suitable for the task….they at least produce work of an acceptable standard" Lord Zedd stated coldly "Then you will prepare the Heliothis for our departure"

"Our departure my Lord?"

"Indeed….I will be overseeing this attack personally" Lord Zedd's eyes glowed with malice "You will learn how surgical strikes are to be conducted"

* * *

The lack of ground deployment or boarding actions on the part of the Dark Empire had meant that in the several weeks that had passed since the Aegis Rangers had arrived at Promethea One they had found themselves with enough free time and freedom to begin making the colony ship their new home and settling into something approaching a routine and sense of normality.

The Rangers each received considerable financial compensation for their service to Project Lightspeed and whilst Rensa and Aslaug were raised in cultures with little if any understanding of or use for money, relying instead on barter and Mercy and Tempestus saw being a Power Ranger as a duty and an honour, Panthera certainly saw being paid as something of vital importance and had been steadily working to ensure that owning her own spaceship again would eventually be in the realm of possibility. Owing to the nature of being a Power Ranger and that a stricter training regimen or new requirements could be opposed on them at anytime as they were expected to be on call at all times getting a job was in fact a difficult prospect, not that Panthera was interested in something so mundane in the first place; the Pink Ranger used the electronics of dubious origins she had procured from Piggy to establish herself within the population of the colony and through a combination of contacts both on Earth and in the larger galaxy and simple bribery of those responsible for checking incoming transports she begun a roaring trade in all manner of good that were not technically permitted on Promethea One, thought she limited her activities to harmless items and reasoned to herself that whilst she may once again be part of a smuggling operation she would have no part in arms dealing or anything similarly illicit.

Rensa, when not taking part in the extensive training sessions that Mercy still put the Rangers through on a regular basis was happy to simply explore the city, especially during its' artificial nights when it was often dark enough to remove the filter goggles that prevented him from being blinded by simple daylight. The Black Ranger's affinity for slinking into confined spaces and climbing combined with his ability to cling to walls and ceilings with ease and the inhuman ways in which he could move had become a regular sight and inspired something of a fan-base leaping between buildings and scaling sheer surfaces in displays that put even the most adept parkour practitioners to shame before he found something else to occupy his time. An advanced colony ship it may have been but Promethea One was still a city and like any city it had its' poor and struggling citizens and it also had its' crime, both of which Rensa had turned his attention to soon after inadvertently discovering them; he would now often spend his evening either flitting between soup kitchens and shelters where those who had lost jobs on the colony and didn't have the means to return to Earth came for food and shelter or simply patrolling the streets until the image of the Black Ranger had become synonymous with the children in those parts of the city.

Tempestus had arguably been the most proactive in his search for self improvement and development; the Blue Ranger had initially considered enrolling at the university which worked closely with Promethea and Project Lightspeeds' shared base; the Blue Ranger had learned however that the campus would not be taking on new students for some time yet and had been prepared to simply wait, what had not expected was for Grace Sterling herself to take a sudden interest in him. The scientist surprised Tempestus by informing him firstly that she knew his adopted father Billy Cranston, who may have been the only person in the world to turn down a job offer from her and secondly that news of how gifted the Blue Ranger was with machinery had reached her, in the end Tempestus had been allowed to join Grace's personal team of scientists and engineers in the repairs of the Zords and several other side projects where both his intellect, insight as a Ranger and strength granted by Aquitian physiology had proven immensely useful. In what little spare time he had left he had begun to devour books on human history, sociology, psychology and politics at an impressive rate, realising that his time away from Aquitar had changed him in a fundamental way and that he needed to better understand the society he had found himself a part of; even if much of it scared and frankly disturbed him.

Aslaug and Mercy had spent a good portion of their free time simply exploring their new relationship and as tentative and slow as that exploration was it was one that they were both grateful for. The Yellow Ranger had found that whilst few in number there were in fact a handful of Silver Guardian cadets on the base, primarily those who would go on to become engineers, scientists or in rare cases pilots for Project Lightspeed or Promethea; though the distinction between the two organisations was meaningless to a point and whilst they would not be sent into active combat upon completing their training the same degree of physical fitness and ability was expected of them, which was how Aslaug had found herself becoming something of a leader or in some cases honorary older sibling to them by first taking charge of their physical training and pushing each of them to new heights that they had not believed themselves capable of.

For Mercy things felt a little more complicated, the Red Ranger had thrown herself into her training and pushing her team-mates in an effort to silence the gnawing and whispering doubts in the back of her mind; to her it felt as though each of the other Aegis Rangers knew themselves better than she did, Rensa helped the downtrodden out of sympathy as he knew hunger and fear all too well, Aslaug pushed the warriors around her to acts of greatness be they cadets or her own people and would almost certainly go on to become a great leader one day, Tempestus learned and created almost compulsively and Panthera was simply a being of barely contained chaotic energy.

Mercy had been made for a specific purpose and she realised that beyond the Red Ranger she simply didn't know who she was or who she wanted to be.

A problem that would likely present itself again as Marigold Utahima made her way out onto the rooftop where Mercy was currently practising several kata, clad in a red tank top and grey yoga pants.

"Good morning" she beamed happily "I brought you breakfast, you always skip it and it isn't good for you"

"Thanks" Mercy came to a halt and took a glass of orange juice from the older teens' hand as she turned to face her; Marigold, or Mari as she was often called obviously didn't have a lecture or class that morning and yet already looked remarkably well put together in a simple white sundress and matching jacket, despite the fact that there had been a party in the student housing below the Rangers the night before where Marigold's impressive singing voice had clearly been heard into the early hours of the morning.

Overall Marigold seemed to have her life organised and was generally on track in a way that Mercy couldn't help but find a little intimidating.

"Are the other Rangers not training today?" Marigold asked in a pleasant enough tone, although Mercy had learned enough over the last few weeks to know that this was simply an opening gambit; she was unsure of whether the young woman had been put up to the task by someone within Lightspeed, perhaps Kimberley Hart or if Mari was an eldest sibling and this kind of behaviour came naturally to her but as well as becoming a friend to the Rangers after helping them settle into their new home she had also taken to trying to steer Mercy towards a productive use of her time.

"They will be later, just 'cos we haven't been deployed for a few weeks doesn't mean we can get lazy" Mery began after swallowing a mouthful of food "Aslaug's walking Klo, Rensa was busy last night so he's asleep, Tempestus left early to work on something and….I'm actually not sure where Panthera is-"

"That might be for the best" Marigold noted with a sigh and a shake of her head at the thought of the Pink Ranger's antics before returning to her train of thought "What about you have you got any plans for today?"

"I uh-"

"Training, right" Marigold fought to keep a disparaging note out of her voice "Mercy you need to find something else to do with your life, being a Power Ranger….I suppose it's like being an athlete or idol, it comes and goes"

"Is that really the comparison you're going with?" Mercy arched an eyebrow, more than a little irked by the comment

"No offence" Marigold added quickly "I know it's important but...what about after? Anyway, I brought a copy of the university prospectus; all of it not just the tech campus. You should thing about applying"

"To do what?" Mercy was honestly baffled and simply couldn't admit the true scale of her utter loss of direction to the older girl

"Anything you want to put your mind to" Marigold shrugged "I've heard you talk about the history of the Power Rangers, you know more random trivia than anyone I've ever met...and well, you're a Power Ranger yourself. Maybe you could be a history teacher one day" Mercy fought the urge to visibly wrinkle her nose at that idea, though Marigold seemed to sense that it was not as appealing as expected

"Okay maybe not, come and meet some of the other students with later though?"

"I can't today, sorry" Mercy shrugged, she felt Marigold's eyes still on her and realised that she was waiting for an explanation and whilst Mercy was growing steadily more irritated with her attitude this happened to be an instance where she was happy to give her reasons

"Me and Aslaug….it's date night"

"Oh" Marigold's eyes seemed to light up "You two are adorable together, what have you got planned?" suddenly Mercy decided that perhaps Marigold wasn't as bothersome as she thought.

* * *

Kay was a blur of motion, weaving around blows that were unleashed upon them almost faster than the human eye could see whilst unleashing an equally devastating rain of kicks and punches yet the entire time the wore a smile of pure excited happiness that seemed to make their vivid pink irises shine even brighter against the blackness of their eyes

Sparring matches were fun after all and Kimberley Hart was a truly impressive opponent when she stopped holding back.

Kay leaned back and allowed a spinning crescent kick to sail over their head, rustling their black and white, unnaturally spiky hair as it did so; Kimberley carried her momentum in to a leaping turning kick that would have crushed Kay's cheek if it had made contact, yet Kay continued to deftly evade the attacks, cartwheeling over the low spinning sweep that the former Pink Ranger attempted to kick their legs out from under them with.

The moment Kay landed they sprung into action and launched their counter-attack, leading with a spinning heel kick which Kimberley, still rising from her crouched position responded to by first striking the back of her opponents' knee then simply grasping the limb and pulling them off balance.

Kay managed to land a wild, thrashing kick at Kimberley's midsection as they fell and force her to release them before scurrying to their feet, lacking some of their usual grace after having the wind knocked out of them. The moment Kay was upright Kimberley was on them once again in a maelstrom of blows, left jab, right hook, right elbow, spinning left elbow followed by a backhand and then a haymaker, yet at the end of it all Kay not only remained standing but was also still grinning like a lunatic and entirely unharmed, having blocked every single blow.

Kay responded with a solid punch of their own which Kimberley, being the more experienced fighter by a wide margin managed to catch and turned the human Acheron hybrids' own momentum against them, dragging them almost to the ground and leaving them staggering as they quickly sought to regain their balance whilst she used the opening to perform a particularly acrobatic motion that was based partially on something from her former career as a gymnast and resulted in Kay toppling to the ground with the former Power both above and behind them, using her thighs to grip their neck until finally they tapped the padded surface of the mats to signify their submission.

"I almost had you" Kay laughed breathlessly as Kimberley helped them to their feet, currently they wore a simple vest and sweatpants which was by far less distasteful Kimberley than the jumpsuits which resembled a prison uniform that they had been given to wear day to day.

"I'll let you think that" Kimberley countered, words dripping with sarcasm "We'll just blame it on the oxygen starvation" Kay grumbled inaudibly until another voice interrupted them.

"Kimberley I'm sure that these training sessions are more for your own benefit than anyone else's"

"I mean they're the best workout I've had in years" she noted "I haven't been this in shape since I was twenty one" Kay simply fell silent for a moment at the sight of the newcomer; the gymnasium had been kept empty for the training session under the guise of cleaning and maintenance as the Green Ranger was yet to be reintroduced back into mainstream society yet sitting cross-legged before him and levitating several inches above the ground in a casual display of magic power and control was Zebidiah Lord.

"Grandfather" Kay bowed their head and refused to meet his eye

"Stop that" Zebidiah seemed to be fighting the urge to snap at them "We don't bow here….especially not to me, I'm not Lord Zedd, not any more"

"Zebidiah" Kimberley interjected as she sensed the sudden tension building between them "What can I help you with"

"We have a meeting" he answered simply before returning to his feet and striding away. Kimberley watched the robe-clad former tyrant leave and then turned to Kay to find the Green Ranger staring at his retreating back.

"Have I offended him?"

"No, I don't think so….he's hard to genuinely offend" Kimberley tried to assure them, sure that the sight of the Green Ranger so visibly upset would be disconcerting, if not terrifying to most people

"He's just not sure how to deal with you….I mean it's pretty safe to say your family situation is a unique one" she added with a small smile "And you probably remind him of some painful stuff-"

"So he just sees a monster when he looks at me" Kay sighed, their tall and powerful frame visibly crumpling with defeat "The same as everyone else, which is why I can't be around anyone else"

"That will change" Kimberley promised "The Power Rangers should work as a team, they always have….you're not going to be kept in isolation forever"

"No, just until I'm useful" Kay sneered "I thought I could be more than a weapon here" without waiting for an answer they stalked away, leaving the gymnasium and being confronted by a pair of heavily armed and armoured robots that Grace had built for the sole purpose of guarding the Green Ranger and could loosely be said to resemble Alpha Five, though far more robust in their design.

Kimberley found herself unable to fault Kay for their anger and at the same time incredibly worried that the approach Project Lightspeed was currently taking would only lead to more problems further down the line.

Kay had spent their time on Promethea One both studying and being studied, they were given an education without the Dark Empire's biases despite how little they seemed to have informed Kay's own thinking and allowed to train regularly and had access to books, television, radio and the internet although all of these were monitored; at the same time their activities were studied and a battery of medical and psychological tests had been undergone simply to understand how the fusion of human and Acheron genetics functioned.

Kimberley realised it would be enough to send anyone crazy and resolved to bring the issue again in this meeting and every subsequent meeting until something was done.

* * *

"Commencing final approach on target"

"Preparing to drop to sub-light engines"

"Primary weapons batteries are primed, port and starboard batteries and missile ports priming. Shields at full power"

"Silence" Lord Zedd's voice echoed throughout the command bridge of the Heliothis without having to be raised, a low menacing wave that was felt as much as heard whilst the warlord himself stood before the throne which served as Paradoxa's seat when she captained the vessel; his vast size was too large for the seat so instead he simply loomed over the crew whilst the crimson lighting shone on his bladed armour and made him appear more menacing than usual.

At his right hand, denied her customary place at the head of her own vessel was Paradoxa whilst to Lord Zedd's left standing in a position of equal authority to the head of the Vanguard Fleet in a display that Paradoxa could only see as open mockery was Gibil's latest creation, made wholesale from genetic manipulation, twisted engineering and sciences that defied description.

It was a truly gruesome thing.

Even standing hunched over with its' knuckles dragging across the floor it was roughly seven feet tall with rippled, leathery skin of a deep jet black which was split and cracked in countless places allowing the bright purple light of whatever infernal power animated the abhorrent creature to shine through the fissures in its' torso. Its' back was covered in a thick pelt of wiry, bristly fur of a dull gunmetal grey colour which was thickest and shaggiest around the things broad and muscular shoulders.

The thing boasted five limbs, all of which were mechanical to some degree; carrying itself on a pair of digitigrade legs ending in padded paws with wide splayed claws which had been enhanced with armour and stabilisers grafted to the flesh and bone, its' tail was segmented and twitched incessantly and had the overall appearance of a scorpions' stinger that had been redesigned to be more lethal, the bulbous mass at the tip of the tail tapering down to a curved blade whilst a projectile weapon of some kind was mounted above it. Finally the things arms had been removed entirely and replaced with large and powerful mechanical substitutes whose inner workings could be seen, fluids, gears and pistons never ceasing in their movement with armoured pylons reaching upwards from the shoulders which housed more powerful ranged weapons.

The things' head was as grotesque as the rest of its' form, white eyes set into a lupine skull with the same leathery black flesh and adorning a helmet resembling that of some ancient gladiator, complete with a crest of swept forward horns.

Paradoxa's attention was quickly pulled away from Gibil's creation which Lord Zedd has praised as a work of arcane art and sickening genius before naming it _'Vali' _after some ancient beast of legend; instead she focused on the sight displayed upon the viewscreen before her.

Anvil Six was an entirely barren world, its' surface having been torn asunder by countless extinction level events caused by meteor impacts and the clouds of dust and debris flung into the worlds' atmosphere choked its' skies even now whilst hundred of meteors that had failed to find their mark hung in orbit around the world, creating a ring of debris around the planet and its' two natural satellites, one of which was the target of the upcoming attack.

Paradoxa was unimpressed.

The moon, apparently undeserving of a name in its' own right was a small sphere with an icy surface upon which several armoured domes had been erected to both protect and contain the artificial atmospheres of the settlements that had been constructed within.

The insectoid hybrid had learned that the sprawling and admittedly impressive production facilities that had built on the moon were not in fact part of Project Lightspeed or in fact any part of the Alliances' internal structure or hierarchy, instead belonging to a private company which had taken advantage of the cheap and unclaimed real estate that the moon offered. Above the settlement hung a single artificial and largely automated satellite with several visible weapons systems, Paradoxa couldn't help but sneer in utter contempt as she realised that this was the extent of the resistance that they would face.

"Open fire" Lord Zedd ordered and instantly the space before the Heliothis was set alight, the primary weapons battery mounted at the prow of the monstrous ship reducing the satellite to a handful of twisted and scattered fragments and a cloud of fine, dust-like debris.

"Good, now engage cloaking systems and remain hidden until further notice" Lord Zedd turned to the savage monster that Gibil had created "Vali, join the Putties and prepare to engage the enemy"

"Yes master" he spoke a throaty and gurgling snarl before turning and stalking away, a vast amount of Putties had been forged for this attack, both standard combat models and more specialised types that Lord Zedd had ordered the construction of with limbs sculpted to resemble various tools and implements; to Paradoxa everything about the mission seemed to be a counter-intuitive and ludicrously wasteful parody of her own attack on Triforia to the point where she could no longer bite her tongue and keep her concerns to herself

"My Lord" she rose her voice and for a moment allowed herself to forget her place "I'm afraid I don't understand your intentions"

"Unsurprising" Lord Zedd responded with an almost amused edge to his voice "What do you think my goals are in this mission Paradoxa" fighting to keep her composure in the face of the open mockery and insult to her abilities she considered for a moment

"The modified Putties led me to believe that you intended to overtake this facility, kill or enslave the occupants so that we could use it as a secondary outpost, perhaps the beginnings of a shipyard within Alliance space….but destroying the satellite serves only to alert our enemies"

"Perhaps your thoughts are not so small and linear after all" Lord Zedd mused "Your ideas are sound but inaccurate….I have several goals for this mission which will become clear as it progresses, but as to the satellite" Lord Zedd's eyes blazed with magical light which caused the visor of his helm to glow threateningly

"Vali is no general….simply bait"

* * *

Mercy had known emphatically that she didn't want to use the predictable standby of 'dinner and a movie' for her date with Aslaug, feeling that it felt like an activity more suited to her entire group of friends than just the two of them and frankly she felt she could do better. Instead she had spent several days trying to find out exactly what the colony ship had to offer in terms of entertainment that wouldn't break the bank as the Rangers were now entirely responsible for their own living expenses and she was at least attempting to be responsible in that regard.

She had been surprised to find that the colony ship housed a zoo, though upon reading an explanation that each colony ship included a zoo, aquarium or other similar repository of Earths' wildlife as part of their commitment to continue humanities legacy should the worst case scenario ever occur and Earth be destroyed Mercy could admit that it made a bleak sort of sense; with Aslaug's fondness of animals well known to her, especially those of the large and predatory variety the zoo had naturally been the first location that Mercy had taken the Yellow Ranger to when they departed early in the afternoon.

Of all the animals to be displayed Mercy had not expected her date to be utterly taken with the penguins, Aslaug however found the sleek yet clumsy birds both adorable and hilarious in equal measure and lowered her guard to a degree which Mercy had not seen before, even with them living together for several months as she laughed at a particular penguin which she insisted was trying to glare at her; Mercy had found herself laughing when they entered the insect house and the taller girl was swarmed by so may moths and butterflies of rare and vibrant species that she had needed to be searched by the staff to ensure that she wasn't unintentionally smuggling any of them free when she left.

From there they had explored the city in which they had themselves as they made their way towards their next location, though Mercy used it as a chance to introduce Aslaug to a fun pass-time that she herself hadn't found time to enjoy for quite some.

Namely rollerblading

Whilst Aslaug may have been a dynamic fighter and physically capable in most regards and whilst she had learned to ride a motorcycle with little trouble it seemed that rollerblades were entirely beyond her as she staggered and skidded with all the grace of a newborn deer; Mercy using the Yellow Ranger's sudden lack of balance as an excuse for constant physical contact and closeness.

Eventually and with thankfully minimal stumbling they had reached their current location; the colony ships' artificial day and night cycle had begun to darken the inner surface of the dome that enveloped them, creating an artificial sky whilst lights flickered into life throughout the city, Mercy and Aslaug however were situated in a sizeable park with only the blackness of space above them. There were several points where the armour and solar panels that covered the exterior of the colony ships' dome were absent and this was one of them, the town planners responsible for designing the layout of Promethea One had allegedly placed the park here so that those using it could stargaze and occasionally see the Earth itself in the distance; Mercy had brought Aslaug here and had asked Panthera for a small favour which the Pink Ranger had obliged, thought not until she was finished tormenting the Red Ranger and upon arriving Mercy had found a picnic basket and flowers.

As she laid with her head in Aslaug's lap with the Yellow Ranger gently stroking her curly hair she decided that the date was going well and was more than a little proud of her efforts.

Then her communicator began to chirp insistently.

"Oh come on!" she cried as she bolted upright, the urge to rip the device from her wrist and crush it underfoot was undeniable and she found herself unable to keep her voice entirely calm or level as she responded

"What is it?"

"We need you in the Command Centre" Kimberley's voice replied, before asking in a concerned tone "You okay?"

"Bad timing" Mercy ground out simply

"Duty calls" Kimberley answered, her shrug somehow carrying into her words "Stand by to teleport"

"Right" Mercy ended the communication with a sigh before pulling herself to her feet and offering a hand to Aslaug

"I'm sorry about this" she sighed "The Empire couldn't have waited just one more day?"

"I enjoyed the time we had" Aslaug assured her, leaning down to kiss Mercy's lips briefly before adding "We'll have other opportunities to do this" the Red Ranger merely nodded with a smile that she would likely have described to herself as goofy; being almost shell-shocked by the kiss to the extent that she almost didn't notice the familiar sensation of teleportation.

When she and Aslaug re-materialised it was in a place that they recognised but had spent only minimal time in thus far due to the Dark Empire's activity whilst having increased being of the sort that did require the Power Ranger's presence.

The Promethea One Command Centre.

Where on the Aquabase Zebidiah, Kimberley and Justin had orchestrated missions from a partially repurposed workshop and laboratory their new base of operations was a marvel of technology. Kimberley had told the Rangers that the Command Centre took a few design elements from the one Zordon had once operated in the desert beyond Angel Grove, whilst to Mercy it looked like something from an anime she had watched years previously.

The command centre was comprised of a large walkway forming an equator around an empty spherical space which reached both above and below them; the walkway was lined with dozen of specialised computers and other equipment that Mercy didn't have names for, each operated by an individual whose clearance was evidently of the highest levels. The space Mercy and Aslaug had teleported into was a platform connected to the outer edge of walkway, positioned between it and the spherical space which could move freely around the walkway allowing rapid access to any part of the Command Centre.

Kimberley, Zebidiah Lord and the other Aegis Rangers were already present when the two of them arrived and wasted no time on preamble

"The Dark Empire just launched an attack on a privately owned manufacturing plant on Anvil Six Beta" Kimberley stated matter of factly "On display please" the empty spherical space was immediately filled by the darkness of space, littered with countless stars as a hologram flickered into life before the image was rapidly replaced by an image of the icy moon in question and a small satellite hanging above it

"This is an old image" Kimberley continued "That satellite was just attacked and destroyed before the ship that did so cloaked itself"

"Meaning that those working on the plant are unable to evacuate, they have no teleporters and there may be other cloaked ships" Zebidiah added solemnly

"Meaning that any of our ships could be flying into a trap….or a minefield" Mercy noted, wincing at the idea

"Precisely" Zebidiah nodded, a growl escaping him a the thought of the Dark Empire's descent into cowardly and unbecoming tactics.

"You're still missing a person" Panthera noted, her largely feline tail standing upright behind her "Justin's replacement, where are they?"

"Waylaid by a previous commitment" Kimberley admitted "They were expected to arrive weeks ago but there have been complications"

"We have Zords" Tempestus spoke up "I've been part of Doctor Sterling's team working on them….they're groovy again"

"That's something" Rensa murmured in his usual quiet and gentle voice before adding "They haven't just attacked the satellite have they"

"They haven't" Kimberley admitted "They've launched what looks like a large scale attack on the plant itself. On display please" the image before the Rangers flickered again, now displaying several instances of Putties surging through factories, warehouses and the town that had been built to accommodate the workers; though those same workers, both human and otherwise fought back as best they could by using machinery and vehicles against the automatons, collapsing tons of warehouse racking down onto them or simply fighting pitched battles with whatever tools they had on hand.

One scene stood out however

"There's their leader" Aslaug snarled as she caught sight of a single monster standing upon the twisted and burning wreckage of a bus in the town and roaring orders to the Putties around it; appearing like some onyx skinned and bipedal wolf monster with a scorpions' tail and cybernetic limbs, several weapons mounted to its' body and a foul glow emanating from within its' torso.

"And that's your target" Kimberley nodded, confirming the Ranger's suspicions "Work through the Putties in the densest areas and converge on the monster….Mercy, you wanna do the honours?" the Red Ranger stared at the image before her in silence for a moment as she accepted the proverbial torch that was being passed to her in Justin's absence, eventually smirking as she gave the Dark Empire's latest living weapon a suitably demeaning name

"Howl the Moving Castle" one of the staff of the newly expanded Mission Control who answered to Kimberley and Zebidiah let out a quickly stifled snort of laughter which confirmed that Mercy's choice had been a sound one.

"Okay Rangers" Kimberley's tone became stern "You know what to do, thin down the horde so reinforcements can sweep it up then take out the head; either the Empire ship leaves system or fires a mutagenic grenade, we're aiming to force their hand.

"Aye Captain" Mercy snapped off a quick salute before turning to her fellow Rangers, each of their hands flying to their Morphers in unison as she gave the order

"It's Morphin' time!"

**Authors Notes:**

So I said I was gonna take a break to plan ahead on both of my ongoing stories….I then did that planning in a manic fit of inspiration; moral of the story is "Don't believe FandomPariah when he says shit like that"  
So yeah, welcome to Arc 07 or 'Part one of Act two' however you wanna think of it.  
This Arc is titled _"Irregular Warfare"_ with Perfidy being described by Wikipedia as_ "Disregarding assumptions of fair practice and rules in combat, using stretcher bearers or surrender flags to lure enemies into the open" - I paraphrased a little _I felt like it was fitting as Lord Zedd has not only been creating expectations with the intent of subverting them but is using the attack to draw out the Rangers.

But anyway, let's summarise:  
In my head Lord Zedd just has a cinematic entrance every time he shows up on screen.  
He just came out and cut through all of Paradoxa's bullshit….because Paradoxa was trying to win without also trying to not die in the process and he really doesn't care about that.  
Also yeah, Putties making Putties; he's automated the production process.  
Hiding an entire outpost at all times like that is probably a drain on some of Lord Zedd's power, so he won't be fighting at his full capacity.  
Lord Zedd's been busy and it's not even for any grand attack; it's basically just to create friction in the functioning of the Empire's war machine and at the same time desensitise them because if there's an attack every other day, then the important attack doesn't stand out as much.  
So I wanted to spend a little time establishing a new normal for the Rangers, they're not cadets or living directly on a base any more so they're free to branch out and be more of themselves.  
Panthera is hustling, Rensa is basically the friendly neighbourhood superhero, Tempestus is building and learning and making himself useful, Aslaug is basically the standard that other Silver Guardians are held to now.  
With Mercy being literally born to be a Power Ranger though she's having an identity crisis on two levels because on the one hand she was lied to for years and on the other she doesn't really know who else she is beyond it.  
So I felt like I actually had to give Mari a character here, I haven't watched the movie she features in and the Wiki is super vague, I don't know how accurate this is but it felt as though she was just there to be a love interest for DekaRed. Because she's older than the Rangers by between one and three years and is an actual university student with a scholarship I decided to make her the one who has her life together the most and pushes the Rangers in ways that a drill instructor wouldn't.  
Being a Ranger comes and goes….I mean except for in SPD, but notice how pretty much every other Ranger has their _"Thing" _and that's what they go on to excel at after their respective series ends; Mercy doesn't really have that.  
I had the Kim and Kay sparring match because a) it's cool and b) because it shows that Kay can be beaten, they weren't morphed and were against a far more experienced opponent who managed to overcome their strength, speed and durability.  
And yes Kim won with some Black Widow shit.  
Oof the angst and tension between Kay and Grandpa Zebidiah are real.  
Also yes Kay has been kept separate for the last few weeks, so the Aegis Rangers don't know that they're around.  
Vali, I hope some of you know your Norse mythology…..Also I'm unashamed to say that I typed _"Wolf Monster"_ in Google and got more Furry art than I am comfortable with.  
A privately owned moon being used as a factory so that labour laws can be avoided…..Jeff Bezos is that you?  
The utter lack of respect Lord Zedd has for Paradoxa at this point is unreal, like _"Okay the Green Ranger went rogue but you've been leading the attack for months and you've got a whole one dead Ranger and nothing else to show for it"_.  
Bait….I'm sure you can guess what the trap is.  
Dinner and a movie is dead, do better.  
It makes sense to me that the colony ships, which are specifically intended to jump away if Earth falls so that at least some of humanity survives have Zoos, Aquariums and stuff like that.  
Also the Zoo date was actually based on a date that me and my ex went on to London Zoo roughly this time last year…. There was a Penguin we named _"Murder-Face"_ and I had to be patted down to ensure I wasn't smuggling butterflies.  
The rollerblading thing is just a callback to the '95 movie though….Can you hear _"Free Ride"_ by Dan Hartman playing?  
You didn't really think they were getting a night off? Surely not.  
Flustered and short-circuiting Mercy is great.  
The New Command Centre is based roughly on the idea of the Power Chamber, the concept of the entire base being used as viewing globe, ships' bridges from Warhammer 40k and the Bridge in Neon Genesis Evangelion.  
So, the Rangers have Grace if needs be but they don't have their official tech-support….that'll become important later.  
I'm sorry but the civilians are gonna start fighting back after a generation of this shit and a two-handed sledgehammer to the torso is gonna break a Putty, same way hitting it with a forklift is.  
"Howl the Moving Castle"….I'm not sorry, I've never been sorry.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	29. Scorched Earth

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 28 – Scorched Earth**

The Rangers had not been deployed as a single unified force but as Panthera materialised on the surface of Anvil Six Beta, her bright pink armour solidifying around her she saw that she was not alone; beside her Tempestus had appeared in a similar stream of coloured light to her own, the Blue Ranger raising his hands to defend himself against an attack that never came.

"They didn't drop up right in the middle of it" Panthera assured him, cocking her head slightly as the sound of ongoing chaos reached her sensitive ears "But we won't have to look far to find a problem"

"Word" Tempestus nodded in agreement as he cast his eyes around and took stock of their surroundings; the pair had been teleported into what seemed to be a destroyed warehouse, possibly even one of those displayed on the Command Centres' live feeds as several aisles of racking had been toppled to crush dozens of Putties beneath the weight of their contents. Listening intently for a moment the Pink Ranger detected the source of the nearest commotion which she could tell by the nature of the sounds was some sort of ongoing skirmish and gestured for Tempestus to follow her

"Come on, this way!" the pair of them sprinted, covering ground at a rate far greater than any normal being could have managed until they entered what appeared to be some kind of steelworks where raw materials for whatever was made in the adjacent factories was produced; the air sweltering as it reached temperatures which forced the Ranger's suits to compensate and lit primarily by the glow of molten metals carried overhead in vast vats by powerful cranes.

The sound of crumbling stone caught their attention.

A group of burly and beleaguered men and women in a group that was largely human but held a handful of members from other planets fought against a group of Putties with anything and everything at their disposal, the sound that the Pink and Blue Ranger's had heard was the result of a powerfully built woman swinging a sledgehammer at the chest of the nearest automaton whilst another individual, a blue skinned and four eyed alien of the same species as B'Vor of Strike Squad Alpha simply picked another Putty up and hurled it into a nearby stream of molten liquid, melting its' body even as they received several gashes from the things limbs which had been sculpted to resemble mining tools.

"We have to help them" Tempestus urged, sprinting forwards without waiting for an answer; the Blue Ranger collided with the nearest Putty and shattered its' body into a cloud of debris as he landed a devastating leaping knee-strike to its' torso before being beset by a swarm of the chattering things. As he landed his leg lashed out to the side, kicking another Putty in the chest and shattering it whilst he kept moving and pivoted at the waist using his momentum to drive his elbow into the skull of another of them and send it staggering back, then brought his fist crashing into the automatons' knee as he rotated his arm downwards before straightening the limb and throwing the Putty off balance, ending it with a well placed kick once it had fallen to the floor.

There were still far too many of them remaining and the nearest Putty attempted to lunge at Tempestus only to be utterly obliterated by Panthera crashing into it, the Pink Ranger pouncing like some kind of savage beast and landing on the things' chest before kicking away with both feet and landing in a cartwheel which she used to arc a foot overhead and kick another Putty in the back of the skull before flipping to her feet and landing in a crouch, flinging the automaton to the ground with enough force to shatter the weak point in its' chest with the impact; another putty with hands like shovels charged at her only for Panthera to spring upwards and drive her elbow into its' jaw with enough force to lift the automaton off of the ground, she followed up by launching a spinning heel kick to the things' skull as she drew her arm back and finally destroyed it with a left handed jab to the ribs.

"GO!" she snapped at the workers who were watching the Rangers with something akin to awe "GET TO SAFETY, WE'LL HANDLE THIS!" the order snapped them out of their daze and they quickly began to flee; the moment they were out of harms' way Panthera turned to Tempestus who was continuing to plough through the Putties with ease

"Get clear, I've got a plan!"

"Groovy" the Blue Ranger acknowledged and rolled under a Putties' sloppy approximation of a roundhouse kick whilst Panthera manifested her twin curved blades in flashes of magenta light and combined them into a single weapon which she hurled upwards.

Directly into one of the vats filled with molten metal.

The container shattered and the Putties were submerged beneath a burning tide, their stony grey bodies melting and cracking even as they thrashed and struggled.

"Okay that's that problem solved" Panthera breathed out as she turned to Tempestus who seemed to be a little disturbed by her ruthlessness

"Good" he managed to murmur "Let's find the others"

* * *

Aslaug and Rensa had been teleported close to each other in what appeared to be a small shopping centre for those living on the privately owned colony to purchase many of their essential goods or simply to relax whilst not at work; fortunately the place had been almost entirely evacuated allowing the Black and Yellow Rangers to fight without restraint.

Which was exactly what Aslaug had begun doing and the evidence of her actions lay all around her in the form of the shattered remains of a dozen or more Putties littering the ground of the once pristine thoroughfare which now looked as though a riot had taken place within it. Another Putty fell to the ground as the Yellow Ranger cleaved its' head from its' body with a single powerful swing of her axe; its' decapitated form continuing to twitch and spasm as it collapsed though Aslaug paid it no mind, instead carrying her momentum into another blow as she turned to face a Putty that had been attempting to attack her from behind and brought her weapon into a low sweeping arc which ripped the automatons' legs away at the knees and allowed her to crush the weak point of its' chest with a single kick as it fell.

A crash above her caught her attention and alerted her to the fact that Rensa had taken to the upper floor of the shopping centre and was using his surroundings to his advantage in conjunction with his own unique way of moving and ability to scale almost any surface with ease. Aslaug watched the Black Ranger leap out of scuttling run along a wall and execute a wild but effective drop kick to one of a pair of Putties rushing at him, kicking the Putty in question several yards down the narrow walkway between the stores and the railings to leave a trail of broken pieces behind it as it collapsed; skidding to a halt behind the remaining Putty he performed a back-flip like manoeuvrer which saw his feet wrap around the neck of his target whilst he balanced inverted before bringing the constructs' skull down on the railings at the edge of the walkway before righting himself at the Putty staggered backwards and simply tackling it through a shop window and landing a finishing blow.

It was far from over however as another pair of Putties came rushing from the opposite side and the Black Ranger sprung into action once more; with Aslaug continuing to watch, silently impressed as Rensa dispatched one automaton with a savage spinning kick to the torso whilst in the same motion seizing the other by the ankles and dragging it to the ground. The Putty was quick to rise, warbling and flailing as it did so yet the Black Ranger was ruthless in his response and simply weaved under its' opening swing and wrapped his arms around its' waist before charging directly at the glass barrier and railings which marked the edge of the walkway that formed the shopping centres' upper floor. The barrier gave way and both Rensa and the Putty fell to the ground with an almighty crash, the stone construct shattering into fragments as it hit the floor and the magic that bound it fading from its' eye sockets in an instant. The Black Ranger was simply winded by the fall.

"Not exactly the way I would have handled them" Aslaug noted with an amused edge to her voice as she held out a hand and pulled her friend to his feet

"Hit from everywhere, use everything around you, no enemy can block everything" Rensa noted simply and the Yellow Ranger couldn't help but feel that he wore a satisfied smile beneath his helmet.

The conversation was abruptly halted by the telltale warbling and shuffling of footsteps announcing the approach of more Putties

"They never usually send this many" Rensa noted

"No" Aslaug agreed "We should deal with them and then find the others"

* * *

Mercy had arrived on the colony alone and close to what seemed to be the epicentre of the attack yet this had not slowed her advance in any meaningful way.

She had been teleported into an open street within the colony which reminded her less of the city within Promethea One and more of the more industrial and working class areas of Mariner Bay; Putties had attempted to march down the street in something approaching formation only to meet harsh resistance from the inhabitants of the colony as the limited security forces took cover behind abandoned vehicles and opened fire, breaking the Putties' ranks whilst civilians who had barricaded their doors and ground floor windows with anything available to them had taken weapons provided to them by the security forces and were shooting at the stone constructs from the upper floors of their homes.

Then Mercy had leapt into action.

The Red Ranger had washed over the insurgent Putties like a tidal wave of destruction, her katana manifesting in her hand as she leapt from the roof of one vehicle to the next and into the cluster of Putties nearest to, impaling, shattering and shearing limbs away before flitting onto the next target and leaving the scrabbling and disorient remains of the Putties to be overwhelmed by the local population. She rushed onwards, cutting down one group of Putties after another until she had distanced herself from those she had initially been protecting and found herself racing towards where she knew the monster she dubbed _'Howl the Moving Castle'_ to be whilst a display in the corner of her visor showed that her fellow Aegis Rangers were rapidly converging on her position.

The monster was still stood atop the remains of a bus, seemingly waiting for an attack when Mercy reached him and greeted her with twin barrages of rockets fired from the mechanical pylons atop his shoulders which robbed her momentum and forced her to come skidding to a halt before frantically leaping and rolling aside to avoid projectiles with barbed tips that tore into the ground before exploding in fireballs which engulfed everything in sight and hid the monster from view. Upon realising that she was unharmed Mercy returned to her feet, the street was a scorched and blackened ruin, the asphalt blasted apart leaving rubble and debris scattered around whilst small fires burning in the vicinity yet the Red Ranger had little time to take stock of any of it as the monster's scorpion-like tail arched over their head and the weapon mounted above its' bladed stinger fired a beam of sickly purple light which Mercy quickly managed to deflect with the flat of her sword, its' crimson blade glowing with power as the attack was dissipated.

"Hello Ranger, I am Vali" the monster introduced himself in a thick, phlegm-laced snarl as they hopped down from the bus they had been perched upon "And I cannot wait to watch you die"

"Hate to disappoint you Muttley" Mercy gave a fierce smile beneath her helmet at the small map displayed on her visor alerted her to just how close the other Rangers were a moment before they came sprinting from side streets in pairs and quickly fell into place behind her, the knowledge that Aslaug was at her boosting the Red Ranger's confidence and causing her smile to broaden. They had defeated monsters together before and this would be know different.

Vali undermined the Ranger's self assurance with a simple gesture, he dropped to a single knee and bowed

"Good, gather yourselves so that you can each know of one another's doom….my Lord will destroy you all"

"Your Lord?" Mercy demanded as she braced herself, she knew Paradoxa would be a formidable opponent if she entered the fray yet something in the back of her mind screamed in primal, unyielding terror and warned her that something dreadful was coming.

The fear was vindicated as a portal of swirling crimson light and tormented screams was ripped into the fabric of reality itself beside the monster and from it marched half a dozen Putties made of black marble like substance with fierce, glowing eyes; each Putty was built larger and more powerfully than average with a seemingly armoured form and remained utterly silent as they marched with purpose.

It was what followed them however that caused the Aegis Rangers to feel as though their blood had turned to ice in their veins.

A towering form which loomed over even Aslaug's impressive height with ease, clad in a suit of armour seemingly made from twisted and broken blades laid over countless mechanical components and draped with trophies taken from countless apex predators, including monstrous skulls adorning the shoulders. A horned skull whose face was hidden behind a mask with a crimson visor and grill-like mouth which turned each breath into a rumbling snarl and clawed hands grasping a double edged sword whose blade was larger than any of the Rangers were tall.

"He is referring to me" Lord Zord stated bluntly, the ground trembling beneath his feet as he spoke as if the very moon they stood upon were whimpering in fear

"Now bow before me" the tyrant demanded "Or decide which of you will die first"

* * *

The Command Centre was deathly silent for a moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity as the vast viewing globe formed by the central orb-like space of the room displayed Lord Zedd entering the fray in person. The monster that had introduced himself as Vali remained bowed and the Obsidian Putties that formed the warlords' retinue stood silently by as the battle commenced.

It became clear from the first attack that the Rangers were outclassed by orders of magnitude.

Lord Zedd swung his sword and created a shock wave of raw concussive force that blasted the Aegis Rangers from their feet before striding towards the Red Ranger; Mercy leapt to her feet and slashed at his armoured midsection only for the attack to be effortlessly blocked and the power of Lord Zedd's own swing to break the blade of weapon in half as it flung her backwards again.

Aslaug rushed to Mercy's aid with her axe at the ready at a war-cry on her lips only to be sent crashing to the ground with a dismissive backhand from an armoured fist which fractured the Yellow Ranger's helmet to the point of almost shattering it entirely and left her tearing a gouge in the road as she came to a halt.

Panthera was the next to attack as hurled her combined blades at the towering figure only for him to sink his sword into the ground and simply crush the spinning projectile into nothingness between his palms before retaliating, he grasped his monstrous sword in both hands whilst arcs of crimson lightning crackled and danced across the blades of his armour before travelling down the length of his sword; the ground exploded and the Rangers were hurled a dozen feet into the air, landing in crumpled heaps with their armour scorched and smoking and their surrounds torn asunder by the power their enemy had unleashed seemingly without any effort on their enemies' behalf.

Captain Kimberley Hart and Zebidiah Lord watched the obscenely one sided affair with profoundly different reactions, the former Pink Ranger's mouth hung open and was covered by her hands with no sound escaping her save for gasps of shock and horror whilst the former Lord Zedd stood rooted to the spot, lights flickering above him and eyes transforming into pools of bottomless darkness as his own bolts of arcane energy coursed over his clenched fists and the air around him seemed to hum with a low throbbing note as it became charged witch hateful magic.

"If you're gonna something we're gonna have to think fast, otherwise those kids are dead" Grace Sterling declared as she strode into the Command Centre, evidently deciding that she would be more use here than in the Zord hangars; her voice authoritative and unwavering even as her eyes widened at the sight of the head of the galaxy spanning empire that waged war against them laying waste to the Alliance and humanities' heroes. Kimberley managed to drag her eyes away from the viewing globe and give a shaky nod in response

"Is the Morpher ready?" she asked cryptically

"As best we can tell" Grace answered her, evidently knowing what Kimberley meant "Although this isn't exactly how I'd want to field test it-"

"It makes no difference" Zebidiah demanded, his voice reverberating around the Command Centre and dropping to a low and guttural snarl that seemed to shake the air and draw gasps and yelps of surprise from those working at the various computers and terminals as the truth of his identity was laid bare.

"Even if it is ready, Kay isn't" he waved at the ongoing struggle against Lord Zedd just in time to see Mercy's helmet be shattered as she impacted against the floor hard enough for it to crater beneath her "They are going to die and adding a sixth Power Ranger won't be enough to halt that tide alone"

"We have to do something!" Grace barked sternly "So I suggest you come up with a better plan" Zebidiah nodded slowly and closed his eyes, entering a trance like state for the briefest of moments whilst his magic crackled around him; his consciousness was accelerated and countless options were weighed against one another and dismissed in turn until eventually with a slow and rattling gasp of a breath the ageing man opened his eyes and slipped the hooded robe from his shoulders and cast it aside.

"Not we" he said simply "I"

"No!" Kimberley exclaimed, understanding what the former warlord intended.

"There's no other way" Zebidiah sighed "And besides, it's high time I had a reunion with my son. Teleport me to the Ranger's location!" he raised his voice as he gave the order and the crew of the Command Centre quickly moved to act on it, giving Kimberley and Grace only a moment to see the sorcerer slip something golden that gleamed in the light and seemed to radiate a sense of power from within his robes.

The Dragon Power Coin.

* * *

"Abysmal" Lord Zedd taunted, his sneering words echoing and rumbling as he strode towards the Rangers "I broke the back of Tommy Oliver's Ranger army and watched your great hero die cowering and licking his wounds like an animal. You're all even weaker than he was"

The Rangers each struggled to stand and brace themselves for what promised to be a final offensive against the towering behemoth; the Red Ranger's helmet had been removed and a gash high on her forehead left blood smearing her face whilst the once pristine white armour of her right arm was burned and blackened. The Yellow Ranger had also lost her helmet and wiped a thin trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth as she struggled to stand on legs that were unwilling to support her. The entire right side of the Pink Ranger's armour was blackened and scorched and the metallic claws that extended passed her fingertips had been broken away; the torso of the Blue Ranger's armour was similarly burned whilst the silver coloured diamond in the centre of the Black Ranger's chest had been broken and he seemed to be having trouble breathing as he dragged himself to his feet.

Lord Zedd debated offering more insults or a final offer for them to surrender, in the end however it was apparent to him that there was only one course of action and he charged forwards, enormous double bladed sword at the ready as he prepared to cleave the Rangers apart in a maelstrom of destruction. Time slowed to a crawl in his perceptions as his enemies tried to leap aside, seemingly moving in slow motion until a flash of light in the corner of his eye alerted him to a newcomer arriving by teleportation.

Then a bolt of light struck him the side with the force of a dying star and Lord Zedd, head of the Dark Empire, conqueror of the galaxy and devourer of civilisations was flung aside like discarded litter; the blades of his armour ripping wounds into the ground as he bounced and skidded across its' surface before finally rolling to a stop.

"ORCUS!" a booming and reverberating voice thundered, beneath his mask Lord Zedd's eyes widened in abject shock; there were few left alive who knew his given name and he could only think of one individual who would dare address him as such; flying to his feet Orcus, second in line to the throne of his people, Lord Zedd by right, lineage and conquest saw the slender and ageing man clad in simple robes and knew exactly who stood before him, regardless of what Zordon's dying gambit had done to him.

"Come now father" Lord Zedd growled "Surely you haven't lost so much of yourself that you've forgotten our customs….Bow before your Lord and address me by my title" hearing the anger in his tone, Vali who had remained dutifully bowed this entire time began to stir

"Go, gather our remaining Putties and attend to your duties" he demanded and the monstrous creature sprinted away with a loping, bounding gait as Lord Zedd and his retinue of black marble Putties stood against his father and the Aegis Rangers in a heavy and oppressive silence until Zebidiah Lord, the once ruler countless billions let out a low and menacing chuckle

"You always were fond of your theatrics and you always did think far too much of yourself boy" Zebidiah's fists clenched and lightning crackled around them "I see nothing to bow to, only a cowardly despot waging war in ways that demean our entire culture"

"My culture" Lord Zedd spat coldly "You are no Acheron….it's clear now that Thrax was the fool I always took him to be for daring to hope. My father died on Earth's moon, but I'm glad you've come here so that I can finally put his spirit to rest"

"You will certainly try my son" Zebidiah sighed heavily before holding out the Dragon Power Coin for Lord Zedd to see and in response the towering warlord laughed

"You mean to use that relic against me?"

"I do" the old man nodded "I believe that the Aquitian method is more to my tastes, intense study, magical attuning and meditation until a Morpher is no longer required….Or did you really believe that I, I who created the first Zord not forged by an Eltarian would not learn the secrets of the Morphing Grid?"

"You truly are a broken old fool" Lord Zedd snarled "No Acheron can use the Power, none bar my own failed Green Ranger….I had almost hoped that you would see the completion of your work and remember who you were" there was something under the spiteful mockery in his words, something raw and bitter

"Perhaps I am, Zordon's death changed me" Zebidiah nodded as he spread his feet and held the Power Coin before him in both hands "As you said Orcus….I am no Acheron" Lord Zedd let out a gasp of surprise, a sound that utterly demystified the tyrant as the man who had once been his father was engulfed in green light as they uttered a single word

"Serpenterror-Zord!"

When the light subsided both Lord Zedd and the Aegis Rangers, who had used the exchange as a chance to catch their breath were treated to the sight of a Green Ranger, but not the one that they had expected. Zebidiah's morphed state was the same shade of forest green but it glowed as if lit from within and coruscating green lightning travelled ceaselessly along the surface of the armour; the twin capes that hung from the Green Ranger's belt remained but the silver shield adorning the suits' chest was absent, revealing the obsidian coloured lightning bolt below and the material that had formed the shield seemed to have melted and run down the suits' arms to form claw like gauntlets adorning both fists and forearms made of a shifting, liquid metal that glowed and pulsed with arcane power. The helmet retained its' stylised flame-like visor though it appeared in the jaws of a different dragon, far more angular with glowing red eyes and a pair of golden whiskers which reached around the helmet and trailed behind it.

"Admittedly unexpected….and certainly interesting" Lord Zedd mused in response to the transformation before turning to his silent retinue of midnight black Putties "The Rangers are weak, finish them while I kill this pretender"

The area once again exploded into chaos as the battle resumed, Lord Zedd however barely had chance to move before the Green Ranger was upon him, planting the palm of a single clawed and armoured hand against his chest and blasting him backwards with a pulse of light. Lord Zedd's vision swam as he sailed through the air and he was vaguely aware of the sensation of several walls shattering against his armour before he came crashing to a stop several streets away from where he had previously been.

"So it's to be a contest of magical might" he rumbled as he rose to his feet and examined the crater which had been blasted into his armour with molten, glowing edges and realised that Zebidiah was harnessing the power of the Morphing and Grid and channelling it into his own arcane abilities. Without another moment of hesitation he surged into motion and charged towards where the Green Ranger still stood, just in time to see Zebidiah create a swirling nexus of emerald light between his palms and unleash several arcing torrents of energy which rushed at the warlord from all angles; Lord Zedd blocked the attacks with his sword and let out a roar of exertion as he forced the foreign magic into the space between the twin blades of his weapon until pure white light had enveloped the sword entirely. Zebidiah seemed to realise what his son intended and ended his own attack just as Lord Zedd swung his sword and discharged all of the power stored within it in a blinding corona which was followed by a blast of howling and screaming winds which ripped buildings in its' path asunder.

The Green Ranger was no longer there.

Instinctively the tyrant whirled around just in time to block a blow meant to impale him from the sword now in his fathers' hand, the Dragon Blade now blazed with green flames and even through his armour Lord Zedd could feel the heat as he was forced back a single step despite his far greater size and mass.

"All of this just to scorch my armour before you die" Lord Zedd laughed before being forced to grit his teeth and hold his sword with both hands as the lighting arced between the two weapons; the Green Ranger remained a single handed grip however and promptly used his free hand and the molten claw around it to grip his sons' armoured forearm and begin to squeeze with all the pressure of the deepest oceans until the metallic surface creaked and buckled and the entire limb was ripped away at the elbow.

Lord Zedd howled in rage rather than pain before bringing his horned and armoured skull crashing into the Green Ranger's helmet and kicking him away. Zebidiah looked at the half of Lord Zedd's right arm clutched in his clawed hand and realised, before discarding it that there was an utter absence of blood or the familiar stench of burning flesh, only sparks and twisted metal

"Just when did you loose your arm?" he demanded "Or did you simply decide to improve yourself by whatever means were available?" Lord Zedd gave no response other than a wordless scream of unimaginable hatred as he charged, sword in his left hand glowing with crimson light.

Zebidiah managed to parry and redirect the blow with the Dragon Blade and force the sword away from himself before reaching out and grasping at the armour encasing his sons' chest and ripping it away with a molten, glowing claw; now their was blood, thick and black and steaming as it dripped to the floor when the various tubes and devices which fused the suit of armour Porcius's body were damaged and ripped free. Howling in agony and thrashing like a wild beast Lord Zedd broke free and sank his sword into the ground before unleashing a blast of dreadful magic that painted the air a bloody crimson as a shock-wave cratered the ground around them and shook the colony to its' core. Zebidiah flew backwards, limp and dazed only for Lord Zedd's clawed grasp to close around his ankle; the Green Ranger as then hoisted overhead and slammed into the ground with a series of impacts that sounded like booming thunderclaps until Lord Zedd loomed over the prone and defeated form of the man who had once been his father. He ripped his sword free from the ground allowed a twisted, almost hysterical laugh to escape him

"All of your judgement and learning, all of your ancient wisdom….allow me to impart a lesson on you this time father" his voice dropped several octaves "You should have kept the shield" with that he stabbed downwards and heard the air leave Zebidiah's lungs as the blade cleaved through his torso and exited his back in a flood of crimson.

"You were a warrior once, an honourable death in combat would have been your due" Lord Zedd panted in pain and exhaustion, his own blood still flowing from his wounds "But you're not Lord Zedd, and you're not my father….die with these vermin you protect" ripping the blade free the tyrant staggered a few steps before manifesting a portal in front of himself and forcing himself to stand straight-backed and resolute as he marched through it.

He was Lord Zedd, he was power incarnate.

* * *

"Mercy! Zebidiah's down, he needs our help!" Panthera all but screamed as she relayed information to the Red Ranger whom Mission Control could no longer reach due to her damaged helmet. The Aegis Ranger's were already injured and exhausted which only made the battle they were currently enduring more difficult. Lord Zedd's retinue of Putties were unlike any that they had ever encountered before, moving with speed and precision as they blocked and parried blows before responding with impressive strength and fluidity.

Mercy had fallen into a kick-boxing stance that was second nature to her after so many years of training as she faced off against a lone Putty, blocking its' savage punch with her elbow before locking her hands around the back of its' neck and dragging it downwards so that she could drive her knee into the weak point in its' chest.

The Putty remained standing.

Taking advantage of the Red Ranger's surprise the thing managed to wrestle free of her grasp, though as it stood upright Mercy saw that it's armoured chest was cracked and fragmented, with some faint magical light visible within and without wasting another moment she lashed out and kicked the automaton in the chest with enough force for it to finally collapse.

"They take two hits to go down!" she warned as she sprinted towards Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger fought against a pair of Putties alone; Mercy leapt into the air and landed a punishing kick to the chest of one of the constructs as it attempted to attack the taller girl from the side. The Putty had managed to right itself by the time Mercy had rolled and leapt to he feet and the two fighters lunged at each other, the Putty launching a spinning kick which the Red Ranger leapt over and drove her knee into the automatons' face before striking it in the centre of its' torso with a roundhouse kick as it staggered away. The Putty crumbled into dusty and debris allowing Mercy to turn around and see Aslaug attending to the remaining Putty by landing an earthshaking punch on it's chest before simply grabbing it by the waist and neck then hoisting it overhead and slamming it into the ground with enough force to destroy it.

"You okay?" Mercy asked, deep brown eyes wild and fearful as she cupped Aslaug's cheeks; voice wavering. Aslaug managed a silent nod and the two locked eyes for a moment before she croaked out

"The others" she and Mercy looked around and saw that the other Rangers were in the process of defeating their own opponents with Rensa tackling a Putty to ground by seizing its' legs before bludgeoning its' chest until fell apart, Tempestus weaving around the blows of another Putty and crushing it with a series of palm strikes and Panthera taking what appeared to be an axel that had once been part of a car which had been destroyed in the fighting and driving it into the chest of the sole remaining Putty

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" the Pink Ranger demanded upon seeing that Mercy was still present "Find Zebidiah!" nodding the Red Ranger turned and sprinted in the direction of the Green Ranger's fight against Lord Zedd, vaguely away of the other Rangers close behind her until she reached a crater that had been blasted into the ground which was currently calf-deep in water which poured from from ruptured pipes.

The amount of blood staining the water was an immediate sign that things had gone terribly wrong.

"No, no no no, not again" Mercy whimpered, tears streaming down her face as she came skidding to a halt at the base of the crater and found Zebidiah floating in a pool of blood and water barely clinging to life; his morphed state had failed and blood poured from a wound which spanned from below his collarbones to his abdomen and poured blood at a terrifying rate whilst more of the crimson liquid stained his pallid face and silvery beard where it had spewed from his mouth yet despite it all the sorcerer remained not only alive but somehow conscious as he clung to the last vestiges of his willpower, eyes glassy and distant whilst magic visibly coursed over his ruined body in an effort to keep him from slipping away.

Mercy's voice sounded distant even to her own ears, as though it were a thousand miles away

"GET US OUT OF HERE! TELEPORT US OUT OR HE'S GONNA DIE!"

* * *

Kimberley had bolted towards the medical wing of the Lightspeed base on Promethea One the moment she had seen Zebidiah's vital signs begin to change, the old man had used part of his magic to block what exactly had befallen him from view as though he wished to spare the former Pink Power Ranger from a sight that would take whatever innocence he believed she had left. The moment she had reached the medical wing she begun screaming for every available doctor, surgeon and magical healer to be on standby and every possible piece of equipment to be made ready yet somehow when six streams of light manifested and announced the arrival of the Aegis Rangers and Zebidiah Lord all of her efforts and attempts to prepare seemed pitifully and unimaginably inadequate.

There was blood everywhere, rivers of it cascading to the floor from the moment Zebidiah arrived and healers of all kinds swarmed around the plainly dying man, barking orders to one another as countless magical auras coalesced in a desperate attempt to save the life of the former Lord Zedd.

"Get him onto an operating table! We're losing him!"

"We won't be able to operate, his magical aura is too strong, we won't be able to get near him once we start!"

"I've never seen readings like these! What the hell even is this guy?"

"He's stabilising himself! he's keeping himself alive through sheer magic and willpower alone"

"We've gotta get him into stasis!" A score of voices issued conflicting demands and advice and in the middle of it all, watching it with a sense of detached horror were the Aegis Rangers, each of them suffering a litany of burns, gashes and bruised or fractured bones and struggling to stand as the adrenaline that been flooding their veins began to vanish, allowing them to feel the profoundly deep weariness that washed over them. Mercy almost collapsed into Aslaug, fully intending to bury herself into the Yellow Ranger's embrace and take every ounce of comfort she could, yet her eyes met Kimberley's and upon seeing the haunted expression that the former Ranger wore a simple and inescapable truth spilled from the young woman's lips

"We have to go back" something in the air seemed to change and the Red Ranger felt the eyes of her team upon her as she held Kimberley's gaze "There are still people on that colony, we can't abandon them….we've got to go back"

"You have" Kimberley nodded, the admission leaving her lips as a tearful sob.

"HE'S CONSCIOUS, HOW IS HE CONSCIOUS?" a terrified voice demanded and the Rangers, both present and former turned in unison to see that despite his grievous injuries Zebidiah had sat bolt upright on the cold slab that he had been laid upon, his eyes becoming bottomless pools of darkness whilst the air around him buzzed and shook with unseen power and droplets of blood hung suspended in the air.

"Zebidiah!" Kimberley wiped her tears as she rushed to his side, the Ranger's a single step behind "Save your strength, let them help-"

"No time to be sentimental Kimberley, far more important things than me are at stake" Zebidiah interrupted as he held out his hand, revealing that the Dragon Power Coin was clutched within it and that the skin around the artefact was blistered and raw "Take it, they'll have to be ready, there's nobody else….May the Power protect you, all of you" without warning the former Lord Zedd's magic dissipated from the air and he fell backwards, collapsing onto the operating table limp and seemingly lifeless until several machines began to let out rhythmic beeping sounds and one of the many doctors managed to murmur an explanation in a disbelieving tone

"All vital signs have stopped…..except for brain activity, it's like he's in suspended animation"

"Get him into stasis, we can administer treatment from there" another quickly added, Kimberley didn't seem to hear them and instead stared down at the coin in her hand that had once belonged to Tommy; lost in her thoughts until she felt a hand on her shoulder

"We can't stay here" Mercy breathed out, determined despite barely being able to stand "We've got a job to do"

"He said that they'll have to be ready" Panthera added quietly, amber eyes narrowing to slits in suspicion "Who did he mean"

"I think he meant me" the voice that answered was faintly melodic and immediately familiar, the Aegis Rangers turned to see Kay standing in the doorway clutching one half of one of the robots that had been assigned to guard their quarters in each hand, oil and coolant pooling at their feet "I think my Grandfather wanted me to be here, his magic reached out to me and I felt that something was wrong so I came, the robots tried to stop me….My F-Lord Zedd did this?"

"He did" Mercy managed to answer, the shock of Kay being present on not even registering as it was simply buried beneath the weight of everything else that was happening; she simply forced herself to think in small, logical steps and put everything that didn't relate to her mission aside until it could be dealt with at a later date.

"Then I'm going to help you cousin" Kay assured her. Voice hardening into something steely and defiant "I just need my Power Coin" The Green Ranger held out his hand and Kimberley's eyes widened as she felt the object vanish from her grasp and reappear in the Acheron human hybrid's waiting palm.

It seemed that her goal of seeing all six Aegis Rangers united had been achieved, albeit in a way she would never have wished for.

**Author's Notes:**

So, halfway into Arc07 and boy oh boy, this one was an event lol.  
Guess what….I've still got some more fun tricks lined up.  
Unrelated but we know that Ryusoulger is going to be adapted for season 28 of Power Rangers which is cool, although I do agree that it would have been nice to see a Kyuranger adaption.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
I specifically chose to deploy the Rangers in pairs that they don't usually work in for the fights against the Putties.  
More civilians taking out grunts please.  
I feel like the ranger's individual fighting styles are evolving as I write them more, Tempestus was using what was effectively Aikido and Judo but has gradually started to get more heavy handed whilst Panthera has gone from straight up dirty fighting to using her acrobatic skills more effectively.  
Also, Panthera's dropping the giant silo/container of molten steel onto the Putties was definitely based on that scene from the '95 movie with Saba and the crate…..Also working in manufacturing and engineering in a city famous for its' steelworks means I've heard some horror stories about molten steel.  
Putties to me are basically stone Zombies, they have the advantages of Zombies and a more durable and controllable….that being said I had to have a fight in a mall at some point.  
Yeah Vali is typical monster of the week strength, in that one Ranger on their own is definitely gonna struggle against him.  
Oh the Rangers all thought they were slick getting into formation like that like it was gonna be just another monster.  
Lord Zedd said that Vali/Howl the Moving Castle was bait, he's the trap.  
Yeah Aslaug is 6'6'' and built, she's big….Lord Zedd is about 8'6''.  
Mission Control just watching the Ranger's get slapped around because there's really not much they can do to help at that point; also remember that I said last chapter Lord Zedd's magic is currently tied to the wards hiding his base, which means even here he's not at full power.  
Mention of a new Morpher, just because Kay's was literally made from pieces taken from dead Ranger's Morphers….he kinda needs a new one.  
Zebidiah went full Doctor Strange and looked for the best possible option.  
"_Not we, I"_ is the campaign slogan of every centrist or corporate politician.  
Oof, Lord Zedd just had to take a shot at Tommy like that.  
Zebidiah used his Dad voice and called Lord Zedd out by his real name, oh he's grounded.  
So Vali has other duties, meaning that Lord Zedd still has a plan outside of fighting the Rangers/Zebidiah.  
"_My father died on Earth's moon, but I'm glad you've come here so that I can finally put his spirit to rest"_ damn.  
The little exchange between the past and present Lord Zedd's was fun to write, it gave a little insight into Lord Zedd's thought process and mind state.  
Acheron genetics are incompatible with the Morphing Grid, but Zebidiah isn't Acheron any more; Zordon turned him into a human and the former Lord Zedd taking the Dragon Coin and becoming the _"Serpenterror Ranger" _was something I've had planned since day one.  
Zebidiah fights like Trey did, mixing magic into his fighting style except with a lot more power behind it.  
So under his armour Lord Zedd is a cyborg to at least some extent.  
And boom, Zebidiah is down and critically injured; I'll be 100% honest I initially planned to kill him here but I feel like he's still got parts to play in other characters' development, I've got an idea for how to deal with him from here on out though.  
I was gonna make the Putties even harder to get rid of but thinking about the scene before I wrote it made me think that there was already a lot happening this chapter.  
"_Not again"_ Zebidiah was someone that Mercy has known her whole life, the same as Zen-Aku was.  
So Kimberley and Grace didn't actually see Zebidiah and Zedd's fight, just saw his vital signs drip through the floor.  
There wasn't much time for the Rangers to interact but there were still a few little moments between Mercy and Aslaug.  
Yeah, the Power Rangers used to fall back to the Command Centre and regroup for round 2 against the monster of the week pretty often but this was actually the first time the Aegis Rangers have had to.  
So Zebidiah is in suspended animation at the moment and he willingly passed the Dragon Coin back to Kay.  
Boom, Kay makes his reappearance with a bombshell of a cliffhanger and now we have all six Rangers ready to fight on the same side.  
….and an actual boatload of angst to deal with after that.

No reviews on the last chapter…..Again.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	30. Parthian Shot

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 29 – Parthian Shot**

"Let's do this" Mercy managed to breath out despite her obvious trepidation, squeezing Aslaug's hand for reassurance before the Aegis Rangers, with the exception of Kay whose addition to the team was something that the Red Ranger was still struggling to process or come to terms with made their way towards the Command Centre.

It was the morning following the attack on the moon of Anvil Six, early enough that the sun was yet to venture above the horizon, giving the pre-dawn gloom a sense of peaceful stillness entirely at odds with maelstroms of conflicting thoughts and emotions that were the Ranger's own minds.

Following being pulled back from the battlefield they had been given medical treatment and a few hours to recuperate; though the idea of sleep had seemed utterly ridiculous to Mercy and she was almost certain that her friends had been of a similar opinion, each of them having spent their brief respite alone trying to steel themselves for what was to come; too spent to even speak to one another.

"Whatever happens today, know that I've enjoyed the time I've spent with you" Aslaug's voice was barely audible as she leaned down and pressed her lips to the wound on Mercy's head which even now was the source of a dull throbbing pain; the Red Ranger looked up and saw that the taller girl was offering her a smile of grim determination, icy blue eyes as piercing as ever against the black ink surrounding them and made all the more fierce by the fact that her face was mottled with purple and yellowing bruises. Beside the pair Rensa wore a hard but largely inscrutable expression with his eyes hidden beneath his filter goggles as always, as bleak as Mercy found the idea it seemed that the Black Ranger had made his peace with his own mortality a long time ago; Tempestus wore a similar expression in attempt to convey the image of dutiful stoicism that an Aquitian warrior was supposed to be though Mercy had heard him through the walls during the night, the fluent stream of quiet chanting in his native tongue sounding unmistakably like prayers. Panthera's eyes were narrowed, her tail standing erect behind her and she twirled one of her throwing knives between her fingers in a clear attempt at distracting herself, though which facet of their current situation she was trying to avoid thinking about was open to interpretation.

Eventually they could delay what was to come no longer and the entrance to the Command Centre opened with a hiss to allow them inside.

They were confronted with a shocking sight the moment they did so

"What sorcery is this?" Aslaug demanded as she gestured at Zebidiah Lord, or at the very least something that resembled him; a shimmering and transparent image of the robed and bearded man stood in the Command Centre, the edges of his form becoming incoherent and fading into wisps of incorporeal smoke giving the projection a wraith like appearance

"An AI built on his mind?" Panthera guessed "That's dirty, not something I'd expect from Lightspeed"

"No, what you're seeing is solely a result of Zebidiah's own….God I hate the word, but magic" Grace Sterling explained as she announced her presence, beside her was Kimberley Hart who looked as though she hadn't slept and Kay whose body language changed from eagerness that bordered on excitable to crumpling and looking away as they saw Panthera's glare.

"Indeed" Zebidiah, or whatever part of him was present nodded "My body is broken but I can still magically project my consciousness, I can't aid you in battle but I can still teach and advise. Grace tells me it might be possible to make this less taxing on me by fitting me into a tube like Zordon's….it would seem that fate has a cruel sense of humour"

"I'm glad to see you back with us sir" Mercy said earnestly, the idea of losing another of the people she had known her entire life was one that had made her almost physically ill; though her expression hardened as she added "But we've got work to do, so what's the situation and what's the plan?"

"Agreed" Kimberley nodded, a glimmer of pride in her charges showing despite her weariness "Bring the colony on screen!" she called out to the small fleet of Lightspeed personnel staffing the Command Centre and a three dimensional image of the colony that the Dark Empire had effectively laid siege to was displayed in the central viewing globe, rotating slowly with several annotations and smaller images around it highlighting certain details which Kimberley began to explain.

"We can't get people off of the colony yet, not when we know that Lord Zedd is cloaked above the moon with who knows how many ships; teleportation still isn't possible either. But we've managed to make contact with the population of the colony after the company that founded it gave us unrestricted access to their communications network" Kimberley managed a weak smile as she delivered the news which presented the first silver lining to be found "The Putties aren't attacking the production facilities or the infrastructure of the colony like we thought they might be attempting to….we thought they'd attempt to repurpose it for their own goals but they seem to be mining something out of the moon"

"What are they taking?" Tempestus asked

"We don't know" Grace answered "We weren't aware of anything valuable on that moon"

"But we've managed to use the camera feeds within the colony and the communication to direct the population away from the Dark Empire's ground troops and they don't seem to be sending any reinforcements in" Kimberley added

"Probably because they're just gonna destroy it from orbit when they're done" Panthera hissed; a bleak statement which nonetheless was greeted with nods of agreement.

"Which is why we should act fast" Kimberley stated bluntly "Some of the Putties were mining under the space-port, a group of workers detonated the power supply of one of the ships to destroy them which drew the attention of Lord Zedd's monster, Howl the Moving Castle….they've since escaped but the monster is still in the area"

"The space port has a thin shield around it, much like the forcefields around the entrances to Aquitian cities" Grace explained, nodding to Tempestus "Meaning that there's enough of a shield to keep the artificial atmosphere in but ships can come and go freely-"

"And also that a Dark Empire ship could fire a mutagenic grenade" Zebidiah added, Mercy's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her

"You want us to attack Howl the Moving Castle and force Lord Zedd to grow his monster so you can see where his ships are!"

"Exactly" Kimberley admitted "It's a risky play but the priority is getting people to safety and we can't do that until we can see the enemy ships"

"You're Zords are ready to be deployed" Grace added, a flicker of nervousness crossing her features before she added "The person supposed to be overseeing the technical side of your operations is aiming to be here as soon as possible and in the meantime I'll be providing assistance; I never had the opportunity to use Zords as a Ranger but I happen to know a little about building my own giant mecha"

"What happens if Lord Zedd shows up again?" Panthera's voice was not raised but words silenced the Command Centre all the same; after a moment of heavy fearful silence as they each considered the ramifications of her question.

Oddly and yet almost predictably it was Kay that answered her

"Then the six of us will just have to be enough" the Green Ranger then turned to Kimberley and asked, almost meekly "Do you have it?"

"I do" the former Pink Ranger nodded and reached into her pocket and produced a device which made the other Aegis Ranger's eyes widened. The Dragon Power Coin had been fitted into a new Morpher and now rather than the chimeric fusion of bastardised parts stolen from other Morphers it resided in an Aegis Morpher with the same sleek and minimalist design as the others, though it was finished in a glossy black rather than silver and the zigzagging track which ran from the coin to the far edge of the Morpher was, instead of black the same shade of Green as Kay's armour. The human Acheron hybrid slipped the device onto their left wrist and examined it for a moment before turning to Mercy and taking a single step towards her, hand outstretched

"Shall we, cousin?" Mercy stared at the hand for a moment and struggled to deal with wave of emotions that threatened to swallow her; the person before her was a murderer, they were also a Power Ranger however and the fact of who and what they were and how it related to Mercy's own past simply could not be forgotten or overlooked. The Red Ranger looked to her friends and saw that Aslaug was trying to silently convey that she would follow any decision Mercy made. Tempestus's face was inscrutable, the Blue Ranger pragmatic enough to accept that they would need assistance whilst Rensa seemed relatively unperturbed, likely having committed many acts that would horrify the other Rangers in the name of simple survival; Panthera's eyes flashed with anger and her expression morphed from furious, to hurt and finally simple acceptance.

Mercy clasped Kay's hand and nodded.

"It's Morphing Time"

"Osore!"

"Sabre-Beast!"

"Plesion!"

"Ursa Titan!"

"Red-Tailed Hawk!"

"Dragonzord!"

Six streaks of light illuminated the Command Centre as the Rangers teleported away and those that witnessed couldn't help but feel a measure of hope despite the situation.

* * *

Whoever had built the colony on Anvil Six Beta had at the very least been diligent in its' construction and seen to it that the protective domes would shield their inhabitants from the cold void of space under even the most dangerous of circumstances. The Mining Putties had burrowed beneath not only the colony itself but also the infrastructure which ran beneath its' paved roads and began excavating with the pickaxe and shovel-like appendages as they worked tirelessly to achieve Lord Zedd's goals yet there was seemingly risk to the integrity or stability of the colony itself whilst the fighting that had taken place within had failed to damage the structures.

Though the space-port still smouldered and thick pillars of black smoke rose and choked the air as fast as the artificial atmosphere could purify itself and disperse them.

Vali stalked the burning wreckage of what had been a cargo lander of intermediate size intended for transporting goods to and from spaceships to vast to land in the limited space which was now scattered and strewn across the vicinity in piles of twisted and shredded debris, snarling as they sniffed the air for any trace of their quarry.

The population had mounted a small but admittedly impressive of resistance, taking to guerilla fighting and hit and run tactics with a willingness that the monstrous creature noted would likely be useful to the Dark Empire once humanity had been conquered and the most worthy traits bred into the Acheron species. Since using a makeshift explosive to ignite the power supply of the cargo lander and engulf a fleet of worker Putties in the resulting blast however the inhabitants of the colony had gone to ground, seemingly vanishing entirely; Vali had initially wished to round of the stony automatons not modified to serve as a labour force and tear this entire colony asunder only to be ordered to halt by Lord Zedd himself, the warlord chuckling darkly as he explained that he sensed trickery was afoot and ordered him to instead hunt down the natives alone whilst the warrior Putties acted as guards.

It seemed that the monster would have a far more worthwhile opponent however.

"Rangers" Vali's sneer was thick with phlegm and mucus which hung from their snarling maw in ropey strands yet still managed to convey open mockery and derision as the Rangers teleported into the surrounding area, streams of light materialising in some impossible to discern point above and tearing downwards. As the Rangers manifested, atmosphere from wherever they had come from rushing outwards in wisps of mist and small shock-waves that rippled the air around them Vali was somewhat surprised to see that there were six of them present; a Green Ranger stood close to the Red at her left hand side though they were clearly not the same Ranger whom Lord Zedd had laid low in their previous encounter. To the Red Ranger's right was the Yellow Range and Vali sensed the Black, Blue and Pink moving to surround him.

"Finally come to die in battle?" Vali growled, artificial muscles that powered his mechanical limbs coiling and stinger like tail rattling in warning as the sound of the weapons in the shoulder pylons reloading filled the air "No japes today Red Ranger?"

"Sorry, I'm not here for your Vali-dation" Mercy retorted before springing into motion, a slight shift in her stance serving as the monster's only warning before she rushed forwards. Vali let out a furious howl in challenge as their clawed feet dug into ground beneath them as they unleashed twin barrages from their shoulder pylons, the rockets forcing the Red Ranger to leap aside and evade as they impacted around her and set the air ablaze.

Only for the Green Ranger to leap through the flames, ethereal green light coalescing around their fist.

"Die!" Vali roared, tail arcing over head and firing its' laser weapon; the Green Ranger met the beam of searing light by driving their own glowing fist into it and whilst they were ripped from the air and their momentum robbed they were left unharmed by the exchange.

Before Vali could hope to launch a counter attack the Red Ranger came streaking out of the flames like a crimson comet and launched a spinning heel kick which caught the monster in the gut, leaving them reeling and gasping for air with no chance to brace themselves as the Green Ranger simply appeared beside him, moving too fast to be seen and drove their elbow into their armoured and helmeted skull with enough force to fling them backwards.

When Vali rose to their feet it was on legs that seemed unwilling to cooperate and the monster spat out a mouthful of viscous black blood before reaching up with a clawed hand to rip their helmet away, seeing that its' surface had been partially collapsed by the Green Ranger's blow.

There was little warning before the onslaught began anew with the Black Ranger rushing close in an effort to attack from behind, daggers manifesting in twin flashes of deep violet light which alerted Vali to his presence; the monster lashed out and parried the first blow with the blade of his mechanical stinger before forcing Rensa aside by firing another burst of purple light from the weapon mounted above it. Only for the Blue Ranger to collide with his chest with earthshaking force and land a double palm strike which made the arcane light issuing from the cracks in Vali's rippling obsidian flesh to flicker and waver as he gasped for air. In response Vali launched himself forwards and unleashed a storm of blows, his metallic claws ripping through the air and scoring the ground as Tempestus weaved and span around them in his signature fluid and graceful way until a single blow managed to connect and sent the Aquitian skidding backwards.

"Now you die Ranger!" Vali howled, spinning to thrust their bladed tail at the Blue Ranger's gut which his opponent responded to by whirling aside and simply catching the mechanical and yet skeletal appendage, grasping it firmly in both hands before planting his feet and hauling the monster off balance and using their leverage to throw them through the air.

Aslaug saw the monster hit the ground with enough force to shake the ground and rattle the debris that littered it before rising once again, clearly dazed and staggered this time and decided that it was time to end this battle once and for all, manifesting her axe in a burst of golden yellow light she sprinted forwards and called out to Mercy

"Let's finish this beast off!" she closed the distance and swung her axe with a war-cry, letting out a snarl through clenched teeth as Vali caught the shaft of the weapon and the two of them grappled with it and the Yellow Ranger was forced back a single step, the monster stabbed downwards with his tail which Aslaug countered by twisting her axe and using its' shaft to parry in a display of utmost skill as she kept her opponents' tail and fangs at bay.

Seconds later Mercy arrived and Aslaug's gambit paid off.

The Red Ranger weaved under the Yellow Ranger's outstretched arms with her katana manifesting in a pulse of crimson light.

"I WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!" Vali screamed in agony as they staggered back, purple light spilling from a gaping wound slashed into their chest; both Mercy and Aslaug readied their weapons and prepared to charge once again but were denied as the monster let out an ear-splitting roar and unleashed a storm of rockets from their shoulder pylons, blasting everything around him in a firestorm of deafening explosions whilst firing his tail-mounted laser into the flames intermittently.

Until Panthera entered the fray.

The Pink Ranger's combined blades tore through the air and sheared cleanly through the centre of the monster's cybernetic tail and before Vali could even articulate his rage and pain Panthera herself was upon him, sliding low to the ground and kicking at one of the mechanical joints of his legs, buckling it as she passed before leaping into the air and catching her weapons as she lashed out and drove her knee into his face before separating her weapons as she landed and slashing downwards with the pair of curved forward blades she now wielded.

Vali caught her wrists, large and powerful hands closing around her forearms as he dragged himself to his feet once more and lifted the Pink Ranger from the ground, letting out a low rumbling chuckle as Panthera attempted to struggle free.

Then he saw green light gathering in the corner of his eye.

Kay struck the monster with cataclysmic force, the nexus of emerald light enveloping their fist bursting out from the point of impact as arcs of green lightning whilst Vali was flung from what had once been a landing pad, landing in a crumpled and smoking heap several dozen meters away.

"Are you okay?" the Green Ranger asked, offering a hand that still crackled with stored power

"We need to finish him off!" Panthera insisted as the other Rangers gathered around them, leaping to her feet without taking Kay's hand.

"Agreed" Mercy nodded, confidence suddenly filling her voice as she addressed her fellow Rangers "Power Blaster!" five of the Aegis Ranger combined their weapons into the now familiar cannon and Kay watched as Vali struggled to rise, coughing mouthful of thick tar-like blood before making a decision. Mercy was left dumbfounded as the Green Ranger took a position behind her and clasped firmly onto the Power Cannon, streams of energy transferring from their glowing green hands to the weapon until it fired.

The burst of iridescent white light, crackling with rainbow coloured arcs of energy seemed far larger and more destructive than it had before and when the blinding corona subsided Vali could be seen lying lifeless and motionless on the ground with smoke and flames surrounding them

"We did it!" Kay cheered as the Ranger's weapons vanished, turning to Panthera and plainly hoping that their shared victory would go some way towards repaired their utterly broken friendship, as brief as it had been.

"Don't celebrate yet" Panthera answered coldly, making no effort to look at the Green Ranger as she spoke

"She's right" Mercy admitted though she seemed far less hostile than the Pink Ranger, simply weary "We know what comes next"

* * *

It gave Paradoxa no small amount of satisfaction to watch Vali fall, the abomination with no Acheron blood made from scraps of flesh and genetic material and spawned from a glorified, oversized test-tube who had dared to presume themselves to be the insectoid hybrids' equal was left laying motionless as the Aegis Ranger's weapons cut them down; the Green Ranger's presence amongst them giving an additional reason for her twisted smirk, she had not truly known that Lord Zedd's progeny and the product of his research and experiments had defected from their side when she had accused them of such, but their presence here would absolve her of any future suspicion or guilt.

Now there was the small matter of alerting her master of Vali's demise.

"My Lord" her words were silky smooth and calm as usual as she rose from the command throne which she had retaken in Lord Zedd's absence whilst opening a holographic command channel and sank into a steep bow as the communication was answered

"The Aegis Rangers have returned….Including the Green Ranger, I believe it is Kay wielding the Coin once again. Vali has fallen-"

"What of the mining efforts?" Lord Zedd rumbled, his holographic form revealing that he was within a closed off and hidden area of the medical facilities aboard the Heliothis where injured officers and crew who could not be easily replaced were restored to their former glory by whatever horrific means necessary. Paradoxa was briefly distracted by the disconcerting image, the towering warlord still wore his signature mask though much of the bladed armour that encased his torso had been removed to reveal that his entire right arm was robotic and had been removed to be repaired separately whilst much of the leathery and crimson coloured flesh which covered his slab like muscles was burned, scarred and perforated with holes where machinery had been grafted into his body.

There was also the small manner of being operated on at that moment, seemingly without anaesthesia. Lord Zedd's chest hung open, floods of dark blood cascaded from the cavity within which organs, as unique and mismatched as those of any Acheron could be seen alongside yet more machinery and artificial components whilst he was attended to by an alien being that appeared to be a sentient mass of tentacles, each translucent blue appendage enhanced with a series of cybernetic implants and augmentations.

"The Putties are unaffected my Lord" Paradoxa managed to answer, catching herself before she drew her masters' ire "The Rangers attacked Vali directly"

"Then we should act with discretion before they turn their attention to them" Lord Zedd noted with some agitation, though whether it were due to the matter at hand or simply the discomfort of having much of his respiratory system on display was something Paradoxa didn't dare guess

"Yes my Lord" she answered simply

"Recall the Putties, mining teams and all….they can be re-sculpted should the need arise" he remained pensive for a moment before adding "Fire a mutagenic grenade; Vali should be allowed to fight to the very end and perhaps he will swallow my bastard whole in the process"

"As you wish my Lord" the transmission ended and Paradoxa returned to her command throne as she made herself comfortable, her crew hastening to act on their new orders whilst she allowed herself a smile at the idea of her problems simply consuming one another.

* * *

The seemingly inevitable had happened and the six Aegis Rangers watched as the glowing form of the mutagenic grenade tore its' way into the artificial atmosphere of the colony and hurtled downwards to impact against the body of the Dark Empire's latest monster.

Vali rose from the ground with a primal scream of rage, the monster's reanimated body convulsing and contorting unnaturally as it grew in size; whatever foul concoction and dark magic the projectile had contained causing his mechanical components to expand along with his flesh whilst his severed tail regrew itself, thick and ropey strands of obsidian coloured sinew covering the mechanical limb like webbing before knitting themselves together into what the Rangers supposed the limb originally looked like before it had been removed, a muscular limb ending in a bulbous stinger and covered in plates of a dark and marbled, glossy brown whilst clouds of smog and pillars of flame erupted from emptied missile racks within his shoulders. The light that emanated from the abominations' chest cavity reignited, though this time rather than its' previous purple it was a brilliant white and the Rangers stared up at their opponent with grim resolve save for Kay who had never seen this tactic of the Dark Empire's in person before

"Do they always do this?" they asked, there voice conveying an emotion somewhere between horror, awe and childlike wonder at the sight

"Only when they want to make a point" Rensa murmured

"Captain Hart, they've fired the mutagenic grenade; if you follow the trajectory of the shot you'll have the location of their ship" Mercy informed Mission Control, voice almost vibrating with urgency

"Ships are preparing to teleport in" Kimberley replied calmly, knowing that the greater mobility of the Alliance fleet would be decisive. Mercy turned to the other Ranger's and issued a now familiar command.

"We need Aegis Zord power!"

Six mechanical titans were summoned to the colony of Anvil Six Beta in blinding coronas of coloured light and the Rangers were teleported into the cockpits of their respective Zords; each of them experiencing the rush of the consciousness being accelerated as it merged with the machine.

"We need to form the Megazord!" Mercy ordered as the Hawk Zord soared above the buildings that the Sabre Zord and Osore Zords skulked between, their massive forms possessed of more menacing grace than something of their size should have found possible whilst to the distance the Plesion and Ursa Titan Zords could be seen converging on the reanimated Vali from the sides in a flanking manoeuvrer

"I don't think this one will give us the chance" Aslaug replied as her mecha rose up onto its' hind legs to tear at the monsters' gut before being forced back by its' thrashing tail.

"I'll buy you some time" Kay's voice sounded eagerly over the comms and a shadow fell over Mercy within the cockpit of her own mecha as the Dragonzord soared over her, its' massive form close to filling the space between the Hawk Zord and the domed roof of the colony. The Red Ranger watched, momentarily stunned as the Green Ranger brought their monstrous machine crashing into Vali, letting out warped and mechanical shrieks as it did so and attacking with unspeakable ferocity; buildings and small spacecraft were crushed underfoot as Vali fought to free himself from the Dragonzord which clawed and bit at him, its' tail driving into the monster's right shoulder and tearing a deep wound into the mechanical limb and pylon.

She quickly took the initiative and seized the opportunity

'_Megazord activation has been initiated'_ the synthetic voice announced as the five Aegis Zord came together, their individual limbs retracting and new components unfurling until finally the combined form of the Aegis Megazord was completer and each of the Rangers felt their mind rush again as their consciousnesses brushed against one another within the matrix formed through their connection to the mecha.

'_Megazord activated'_

The announcement from the machines' own artificial intelligence came as the almost panoramic viewscreen of the cockpit came into life and displayed Vali managing to hold the Dragonzord at bay, mechanical hands clenched around its' neck and maw whilst the reanimated monster arced his tail overhead and drove its' stinger into the machines back with enough force to make the ground tremble.

"We've gotta help!" Panthera's thought was almost yelled directly into the other Ranger's minds and the Megazord sprung into motion, sprinting forwards as the Pink Ranger assumed direct control. Seeing the attack coming the monster hurled the Dragonzord aside thought the Green Ranger made sure rip a wound into Vali's snout with his mechas' own tail-mounted weapon as he did so; seeing their opponent let out a howl of incoherent murderous fury before charging at them the Blue Ranger spoke up

"If I may do something bodacious?" Tempestus quickly took control of the Megazord from Panthera and moved the gargantuan mecha with incredible fluidity and precision to bring it passed Vali's wild slash in a quick sidestep whilst hooking its' right arm around the monsters' and grabbing his shoulder and kicking at the back of his legs to send the reanimated horror crashing to the ground.

Vali made to rise only the Dragonzord to let out a piercing shriek as it deployed its' claw mounted rockets which streaked across the space port and ripped into the monsters' left arm; exploding in a shower of cybernetic shrapnel and bloody viscera.

"End this quickly!" Aslaug roared as she took control of the Megazord and seized Vali's tail, using it to hoist the now one armed monster to hist feet and deliver a brutal haymaker which partially collapsed the bones of his snout and sent him staggering away.

"While he's stunned" Rensa urged "Finish it now!" Mercy agreed and gave the order, all five of the Rangers within the Megazords' cockpit sharing the same thought as she spoke

"Mega Sword!" the Megazord reached over its' back drew the massive double-edged claymore that materialised along the Plesion Zords' collapsed tail, drawing it and grasping it in both fists as all Five Rangers shared control of the mecha and brought the weapon down in a diagonal slash, a flash of blinding light and shock-wave which seemed to shake the entire colony to its' core bursting from the impact as Vali writing and sunk to his knees and let out an enraged howl before finally exploding.

"Target destroyed!" Mercy exclaimed, almost giving in to the urge to cheer in triumph before Kay's melodic voice filled the comms, far more cold and detached than usual.

"We're not finished yet" before Mercy or any of the other Aegis Rangers could ask what they meant the sky was split by a shriek from the Dragonzord before the monstrous machine surged into the air and sped directly towards the thin shielding above them that served as an exit.

* * *

The Dragonzord had retained its' own primal artificial intelligence despite whatever repairs it had undergone whilst in the custody of Project Lightspeed and the Green Ranger had been prepared to have mentally wrestle and grapple with said intelligence as its' base instincts sought to overwhelm their own mind yet that was not what had happened, instead upon entering the cockpit of the Dragonzord Kay had found the mecha urging them onwards, the two of them working in tandem until Vali had fallen and the machine had whispered new thoughts into the Ranger's mind.

The Dragonzord was a hungry, violent and predatory thing that was made for battle on every level; yet at that moment it was undeniably correct.

As the Green Ranger and their Zord burst free of the colony and its' artificial gravity a terrifying sight greeted them; a blue sky like that of Earth or any colony made in its' image vanished to be replaced by the endless blackness of space, speckled with gleaming stars in what would would have been a beautiful display.

Were it not a raging battleground.

The first of the Alliances ships had teleported into the system and launched on all out offensive, their lasers, missiles, photon and other more esoteric weapons turning the void into an eruption of colour with each volley as they attacked a target which remained largely unseen; the Dark Empire ship had kept its' cloaking field active though sections of it could be glimpsed for an instant as each beam of light and explosion crashed into its' shielding, the empty space seeming to ripple like water and reveal the rough scale and shape of the enemies' behemoth of a vessel. The Dark Empire ship responded to the abuse with equal ferocity, its' own broadside weapons setting vast swathes of the space around it ablaze and tearing vast wounds into the hulls of the Alliances' fleet, more than one ship was already limping along with visible heavy damage; seemingly waiting to be picked off by the next barrage.

The Dragonzord's predatory instincts formed a crude plan of action and Kay found themselves letting out a low guttural snarl as they put it into motion, though they were momentarily distracted by an incoming transmission.

"Green Ranger, Kay isn't it?" a voice that Kay had never heard spoke to him on the channel reserved for Mission Control; whoever they were their tone was conversational and unbothered, with a distinctly paternal note to it although the Green Ranger had no frame of reference for such things

"I doubt that our ships would mind a little extra support right now" the speaker continued "But I still have to ask what you're planning exactly?"

"Who am I speaking to?" Kay asked as they urged the Dragonzord forwards as another Alliance ship was struck with a devastating salvo

"I'll be overseeing all technical aspects of Mission Control from here on out, I'm currently inside the Command Centre" the newcomer answered "I apologise for my tardiness but Doctor Sterling has briefed me on the current situation"

"Your ships are outclassed and outgunned" Kay stated bluntly "The Dark Empire ship is using its' broadside weapons batteries rather than its' main guns to make it more difficult to target its' command bridge while its' still cloaked; have all of your ships lock onto my co-ordinates"

"Understood" whoever Kay was speaking to hesitated for a brief moment before giving their assent and in that time the Green Ranger had turned their attention away from the conversation and back to the matter at hand.

Emerald coloured light swirled and coalesced into a stormy, eldritch nexus in the maw of the Dragonzord as it hurtled towards seemingly empty space before first splaying its' clawed forelimbs wide and unleashing a salvo of rockets which streaked outwards and impacted against the forward shields' of the gargantuan cloaked spaceship.

With their target cleanly defined Kay unleashed the Dragonzord's main weapon and poured a blazing torrent of ethereal fire into the command bridge of the monstrous centipede-like vessel; the shields rippled under the assault but held however the damage was done and the Alliance ships began to focus their fire on a single point, lances of searing light and blossoming explosions erupting from the shielding until finally the Dark Empire ship lurched forwards, forcing the Dragonzord and Alliance vessels aside as it leapt into warp and abandoned the besieged colony to escape at faster than light speeds.

"Good work Kay" it was Captain Kimberley Hart's voice on the channel now "Mission complete, it's time to come home"

Kay remained silent and simply opened all nearby comm channel, the cacophony of cheers that greeted them allowing the Green Ranger to feel, for the first time that the Alliance at large could be a home to them and with that thought the Green Ranger smiled whilst the Dragonzord gave a silent scream of victory into the void.

**Authors' Notes:**

Okay, one chapter left of this arc to write and its' a wrap up….Do let me know if these arcs start to get too formulaic.  
I don't have Arc 08 planned out just yet, I know what the idea of it is going to be but I don't have any specifics written down; but knowing me that will likely change before it becomes an issue.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
This obviously wasn't any sort of "Final battle" scenario but I wanted the walk to the Command Centre to feel like it could be, realistically this is the first time the Rangers have been put on the back foot like this and pushed back; they needed to feel that.  
I feel like Rensa and Tempestus have been a little overlooked so far and I want to try and fix that.  
"_What sorcery is this?"_ sounds a lot less impressive when magic is actually a quantifiable thing in universe.  
And this what I'm doing with Zebidiah, I was originally debating killing him off but that would be a waste of all of his potential interactions with Kay, so the compromise is that he's basically just an astral projection whilst his body is in stasis….And the idea of the former Lord Zedd in a Zordon tube is too good to pass up.  
Lightspeed could have gotten unrestricted access through the Moonbase but it would have taken more time than just having the company give them a key.  
And now we see that those mining Putties weren't made for no reason, so Lord Zedd is showing Paradoxa how to to the whole 'plans within plans' gig properly; this is roughly equivalent to the attack on Triforia except he's doing it more effectively with less resources.  
Panthera makes a point, why send a second wave when you can just bomb from orbit?  
I actually had to figure out how the Empire ship would fire one of their grenades without sucking the atmosphere out of the colony when they made a hole in the roof.  
Little nod to Grace's Promethea Proto-Zord Mech in the comics.  
Kay's new Morpher, basically a standard Aegis Morpher but in edgier colours….still better than the bastard Morpher that he had.  
Six Ranger Morph for the first time.  
Humans are tenacious bastards and I like the idea that even the biggest meanest Empire in the galaxy sees that quality in us and appreciates it.  
Again Lord Zedd is clever, he knows that if the standard Putties were recalled or sent hunting then the mining Putties would get ambushed.  
"_Sorry, I'm not here for your Vali-dation" _I needed more puns from Mercy in my life, because she's still a dork and I refuse to believe that being a Ranger has jaded her that much.  
Mercy and Kay just opening up with a completely unplanned tag-team attack like that was fun to write.  
The Rangers laying the smack down was enjoyable but I'm sorry, as strong as she is she can't just overpower Vali on her own.  
"_I WILL EAT YOU ALIVE!"_ my monsters of the week have better threats than canon, just saying.  
Oof, that Kay and Panthera situation is gonna be awkward.  
None of Kay's equipment has been integrated into the other Ranger's stuff yet.  
At least Paradoxa's having fun.  
So Lord Zedd has more injures…..but is also capable of having a completely normal conversation with his entire chest cavity opened up and an arm missing.  
Normally a Mutagenic grenade doesn't heal injuries it just grows and zombifies the target but this is Gibil's best work so I let Vali/Howl the Moving Castle have his tail back.  
Remember Kay only knows what was drilled into their mind in their stasis pod, they've never actually seen what the Dark Empire does.  
"We've gotta help!" awww, she does care.  
So the Megazord and Dragonzord team-up was nice….but we know what the natural evolution of this is.  
You thought that Vali was gonna be a new recurring character, a left hand for Lord Zedd now that Paradoxa has been demoted from big bad to right hand?….Nah, that comes later.  
Kay learning to handle the Dragonzord is fun, it's almost an Eva in the way it has a clear mind of its' own.  
Remember the Heliothis is massive, it dwarfs the other ships Paradoxa has been sending and the Alliance ships were not expecting it because they've never seen it, even at Triforia Paradoxa kept it cloaked and hidden at the back.  
So are new tech-support is here, it's someone Kay doesn't know but we'll just say I made a point of keeping the other Rangers out of that conversation.  
Kay might never have seen a giant monster up close, but they definitely know where the command bridge is on an Empire ship.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Well the former Lord Zedd was never gonna go quietly into the night was he, I could have had that fight go on for ever; made it the last fight from the raid crossed with Merlin's duel with Morgana.  
The Rangers were always gonna go back, that's what makes them Rangers.  
Yeah Kay's reintroduction needs drama but not the kind where people are trying to fight each other, there's bigger things at stake.  
You'll meet them properly next chapter, get ready.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	31. Feint

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 30 – Feint**

The Rangers heard the cheers even before the light of their teleportation streams had dissipated.

Mercy removed her helmet rather than simply de-morphing, perhaps out of some subconscious urge to appear as the hero that she was perceived as for just a while longer; clutching her helmet she saw that her fellow Rangers were following suit and she and Aslaug shared tired, tender smiles for a moment as they basked in the glow of their victory and the applause that the crew of the Command Centre had erupted into. Eventually she turned away from the Yellow Ranger, despite feeling as though she could have stared into those icy blue eyes for far longer and glanced at the rest of her team; Rensa merely looked somewhat ruffled, being the product of the unforgiving and nightmarish world of Dread had given him a different perspective on the Ranger's victories, seeing them as only temporary things whilst the evil of the Dark Empire was a constant which required constant resistance. Panthera almost preened at the welcome they received, the teal-skinned alien brushing violet hair away from her eyes where her spiked Mohawk and curled and flopped over itself; Mercy thought that the Pink Ranger might make a joking comment about finally getting the recognition that she deserved before realising that Panthera, whilst smiling was pointedly looking anywhere but at Kay whilst the Green Ranger simply looked lost; head cocked to the side as their inhuman eyes darted between Panthera and the translucent image of Zebidiah Lord as though they were unsure of who to focus their attention on first. It was when Mercy focused her attention on Tempestus however that she became truly confused.

The Blue Ranger looked stunned, his mouth hanging open and his glistening, coral pink eyes wide; the Red Ranger followed his gaze and caught sight of a trio of people she had never met before standing alongside Kimberley, Zebidiah and Grace, a human man alongside a pair of Aquitians, though she had barely a moment to take in the sight before Tempestus had bolted towards them.

"Father!" Tempestus's arms were flung around the middle aged human mans' shoulders and Mercy realised with a start that this was Billy Cranston, former Blue Power Ranger and despite his slightly thinning hair which still managed to resemble a mop, thick glasses, slight build and a complexion that had paled after spending so long on Aquitar away from the light of the sun the man still managed to carry himself with an air of unassuming power; at least until he returned his adopted sons' crushing hug with gusto.

Mercy was unable to ignore her curiosity and silently gestured for the other Aegis Rangers to follow her, though she made sure to keep a respectable distance whilst her friend was reunited with his family. Tempestus broke away from his father and turned to the two Aquitians present, the first being clad in the navy and gold uniform of his peoples' warriors, a stocky and powerfully built man with skin that appeared tanned despite the nature of Aquitar which suggested he had spent some time away from his home-world whilst the purple tissue amidst the golden-hued mask-like bone structure of his face had a rough and coarse texture to it, denoting age.

The second Aquitian was a woman, the shortest of the trio of newcomers wearing clothes in various shades of purple which was adorned with countless beads, pearls and seemingly hand-carved stones which radiated a quiet magical energy and put Mercy in mind of some sort of shaman; the woman's skin was olive and the soft tissue around the bony protrusions of her brow and cheeks leaned closer to pink than purple and was framed by chestnut coloured hair which reached to just below her jaw.

"Mother" Tempestus halted, bowing and holding his hands out before him in a triangular shape in a traditional Aquitian greeting until Cestria laughed softly

"Silly boy" she sighed before pulling him into a hug even tighter than his fathers' had been.

"Blademaster Corcus" Tempestus bowed again, the Aquitian man mirrored the greeting and gave no verbal reply; the Blue Aegis Ranger glanced between the three of them and asked the obvious question "What are you all doing here?"

"Doctor Cranston here will be taking on the duties that I've been covering in regards to Ranger operations" Grace explained, wearing a satisfied smile that struggled not to seem more than a little smug "It's good to see you Billy….I always knew we'd ending up working together eventually"

"I apologise for the tardiness" Billy gave a weak smile of his own before waving the other Rangers over "Gather round, I want to get to know all of you; because you're my sons' friends as well as you being Rangers. This is Cestria, my wife and one of the leading healers on Aquitar; she'll be here acting as your chief medical officer"

"Please just don't make the post-battle checks take all day" Panthera sighed, annoyed by the reminder of the bureaucracy yet to come.

"I will certainly do what I can" her voice echoed and bubbled in the way all Aquitians' did as she chuckled, before becoming more serious as she turned to Zebidiah's mentally projected form "I hope Billy and I can help you as well"

"Thank you" Zebidiah grunted gruffly, clearly unused to the idea of needing aid or having people around him willing to offer it. Kimberley stepped forwards and gave a slight nod of the head to the Aquitian Man whom Tempestus had given the title of 'Blademaster' before speaking to the Rangers as a whole.

"This is Corcus, Black Ranger of Aquitar-"

"Former Black Ranger" the man interrupted and Mercy's widened a fraction in recognition, whilst she did not know his face Corcus's name was well known to anyone who had studied the Power Rangers of Earth to any degree. The Aquitian Rangers to come to Earths' defence when the Power Rangers were indisposed had relinquished their titles and risen to new stations within their society, with the exception of Aurico the Red 'Alien' Ranger who had led this new team in Tommy Oliver's attack on Acheron; that entire team had fallen and their Power Coins had been lost, prompting Corcus who had blamed himself for his absence to leave Aquitar in a self imposed exile and fighting evil wherever he encountered it, his title of Blademaster a relic of a life he no longer lived.

"And I will be here to train you" the former Black Ranger surveyed the Aegis Rangers "You've been allowed to train under your own supervision for some time now and show promise, but I also see room for improvement"

"Not right now however" Kimberley interjected, reading the room and sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere caused by Corcus's assertion "Our Rangers need to go through their post-battle medical checks and debriefing, then I think we can all agree that they've earned the right to some rest"

"That they have" Billy nodded and the Aegis Ranger's shared weary smiles, they had pushed the Dark Empire back once again and the recovery efforts for Anvil Six Beta could being whilst they relished the luxury of what other people would consider normality.

"What about me?" Kay's words were cautious "Where do I go?" Kimberley looked to the other Aegis Rangers and Mercy quickly realised the question that was being silently asked of her; the Red Ranger turned to her friends in turn and saw each of them wearing reluctant expressions, the Green Ranger had fought alongside them but living with them was an entirely different proposition.

Then Aslaug took the initiative

"With us" she answered simply "We have spare rooms" the Yellow Ranger's expression hardened and it became clear that the other Rangers would simply have to deal with the decision, a choice which made simply made Mercy curious whilst Panthera visibly fumed though the matter would have to wait a while longer to be resolved as Kimberley and Cestria motioned for the Aegis Rangers to follow them whilst Corcus and Billy began examining the Command Centre

"Rangers" Zebidiah's voice echoed and distorted and his magical projection began to fade away, the effort of maintaining it finally taxing him.

"You did great work today" his eyes focused on Kay "All of you" with that he faded away and the Rangers prepared to give their debriefing, each of the six of them apprehensively wondering what this new status quo would bring.

* * *

Paradoxa had been summoned and the insectoid Acheron Hybrid made her way dutifully towards where she knew her master to be.

The Heliothis was currently still travelling through deep space on a course to return to the moon of Unus and as she stalked through the vast chambers and decks which made up the interior of her ships' segmented body Paradoxa noted that may of those who were, at least in name still under her command were hard at work to not only ensure that the vast amount of work to keep such a colossal vessel functioning was done but also that the considerable damage inflicted by the guns of the Alliances' warships of the Green Ranger's Zord was swiftly repaired. As she marched through the ship its' crew halted briefly to bow and show proper respect as she passed yet Paradoxa could sense the subtle differences in their posture, the way that they dared to raise their eyes and how they returned to work before she was even fully out of view, the hushed and fearful whispering that had once followed her replaced by the din of frantic labour. Paradoxa had been usurped as master of her vessel and the thought made her mandibles clack in irritation, the species that much of biology had been drawn from, the same species that had produced the likes of Scorpius and Trakeena were spacefaring and each of the monstrous biological ships was a hive or colony unto itself; the hybrid couldn't help but silently rage at the fact that Lord Zedd had rearranged the natural order of things with his mere presence.

Eventually she reached where Lord Zedd was currently located, a portion of her shop that Paradoxa herself rarely had need of as she did not sully herself toiling away in the various parts of the ship where she could be harmed by machinery and she had the good sense not enter the fray herself unless she was sure it was a battle she could win; it was a private and restricted segment of the ships' infirmary whose door was wrenched open by magical force as she approached, sparks bursting from its' sliding mechanism as Lord Zedd gestured for her to enter

"My Lord" Paradoxa sank into a bow and forced herself not to audibly grit her teeth

"Rise Paradoxa" Lord Zedd answered impatiently as the door closed again and as she did so she was treated to the sight of the supreme leader of her species and Empire in the flesh, with more than half of his armour removed to reveal what lay beneath. The crimson flesh of his chest was a mess of old scars overwritten by new wounds, heavy stitches and crude bolts holding the tyrants' torso together whilst the skin was rent open in several places to accommodate connection points and interfaces that allowed his armour to fuse with his body more completely and become an extension of himself; his right arm was entirely mechanical and without the bladed armour that combined elements of the cutting edge and archaic was simply a husk, gleaming and skeletal metal engraved with arcane runes and with thick, fibrous strands of synthetic muscle tissue which seemed to be an unsettling mid-point between the organic and mechanical. The operating table upon which Lord Zedd as well as the floor and walls of the room were covered in pools and spatters of jet black blood and the warlords' remaining armour was set aside and beside him sat a sealed metal case, to see him in such a state, almost casual was more than a little disconcerting for Paradoxa.

"Our mission was a success" Lord Zedd's words snapped her to her senses with the force of a physical blow, yellow eyes narrowing in suspicion a moment before she managed to master herself and the towering warlord let an amused, rumbling chuckle at her reaction

"You doubt me?" he asked "Come Paradoxa, give your account of things and tell me how you believe me to have failed" there was a threat and a challenge in that statement and Paradoxa knew that she needed to tread carefully lest her next words be seen as insolence or treachery, yet at the same time she knew that back-tracking was not an option as it would be perceived as a display of weakness she could ill afford.

"The Rangers live" she began, pale green flesh losing some of its' colour as she began with what was in her mind the most obvious aspect of their shared failure "Your presence has been revealed and the element of surprise lost, another of Gibil's creations was destroyed with little to show for it and we were forced to retreat before our mining operation could be completed; the Alliance now knows of the operation and the colony remains" she stopped speaking, privately waiting for Lord Zedd's mechanical hand to close around her throat and break her neck only to be surprised and relieved in equal measure as another deep chuckle escaped the tyrant

"I would not say we gained nothing" he noted, eyes glowing with crimson light from beneath his mask "Dead or not my Father has been removed from the equation. We learned that my bastard Kay is a weakness that can be exploited, if that were not the case why did they not arrive with the Rangers initially and why did my Father have the Green Power Coin? My presence was calculated Paradoxa, a gambit designed to instil fear and distract our enemies from what is truly important; whilst they devise ingenious new ways to combat me and scrabble to defend themselves they will create opportunities for us to strike and overlook the next stages of my plan"

"What would have me do my Lord?" Paradoxa asked, bowing her head respectfully once again; she wished to ask what her masters' plan was but knew that it would be dangerous to ask directly, fortunately Lord Zedd understood her intentions and opened the sealed metal container and reached in with his left hand

"Do you know what this is Paradoxa?" he asked as he produced a sizeable chunk of rock littered with vast chunks and shards of a shimmering purple crystal which seemed to glow in a pulsing way as though it were alive.

"I do not my Lord" Paradoxa admitted

"Azoth….More powerful than the Horusite used to power your Teleportation Gate; it fell out of favour due to the difficulty of refining it yet several deposits remain. Empire scouting parties recorded a supply on that moon before the Alliance claimed it back when our borders were more less rigidly defined; yet the Alliance have no use of the crystals and likely wouldn't recognise them for what they are" Lord Zedd's eyes flashed and beneath his masked helmet Paradoxa could sense that he was smiling "The Vanguard Fleet has done its' duty, now is the time for reinforcements"

"I will have Gibil lead our engineers in designing a refinery for the Azoth crystals my Lord" Paradoxa bowed and turned to leave; the moment she was free of her masters' gaze her face morphed into a

snarl of unfettered rage.

This Lord Zedd was a broken fool unworthy of his title, Unus and the Heliothis was her domain and it had been risked at his behest and now he revealed, with utter impunity that he intended to steal what glory she might have still been afforded by casting her fleet into irrelevance; all after failing to defeat the Power Rangers.

In Paradoxa's mind it was clear that the current ruling bloodline of Acheron had been allowed to grow stagnant and was no longer fit to lead, filled with weaklings and traitors. The insectoid hybrid saw now that it was time for the Dark Empire to be brought under new leadership.

Hers.

* * *

After several hours of medical checks and debriefings the Aegis Rangers had finally been allowed to leave the base, though initially they had chosen not to. Cestria had been joined by Billy and the two of them had requested a tour of the joint Lightspeed and Promethea base within Promethea One and the college that was attached to it, a task that Kimberley and Grace had delegated to the Rangers with knowing smiles and that the Rangers had found themselves happy to oblige despite their weariness.

Tempestus had been more animated than the other Rangers could remember seeing him, whilst he was normally friendly if a little reserved and unwilling to speak out of turn due to a combination of his unfamiliarity with Earths' various cultures and the more rigidly structured and defined nature of his own society that had all been brushed aside and the Blue Ranger had been gesticulating wildly and firing off explanations and questions at a rapid pace, taking the opportunity to disable the sub-dermal translator that every citizen of the Alliance was fitted with and speak in fluent Aquitian once again.

Seeing the Blue Ranger so openly happy had brought a wide smile to Mercy's face, the Red Ranger giggling uncontrollably at his antics on more than one occasion; on top of this Cestria seemed to by kind and good natured whilst Billy Cranston was the Blue Power Ranger and that fact was mesmerising to Mercy. She was less star-struck than she might once have been, though at heart she was still the same girl whose fellow cadets had given joking nicknames and ridiculed as a fangirl; she still wore a colourful necklace bearing the a stylised lightning bolt and the words _'Go Go!'_ and by no means did she consider herself an equal to the legend that was Tempestus's adopted father and had found herself chattering and firing questions off almost as animatedly as Tempestus himself, asking about the Zords he'd piloted, if Rita Repulsa's brother really was the bumbling caricature he was often portrayed as and if it was true that he and Captain Hart had both gone through a brief 'Punk phase' as a result of Rita's meddling.

Eventually however it had become clear that Tempestus and his parents would enjoy some time alone to catch up as a family and the other Aegis Rangers had willingly given them their space, Kay still needed to be shown where their new home was after all and as if in an effort to avoid the charged atmosphere that would likely linger in their living area for some time Aslaug had jokingly reminded Mercy that the two of them never did get to finish their date.

Which was how the two of them had found themselves back in the large park that Promethea One boasted and whilst it was currently mid-afternoon, meaning that the colony ships' artificial day and night cycle prevented any kind of stargazing it was still a pleasant spot for a picnic. Currently the two of them were well fed and content, Mercy's head laying on Aslaug's lap as the taller girl played with her hair absent-mindedly and the pair simply enjoyed each others' company and grew steadily closer to drifting off to sleep as their tiredness got the better of them.

"Hey Aslaug" Mercy mumbled as she turned to face the girl she now supposed was officially her girlfriend and made herself comfortable again

"I've gotta ask….and I'm not complaining about it, not really" she let our a sigh "But why did you speak up and tell Captain Hart that Kay could live with us"

"It would have happened anyway, I think I know Panthera well enough to know that she would not take having the Green Ranger forced upon her by Mission Control well" Aslaug murmured sleepily before shifting her weight so that she could see Mercy better "Besides….they fought alongside us today, we don't dishonour our allies"

"I guess" Mercy shrugged, annoyed at how conflicted she felt and wishing that the choices she had to make as a leader could be simpler "I mean, I don't think Kay's gonna attack us in our sleep or anything like that it's just that Kay and Panthera this close together….they really hit it off when they met at Piggy's bar and she didn't take them being the Green Ranger well. Who know, maybe this is what they both need to move forward?" Mercy let out a defeated sigh, the decision had been made and there was nothing that could be done about it now.

"Maybe it's what you need as well" Aslaug noted quietly as she returned to stroking Mercy's curly hair

"Huh?"

"I know you still worry about how you came to be" the taller girl answered quietly, the subject of Mercy being the product of Project Crucible something that the two of them had avoided discussing directly "Maybe this will help, Kay was intended to be Lord Zedd's answer to you; your mirror image….if you see that the Green Ranger is no monster then perhaps you'll stop doubting yourself?"

"Wow….way to call me out" Mercy laughed before realising that the attempt to brush the subject aside was beneath her "But thanks, maybe you're right. I don't want to second guess myself all the time, I don't want to feel like I've got no future, like I was just made for this one thing" her words grew steadily more aggravated, largely at herself and the circumstances that were beyond her control until she shook her head and simply refused to allow their time alone to be ruined; instead she repositioned herself so that was beside Aslaug, arm wrapped around her waist and kissed her cheek before nuzzling into her neck

"You can have any future you dream of Mercy" Aslaug assured her, a slight blush colouring her cheeks at the sudden contact though she happily wrapped an arm around her.

"I've been thinking as well….I don't know exactly what I want to after we beat the Dark Empire; and believe me when I say that we will beat the Dark Empire" Aslaug smiled as the sudden fire in Mercy's eyes but the Red Ranger quickly continued "But I think I'm gonna talk to Mari and enrol at the college; whatever I do I've gotta take the first step right?"

"Right" Aslaug gave her a proud smile

"But y'know what I wanna do right now?" Mercy's expression became mischievous "This" a moment later her lips were pressed against Aslaug's and her fingers curled in dusty blonde hair as she felt the Yellow Ranger's teeth graze against her lip and strong arms lift her so that she was straddling Aslaug's waist.

Plans and worries could wait, it was date night and the two of them had earned this

* * *

Panthera realised that she'd been played.

She supposed that given time she could have come around to the idea of having Kay living in the same quarters as the rest of the Aegis Rangers but had been giving serious consideration to finding somewhere else she could stay for a few nights until her fears subsided, not fears that the Green Ranger may reveal that their defection from the Dark Empire had all been part of some long ploy but rather fears that she would finally reach the limits of her patience and simply wring their neck.

Her plans had been scuppered however, her friends seemingly conspiring against her until she was left cursing them under her breath as she led Kay towards the student dormitories that the Rangers lived above. Tempestus she could understand and was genuinely happy for, as much as seeing the Blue Ranger with his parents made her wonder what had become of Acinonyx and how her sisters' recovery was going; the Pink Ranger's suspicions had truly risen to the fore when Mercy and Aslaug had made their excuses to slink away though she'd found herself unwilling to complain about it as the fact the two of them deserved some uninterrupted time alone was undeniably beyond question whilst Rensa hadn't said a word, the Black Ranger must have simply decided that he'd dealt with the tension between his team-mates for too long as Panthera had turned around and the small, pale boy was simply absent and neither she nor Kay had any idea where he had gone or exactly when he'd left them, yet the Pink Ranger was almost certain that he was laughing at them wherever he was.

She'd be sure to get even somehow.

"This is it, welcome to hotel Power Ranger or whatever we end up calling it; we haven't decided" as playful as her words were Panthera's feline tail swished agitatedly behind her and he large, almost bat-like ears lay flat against her skull whilst the bitter, angry and resentful edge refused to leave her voice despite her best efforts.

"It's nice" Kay looked around the shared living area that Panthera had led them into "So do you want to-"

"Absolutely not" the teal-skinned alien cut him off with a slight snap to her words

"But I didn't even-"

"I really don't care. Don't get things confused, we are a long way from being friends. Got it?" she stalked away from Kay without turning to look at them

"Oh….okay" at that point the Pink Ranger did turn around and winced at the sight that greeted her, Kay looked pathetic, a kicked puppy as the human idiom went, with their eyes downcast and their body seeming to crumple under its' own weight.

"Oh for…." she trailed off, a collection of curses from all corners of the galaxy lost beneath a deep slow breath as she marched back over to where Kay stood and grasped their shoulders "Can you at least look like you're worth hating? Please?"

"I don't want you to hate me" there it was, some of the playfulness she remembered from the Green Ranger's voice

"And I don't want to hate you either" she admitted, fighting the urge to lean into them as she let out another sigh and added "But I really want to, it'd be easier than feeling like an idiot; you lied to all of us, me most of all. You made us all feel safe around you and came into our home and killed people we cared about"

"I know; I see it every time I close my eyes" Kay whispered "I tried running, now I'm going to stay and fight against the Dark Empire but I still don't know if I can make things right, I barely even know what right is if we're being honest"

"Well we've got that in common" Panthera murmured, squeezing Kay's shoulders gently and reassuringly and deciding that they had all been through enough already over the last day, whatever further arguments or conversations they needed to have could wait; the two of them remained like that in a silence that grew gradually more peaceful until she spoke again

"Okay, pick a room and go grab your stuff"

"I um….I don't have any stuff to grab" Kay admitted abashedly "I don't actually own anything" Panthera realised that the jumpsuit they were currently wearing was likely provided by Lightspeed and any other clothes she had seen them wearing had been borrowed from either Jack or Z at Piggy's request.

"Oh for fuck's sake! Wait here!" Panthera snapped as she slunk passed them and made their were to the elevator, a stream of curses and mutterings escaping her as she did so and as far as the Green Ranger could tell she intended to go and find some proper clothes and bedsheets for them.

After a moment of solitude Kay was brought to their senses by a loud growling behind one of the doors and realised that it was most likely the Yellow Ranger's pet that they had been warned about, ignoring the noise the made their way over to the sofa and sunk down into it whilst staring at their new Morpher, its' black casing glossy enough for them to see their own reflection and the gold of the Dragon Power Coin gleaming in the light.

Suddenly they felt as though they were being watched and instinct took hold, they leapt from the sofa and launched a spinning crescent kick which cleaved through the air but struck nothing solid

"You'll have a hard time making friends like that" the incorporeal form of Zebidiah Lord noted, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, Grandfather I-" Kay paused as a thought occurred to them and their hand closed around the Morpher "You came to take back the Power Coin?"

"What possible use would it be to me right now?" Zebidiah countered "I simply thought I should use my mobility whilst I still have it….I'm not sure my consciousness will be free to wander once I'm connected to the tube they hope to build. I thought someone should check in and see that you and the other Rangers were handling your new living arrangements adequately….I can see things aren't exactly going to plan"

"I'm not sure I'm ever going to be one of them" Kay lamented eyes downcast once again, the admission coming easily despite the sense of distance that had existed between themselves and the former Lord Zedd

"Understandable" the ghostly projection nodded "But entirely wrong nonetheless" Kay couldn't quite keep the annoyed look from their face as they glanced up at Zebidiah

"I don't think-"

"No, you don't" the interruption silencing the Green Ranger "Do remember who you're speaking to child. Power Rangers are good people by their nature, they can't help but be forgiving. Things will certainly be awkward for some time but I believe that is what the humans call puberty"

"You think they can forgive what I've done?"

"You think your sins are any comparison for mine?" Zebidiah replied with an amused snort, annoying Kay more than a little with his attitude

"Anyway, I see that you're still alive….I should probably return my consciousness to my body before that Blue Ranger decides to prove just how much more clever he's gotten in the last few years; even when I fought against him I could appreciate the art in what he does" the astral projection began to flicker and fade away and Kay suddenly felt compelled to speak up

"Wait….when they transfer your consciousness, can I come and visit you?" Kay looked away "I don't want my only family to be Lord Zedd"

"It would be a pleasure" Zebidiah's mocking tone was replaced by something altogether more earnest "And for what little it's worth….I see nothing of your father in you, you have the makings of something far greater" Zebidiah vanished entirely and left Kay alone to process the days' developments in silence until Panthera returned.

They had no idea what the future held but somehow sensed that it had become a little brighter.

* * *

Kimberley had found herself in her office, one that still felt new after the few weeks she had occupied it. Whilst still largely minimalist and utilitarian in design this office still had a more approachable and personable air to it which the former Pink Ranger supposed might have been largely due to the fact that as false as the sunlight streaming through the windows was it was still preferable to being underwater; cold steel filing cabinets filled with classified documents juxtaposed against comfortable leather seats and a small sofa tucked into a corner of the office whilst multiple screens displaying countless readouts pertaining to various aspects of her duties and other information forwarded to her by Project Lightspeeds' various bases were offset by the desk they rested upon, an expensive mahogany piece that Kimberley would never have chosen for herself upon which several photographs were displayed, one of her mother in Paris where the two of them had lived, a much younger Kimberley smiling and flanked by Serge and Britt, friends she had made in her time there; another showed her holding a medal she had won at the Pan-Global Games whilst a third showed her alongside Jason, Trini, Zack and Billy, smiling as she leaned against Tommy.

A knock at the door snapped her focus away from the photographs.

"Come in" at her words several voice activated locks disengaged and the door of her office opened to reveal one of the faces from her photographs, though it had aged heavily in the intervening years

"Corcus is going over the training that the Rangers have been put through and looking for ways to improve it, expect a lot of suggestions" Billy's words had the air of a grave warning despite the smile he wore "Cestria is going over the Ranger's medical files….tackling Lord- Zebidiah's treatment is something that needs careful planning"

"You can't just put his brain in a tube?" Kimberley asked with a smirk

"A human brain, sure give me some copper wiring and a hacksaw….as for whatever Zebidiah is; I'm not going to take chances" Kimberley couldn't help but laugh at that, she hadn't seen her old friend in years; the former Pink Ranger travelled to other worlds' less than one might expect though she had still made certain to visit Aquitar for Billy and Cestria's wedding, a blending of both of their cultures which was likely still spoken about in certain circles of Aquitian society; it seemed that Cestria and fatherhood had been good for him, he'd learned to relax and seemingly to make passable jokes.

"It's good to see you Billy" Kimberley finally breathed out "As late as you are"

"I haven't seen my son in months" Billy reminded her, more pointedly than she had been expecting and making her feel as though some line had been crossed although the tension vanished in an instant "Your Rangers seem an interesting bunch, I've spoke with Justin….seems that they're an even more rag-tag group than even we were-"

"I didn't mean it took you a while to have a tour of the facility" Kimberley noted "I mean you took a while to get here. You were supposed to be on Promethea One weeks ago" try as she might the former Pink Ranger could not keep the accusation from her voice completely and Billy stiffened before casting his eyes around the office.

"Are we secure?" the question was one that might have caught Kimberley off-guard once, after twenty years of working for Project Lightspeed however she simply pressed a series of buttons hidden under her desk; the door to the office locked, armoured shutters slid over the windows and a dozen other countermeasures went into effect despite being unseen

"We are now"

"Good" Billy nodded before taking a seat "I had orders that came directly from Vice-Admiral Mitchell; co-signed by the directors" that was enough to make Kimberley's eyes widen in surprise

"I wasn't aware of-"

"Nobody was" Billy answered simply "TJ is going to be sworn in as Vice-Admiral and with the Rangers being based off-world he might not even be made aware of it. I was told to maintain my position on Aquitar until the situation changed; well it's certainly changed but fortunately I think I'm at a point in my research where it doesn't matter"

"What can you tell me?" Kimberley almost dreaded the answer, something this secretive gave her unwelcome memories of the times Zordon had kept their team in the dark.

"Up until I arrived here nothing….but I still would have anyway" Billy rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, chin in his hands "You understand that Dulcea died without training a successor, which means that the Dark Empire's attack on Phaedos was secretly the most devastating attack of the war"

"Of course I know" Kimberley nodded "There's nobody left in the galaxy who can create Power Coins"

"Precisely" Billy nodded "Until your Green Ranger appeared the question of how your team was going to get the reinforcements they'll inevitably need didn't have an answer; it's not like any of the other Rangers that are left have compatible Morphers and I think it's safe to say that the days that an ex Ranger could pluck a gem out of the ground and start a new team are over"

"So you've learned how to make Power Coins?" Kimberley breathed out, not quite daring to hope

"Not quite" Billy shook his head "There's one instance of two different Power sources being used on the same team….When Tommy was the White Ranger, his coin channelled something Zordon called the Light of Good. I've been poring over ancient Eltarian texts and trying to recreate it"

"Should we start short-listing the other candidates-"

"No" Billy shook his head, the look of sheer joy that was in Kimberley's eyes flickered as he added "We're not even close to that stage yet; but I have a concrete idea"

"I understand" Kimberley nodded and no matter the warnings and qualifiers that her old friend had given her the fact that she was once again working alongside Billy Cranston, Blue Ranger, the mind that had thwarted countless threats to humanity gave her a sense of hope.

And with Lord Zedd entering the battle in person hope was something that none of them could afford to lose.

**Authors' Notes:**

And that ladies, gents and others is the end of Arc 07.  
His the opening of this second act lived up to any hype I may have incidentally created?  
I feel like I did what I set out to do, I established a new normal, showcased some cool stuff and gave a glimpse of the raised stakes and plot-lines that we're going to be dealing with during the second act.

With that being said, let's summarise shall we?  
Returning to some applause, they earned this.  
Seriously why do the Rangers just stand around with their helmet off while they're still Morphed, just drop the whole suit?  
I really do need to delve into the fuckery that is Rensa's psyche more….I imagine his post-battle psychological exams are always a treat; Mission Control telling a collection of steadily more concerned shrinks "No don't worry, he was like that when he got here".  
Ah that tension, enjoy.  
Okay Mercy had probably at least seen Billy and Cestria in video calls but she's never met them, you know what I meant.  
Billy is the new tech-support, shout out to the people who guessed that; I know at least one of you did.  
Also Grace's gloating that she's finally got Billy working for Promethea/Lightspeed felt perfect.  
Cestria is the chief medic and she and Billy are gonna be working on the Zedd-Tube.  
Corcus, the Black Alien Ranger; basically he's here to be a vehicle for some Tempestus development, honestly the Alien Rangers are such complete blank slates that I could have picked any of them.  
Also the Alien Rangers suffered the least casualties of any Ranger team, since they'd done what Turbo did and passed their Morphers on to a new team except for Aurico…..unfortunately that entire team is gone, along with their coins; so Aquitar has no Rangers unless Billy happens to have his old coin lying around.  
All six Rangers in one place, for maximum angst potential.  
The Queen Bee aint the Queen Bee any more.  
Paradoxa's record for wins is pretty immaculate; she killed Trey and was beating Mercy when they fought.  
I feel like I've done some work to make Lord Zedd a character rather than a force of nature in this arc.  
The evil Empire mindset where you have to be a yes man….but you can also get killed for being too much of a yes man, it's really bad for progress.  
Lord Zedd might sound like a fluent bullshit-artist here, but has he lied yet? Paradoxa did plans within plans and Lord Zedd is most likely the person she learned it from, have faith.  
So basically Lord Zedd sent some scouting ships out, most likely prior to the attack that Tommy stopped by launching his own attack on Acheron; most likely those scouting ships are what tipped him off.  
Also Azoth is named after what Alchemists called Mercury when they thought it had magical properties; yes it's a plot device but hey, this is a story with a plot.  
And now Paradoxa is pissed off….she's gonna be the Starscream to Lord Zedd's Megatron.  
Everyone has translator chips remember, it makes different species talking a lot easier….I have an idea for a minor detail, namely where exactly Rensa got his from.  
Callback to chapter 01 Mercy and her "Go Go" necklace and Lightning Bolt earrings.  
"_Asking about the Zords he'd piloted, if Rita Repulsa's brother really was the bumbling caricature he was often portrayed as and if it was true that he and Captain Hart had both gone through a brief 'Punk phase' as a result of Rita's meddling"_….No I'm not sorry.  
Aslaug has more emotional intelligence than anyone expects a hulking Space Viking to have.  
So yay, Mercy is moving forward and making the beginnings of a life outside of being a Ranger.  
Just the idea of the other Rangers deciding_ "This is way too awkward for us"_ and vanishing was amusing to me.  
Everything about the scene between Kay and Panthera was interesting to write; like she obviously doesn't hate them….but there's still a lot to work through there.  
Yep, she's gonna go steal an entire new wardrobe.  
So yeah, Zebidiah is probably not gonna be appearing all over the base like this once he's in the tube.  
Zebidiah is having none of this angsty shit, not today not on other any other day.  
I love the idea that Zebidiah begrudgingly admitted that Billy was a genius even when he was Lord Zedd.  
And someone finally gave Kay a little bit of validation.  
Serge and Britt and Kim's Mum moving to Paris, with Kim living out there with her for a bit; Boom Studios reference.  
It's nice to see that Billy's grown and developed as a character; I was kinda drawing from the novelization of Revenge of the Sith and the way it described Obi-Wan has having learned several lessons from Anakin with one of them being learning how to relax.  
And here's why it took Billy a while to show up, secrets.  
TJ is getting Dana's spot, Ranger on two teams, leader on one of 'em, military background; it makes sense.  
Every team of Rangers gets an extra Ranger, you really think that Lightspeed was just gonna wait for a Green Aegis Ranger to turn up.  
"_The Light of Good"_ that made the White Ranger, was never explained and promptly forgotten never to be mentioned again; yeah that's the kind of plot point you shouldn't leave hanging around me.  
"_Other candidates"_ yeah you read that right, but that's for later.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	32. Generative Actor (Arc 08)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 31 – Generative Actor**

The blasted surface of Unus was as dusty as ever, Lord Zedd had had ordered Paradoxa's Vanguard Fleet to accelerate their industrialised sacking of the moons' resources until the ground trembled endlessly underfoot as mining operations tore stone, minerals and ore from the ground in vast quantities for them to be in turn into the holds of starships or the ravenous mouths of vast diabolical machines whilst the Dread Forge belched out a steady stream of Putties to replace those prisoners and workers who had toiled until their bodies finally failed; the bulk of what had once been Paradoxa's loyal subjects to be rendered irrelevant by a steadily increasing tide of stony, grey automatons.

Paradoxa despised every moment of it.

As she marched through the Vanguard Fleets' base of operations, dust and smoke clinging to her pale-green tinged flesh and iridescent black exoskeletal armour the insectoid Acheron hybrid found another sound reaching her ears above the cacophony of machinery and orders being barked by overseers whose barbed whips and jagged prods found fewer and fewer targets which each living slave that was replaced by an unfeeling construct. The sound was a chorus of shrieks, wails and roars; the sound of a hundred voices united as they chanted in the mother tongue of the Acheron people, kneeling and screaming their oaths to the magically darkened sky above them whilst at the head a looming figure clad in blood red robes stoked their fervour and incited further devotion to the Dark Empire with the promises of an unyielding grip that spanned from this galaxy to the next and united all peoples of all world under a single banner, the best of each species taken and merged into the greater Acheron whole.

The Cult of the Eternal Devourer.

Paradoxa let out a snarl which buzzed and clicked in the back of her throat in a truly inhuman way at the sight of the congregation though she found herself with no recourse against it. The Cult was a long standing facet of Acheron culture and within any fleet of any noteworthy size there would doubtlessly be a handful of devout believers who attended to their duties with a fanatical zeal. Whilst Lord Zedd was largely uninterested in custom or tradition and focused on the wholly practical aspects of extending his dominion the warlord did however see the value of the Cult and not only allowed them to continue to grow under his rule but actively encouraged them to recruit and proselyte; as a result their numbers within the Vanguard Fleet had grown exponentially with Lord Zedd's arrival, each believer spreading their devotion to those around them as if it were an illness as they flocked around the tyrant and treated him with unimaginable reverence; seeing his actions as undeniable proof that he was indeed the Messianic figure who would the Dark Empire into an age of supremacy. Pushing her annoyance at existence of another force which undermined her authority and sought to wrest the control she had amassed for herself Paradoxa continued onwards, allowing the ritualistic chanting and savage war-cries of the Cult to fade into the background as she stalked closer towards her destination until finally it came into view; she surreptitiously vibrated small bundles of muscles throughout her body and produced a low whining buzz as the dust, ash and soot clinging to her form was thrown free to create a haze around her before sinking down on to one knee and bowing her head as she uttered words which left an increasingly foul taste in her mouth every time she said them of late

"How may I serve you my Lord?"

Lord Zedd currently stood before the Teleportation Gate which Paradoxa had built at his command, radiating waves of silent menace that seemed to be almost physical, pressurising the air around him as he loomed in full armour over the group of workers diligently taking up the task of dismantling the Gate and stripping it for parts with terror and awe etched into each of their faces, none daring to look away from their work for an instant less they be subjected to the wrath of their Sovereign.

"Rise Paradoxa" he demanded in usual, deep and rumbling voice and taking several moments to turn away from the deconstruction work work and turn to face his right hand.

"As you can see the more difficult to fabricate components of your Teleportation Gate are being salvaged and production has been focused away from simply creating more weapons and armour. What does this tell you?"

"That you've found the ideal place to construct your own Teleportation Gate" Paradoxa fought the urge to visibly seethe at the notion of being forced to share what little power she still clung to

"Indeed, a region of empty space far from here or anywhere else where the Alliance might intervene" Paradoxa nodded in understanding, even Lord Zedd's terrifying magical might had its' limits and he would not be able to disguise a full sized Teleportation Gate positioned in orbit above the moon, much less the fleet that travelled through it. A more important matter occurred to the insectoid however, the Heliothis had finally been repaired after taking damage in the last operation Lord Zedd had personally overseen and she was loathe to have her vessel risked again so soon, the Warlords' next words made those concerns moot however

"The Juggernaut is being prepared for my departure, inform Gibil that he is to prepare a mobile laboratory and report to the vessels' Captain"

"Gibil my Lord?" Paradoxa asked, yellow eyes widening in disbelief as she momentarily forgot her place

"Your flesh-crafter is a master of many disciplines and I may require him to….modify some of those working in the void of space for those conditions. Moreover the creature amuses me"

"Y-yes my Lord, it will be done" Paradoxa nodded

"And whilst I am absent I expect you to provide the Alliance with a suitable distraction; something that will deliver a crushing blow and keep their eyes elsewhere so that our reinforcements may go on the attack from the moment they arrive"

"Yes my Lord" Paradoxa nodded, Lord Zedd simply turned away from her and returned his focus to the work being done which she saw as an obvious dismissal; as she walked away the insectoid silently raged as the truth of her Lords' intentions became clear to her.

She was going to be silently removed and her forces subsumed into another fleet.

It was obvious, her slave labour and vast legion of labourers were being worked to death and replaced by Putties; depriving her fleet of the means to function independently and starving them through simply logistics whilst taking Gibil and at the same time expecting her to launch an assault, thus requiring her to send valuable fighters were both contrived to whittle away any loyal followers from her ranks that may question the command of her inevitable replacement. Lord Zedd had proven himself once again to be adept at crafting plans within plans, but Paradoxa silently sneered; thinking that the warlord must be a fool if he believed she would be usurped so easily.

She had learned well and would delight in turning his own strategy against him.

* * *

Since the arrival of the trio from Aquitar the Aegis Rangers had been put through what Mercy had colourfully described as _'The meat-grinder' _and Panthera had described only in the foulest curses a dozen languages had to offer.

It had felt as though a vacation or grace period had ended from the moment that former Black Aquitian Ranger, Blademaster Corcus had taken charge of the teams' training and elected to put them through gruelling physical training regimens including strength and endurance training, assault courses designed to equip them for any terrain they might find themselves traversing, armed and unarmed combat against scores of robotic foes at a time both alone and in groups all of which put the training that the Rangers had gone through whilst stationed on the Lightspeed Aquabase on Earth to shame; beyond this Corcus had also felt the need to ensure that his charges were mentally and morally prepared to overcome the problems that he was certain they would face as Power Rangers, giving them punishing exams regarding strategy or expecting them to deliver a thesis on the correct response to an ethical dilemma that he posed without warning. All in all the Aegis Rangers understood on some level that all of the Aquitian warriors' actions were done with the best of intentions, yet accepting this reality did little to curb the steadily building resentment each of them was developing towards their instructor. Whilst Mercy had thought that she may be singled out as the teams' leader and Kay had believed that they would targeted due to their history, with even Panthera having suspicions that her previous life as a criminal would draw the former Ranger's attention it seemed that of all the Rangers Tempestus seemed to have somehow drawn Corcus's ire and was subjected to an even more demanding series of private training sessions, taking up much of the now limited free time the Rangers had.

One such training session was currently underway and had taken the form of a sparring match.

The Blue Aegis Ranger slid backwards in a crouch, sucking in painful lungfuls of air as his midsection exploded into pain with the force of the spinning kick that his teacher had landed; currently Tempestus wore simple sweatpants and a tank-top whilst Corcus was, as always clad in the pale gold and midnight blue of an Aquitian warrior though any vestiges of rank and status had been removed entirely; Tempestus knew that today's lesson would likely be a painful one from the moment he had seen the disparaging glares that the elder Aquitian gave his choice of clothing yet he rose to his feet and resumed his stance, studying Corcus for any minute signs that would betray an opening.

"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate" Corcus demanded sternly "If a warrior is not unattached from life and death he will be of no use whatsoever" Tempestus's faced morphed into a slight scowl, the most annoyance he was willing to betray at being subjected to yet more axioms and quotes passed down from one ancient Aquitian Blademaster to the next and without waiting another instant he charged.

He led with and overhead chopping motion which he expected his opponent to answer by redirected his momentum and throwing him off balance which Tempestus would in turn answer with a flip that incorporated a kick whilst inverted. What happened instead was that Corcus rushed forwards to meet him and dropped into an impossibly fast spinning sweep which knocked Tempestus's feet from beneath him and sent the younger Aquitian flying forwards to land face down on the mats which formed the floor of the thankfully empty training area.

Sensing his opponent rushing towards him he flung himself upwards into handstand and curled his body in on itself, avoiding Corcus's follow up blow and landing in a crouch which he swiftly sprung upwards from; the two combatants trading blows with graceful fluidity that was mesmerising to behold, wide sweeping and arcing attacks being masterfully caught and redirected so that precise and punishing blows could be delivered to bundles of nerves and muscle. Delivering one such blow to Corcus's right bicep preceded Tempestus grabbing the older mans' arm and promptly catching his left when was brought around for an elbow strike to the skull, the Blue Aegis Ranger allowed himself a small smile and a sense of victory which was promptly taken from him by his teachers' next words

"Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force of circumstances" Corcus chided as the two of them continued to grapple and exert their strength against one another "Common sense will not accomplish great things, simply become insane and desperate" with this statement, which seemed incongruous with many of the lessons he had attempted to impart Corcus leapt backwards and into the air, tucking his knees up into his chest as he flung himself and dragging Tempestus almost completely off balance and in to the path of a two-footed drop kick aimed at the Blue Rangers' face.

Corcus righted himself with a back-flip as Tempestus weaved away from the telegraphed kick and the two of them circled one another for a fraction of a second before the younger Aquitian decided that it would be fruitless to continue to match his opponents' skill in their shared discipline and instead launched a roundhouse kick of the dramatic variety that Mercy favoured.

Only for Corcus to catch his ankle and throw him across the room.

"Imitating another style is simply a sham" the elder Aquitian stated bluntly "That concludes today's lesson"

"And what was the lesson? That I can't outfight you using a style you've studied for twice as long as I've been alive?" Tempestus demanded as something unfamiliar rose up within him, arguing with ones elders and openly challenging the traditional order of things was simply not the Aquitian way, though Corcus merely snorted in vague amusement, perhaps his own time spent of Earth having prepared him for this eventuality

"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men, you are also a man; if you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon" Corcus strode closer and pulled Tempestus to his feet

"Your problem is that you have always strived to be two things….Earth may have plucked its' Power Rangers from all aspects of life but that has never been our way. When Aquitar needed a warrior you chose to be a scholar and an artificer. When our people gave you the honour of your duty you were unable to abandon your own ego. Meditate on that boy, be the person that you need to be" without waiting for the furious reply that Tempestus was sure would spill from his lips the moment his shaken and stunned mind would cooperate Corcus turned and walked away without another word, leaving the Blue Ranger struggling with the idea that he was an abject failure in a fundamental way.

"He really has grown to be a bastard while he was away from Aquitar….and I'd appreciate you not repeating that to your mother" Tempestus whirled around and saw Billy standing in the doorway of another entrance to the training area.

"You saw that?" the Blue Rangers gasped, shamefaced and aghast at the idea that his father had watched him be thoroughly trounced

"I did" Billy admitted as he strode across the room, removing his glasses and letting out a sigh as he shook his head "I heard you were getting extra tuition and I wanted to see what Corcus was doing….I'm disappointed but not terribly surprised, he never approved of my relationship with Cestria. He had no right to say that to you"

"But what if he's right?" Tempestus asked, fear creeping slowly into his voice "What if all the time I've spent studying and learning was wasted?….What if I should have just focused on being a better warrior?"

"No learning is wasted" Billy struggled not to scoff at the patently ridiculous idea "Aquitar is built on its' learning and invention; if Corcus wants to see a society built on violence I suggest he takes a long hard look at the Dark Empire" the unspoken but unmistakable insult hung in the air for a moment

"But I'm no great inventor" Tempestus answered sadly "I know how to fix what other people have made"

"And even if you were a great inventor there would always be people like Corcus who saw that as a problem, and that is entirely their problem" Billy sighed, resting his hands on his sons' shoulders "When I was your age I might have invented devices that had saved the world and I might have been an amazing student but that made me no friends and sometimes I had to Morph and wear my clothes over my Ranger armour just to feel brave enough to face the day….doubting yourself is the most human thing in the world"

"I'm not a human" Tempestus reminded him gently, eyes downcast and that undeniable truth halted the conversation as it had many times before; a workable middle ground between Aquitian traditionalism and the kind of parenting that Billy, who had been outcast for his gifts wished to practice as hard to find as ever

"No but you are my son….and I'm proud of you"

"Thank you"

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the day or can you spend some time with your old man working on some side projects?" Tempestus managed a small grin and admitted that that sounded like a great idea.

* * *

It was late afternoon, though within the Colony Ship of Promethea One the climate and temperature remained largely static and there was no sunset to be seen, only a gradual dimming of the artificial sky created by the interior of the domed roof that gave the colony an identifiable day and night. Taking advantage of the perennial pleasant warmth Mercy had found herself laid on her chest on the small and pristine lawn located outside of one of the many campuses of the colonies' college whilst beside her Marigold sat on a blanket she had brought and read a textbook pertaining to her own area of study, occasionally taking notes as she did so. Mercy had been been unable to enrol properly as a student of the university and was frankly thankful of the delay despite her commitment to do so as it gave her more time to consider her options and decide what she wanted to major in and devote her time to, in the meantime however she had been given several assignments to work on that would help her application when the university next began accepting incoming students.

"Had another chance to look through the prospectus?" Marigold asked as she glanced down at Mercy, having taken the younger girl who carried the weight of incredible responsibilities on her shoulders under her wing and feeling an odd sense of protectiveness over her like an older sibling.

"Yeah but a lot of it is just words that don't mean a lot" the Red Ranger admitted, bushing her curls away from her eyes as she glanced up "We'll have got through things when you're not busy with your own work….what're you working on by the way?"

"I study psychology and sociology" Marigold explained with a bright smile at the idea of being able to share her enthusiasm for the subject

"So it's gonna be you I have to have debriefings with after every deployment one day soon?" Mercy chuckled as she set her own work aside for a moment and rolled onto her back, earning herself a playful swat as the older girl continued

"Humanity has changed massively in a generation and people really need to pay more attention to that fact and the changes it has on peoples' mental states" Mari stated, becoming more serious for a moment "The first Colony Ship left Earth less than thirty years ago, forty years ago humanity thought it was alone in the galaxy and now we're part of an interplanetary community with tens of thousands of children who were born in space and whose nationality is tied to a man-made colony….add that to the amount of children who've been raised with no real concept of peace time….it feels like we're building up to something"

"Another Algolia Separatist Movement?" Mercy asked tentatively; when the Colony Ship Leslie, one of the first to leave Earth that had not been forged entirely at the hands of Lightspeed and Promethea had landed a small and habitable world far from humanities' birthplace that had quickly and predictably been a faction within the colonists who wanted to break away from Earths' authority and form their own fiefdom; what had resulted was a dark stain on the histories of both Earth and Leslie Outpost.

"Hopefully nothing that drastic….never again" Mari breathed out "My hypothesis is that those of us born on colonies or exploration ships will eventually become a distinct culture entirely separate from Earth even if we stay under the same banner….Actually your friend Panthera would be an interesting case study"

"I kinda doubt she'd be willingly helpful" Mercy admitted with a grin "But it's cool that you're thinking about stuff like this and that Lightspeed is paying your tuition"

"Well I am an army brat" Marigold noted, before giving a playful smirk as she added "And one of the best shots that my drill instructor ever saw" to highlight the point Marigold took the bottle of water beside her and drained the last of its' contents before throwing it over a crowd of students loitering nearby and into a trash-can behind them where it landed with a thud.

"You should see what I can do with a pack of Skittles" she added, seeing Mercy's shocked expression; despite the fact the slender Asian girl had notable muscle definition with her biceps bulging against the sleeves of the white blouse she currently wore the Red Ranger had almost entirely forgotten that Marigold had been military training comparable to her own, largely due to the older girls' demeanour and mannerisms.

"So what's Leslie Outpost like if they've gotta teach you to shoot like that?" she found herself asking

"It's the most beautiful place in the Alliance" Marigold answered matter of factly "My parents are both originally from Japan and they say it reminds them of Honshu, the sky is bright pink and you wont' find mountains like ours anywhere else, or flowers" she gestured to the golden flower she wore in her hair

"Sounds nice" Mercy smiled

"It is as long as you stay inside the domes" Mari nodded "There's a reason that Leslie Outpost never expanded out enough to colonise the whole planet and only has a few interconnected cities….the atmosphere might be breathable but the wildlife is some of the most dangerous in the galaxy"

"I think Aslaug and Rensa might beg to differ" Mercy noted

"They haven't seen a Leslian locust-monkey, or a Deadite Tree, strangler vines or a Paleo-Raptor….or, God help anyone who steps out of the domes if there's a Gold Winged-Lion on the prowl"

"Winged lion?" Mercy mouthed in disbelief

"Exactly what it sounds like Marigold assured her "Except a lot bigger than you're thinking and they have a stinger….So like a manticore I guess?"

"That's terrifying….but at the same time awesome" Mercy laughed "I bet the bedtime stories you get over there are insane"

"Oh they are"

"We'd love to hear them sometime" the low and guttural voice was one that immediately brought a smile to Mercy's face

"Hey!" she exclaimed happily, holding her arms out as Aslaug's shadow fell over her; gesturing for her girlfriend to make herself comfortable. The Yellow Ranger sat on the grass and Mercy quickly made herself comfortable resting her head on her powerful thighs.

"I'm finished training the cadets at the base and I was wondering when you were going to be able relax….we don't get enough time to do so lately" Aslaug noted quietly

"Yeah" Mercy sighed "I'm just dealing with college stuff"

"Don't let your work consume you entirely" Aslaug murmured and there was something in her voice that Mercy couldn't help but notice, not jealousy that she was spending her free time elsewhere but a simple longing and the Red Ranger leaned up to kiss the muscular girls' lips, arms snaking around her shoulders as she leaned close and whispered into Aslaug's ear

"Y'know I think the others are all busy tonight, we'll have the apartment to ourselves so we can relax together"

"Okay I think I'm done for the day" Marigold stated firmly as she hastily bagged her books and rose to her feet, pointedly looking away from Mercy whose cheeks had coloured at the realisation that the older girl had heard her

"Yeah okay" Mercy managed to choke out "We'll go over the prospectus another time" she added, calling after Marigold's retreating back before burying her face in Aslaug's neck and letting out a wordless groan of mortified embarrassment at the situation whilst Aslaug for her part couldn't help but look more than a little pleased with the situation as she nuzzled into her.

* * *

Paradoxa had made swift and decisive preparations and was now on the verge of putting her plans into action. Lord Zedd had left aboard a ship named the Juggernaut and taken Gibil with him, leaving the insectoid Hybrid to follow his commands and unaware that she had been plotting the most effective way to twist them to her own ends; now she sat in her ornate throne aboard the Command Bridge of the grounded Heliothis and regarded the Captain of one of her ships, a lightly armoured but reliable vessel named the _'Predator'_ whilst said captains' first mate waited just outside.

"In his absence I am once again left to execute Lord Zedd's will and command the Vanguard Fleet" she began, keeping her face neutral as she spoke "And our Lord instructed that the Alliance's attention be kept elsewhere by whatever means I deem suitable….with that in mind I will be giving command of our next operation to you, as I believe the nature of it is suited to your skills"

"You honour us Lady Paradoxa, the Cult of the Eternal Devourer will be victorious in our Lords' name" The voice that answered Paradoxa was low and smokey yet distinctly feminine with an oddly synthetic edge to it, more strikingly however was the fact that said voice was heard entirely in Paradoxa's own mind as the speaker communicated psychically. The speaker was named Jin-Zhao and was a fellow Acheron hybrid though of notably different stock to the insectoid commander of the Vanguard Fleet; moreover whilst Paradoxa was nominally the more senior and respected officer Jin-Zhao was the High Priestess of Fleets' sect of her cult and with their growing influence a day where Jin-Zhao challenged Paradoxa for her position was not hard to imagine. Furthermore she was a distinctly imposing figure, standing at a little over seven feet tall and clad in a ragged tunic which had been stained and dyed a deep bloody crimson, draped over a physique which whilst undeniably feminine still boasted an incredible amount of dense and powerful muscle with coiled and shifted beneath her flesh with each movement.

Jin-Zhao stood on two thick legs which ended in three toed claws, each tipped with a wicked talon and her flesh was covered by glistening armoured scales which were an iridescent and shimmering black and decorated with horizontal stripes of a milky white colour; her shoulders were broad and each arm was as large as a mans' chest, her fists encased in spiked and clawed gauntlets wrapped in yet more symbolic red cloth. Her head resembled one of Earths' big cats, with in addition to her stripes gave the vague impression of a tiger, though she sported a pair of curling, ram-like horns which looped around her ears, a long mane of stark white hair interspersed with bone spikes flowing behind her and three electric blue eyes arranged in a triangle with the third being positioned on her forehead; her lower jaw and neck were a bulging mass of muscle and flesh with a vertical slit running down them, the only hint of the deadly weapon that Paradoxa knew her to be concealing.

"I have no doubt of your commitment to the cause" Paradoxa allowed herself a small smile "The mission I have in mind for you is a simple one. The Alliance has recently had another of the Colony Ships settle a world that they refer to as _'Prosperity'_ a largely human and Xybrian affair with contributions from other species"

"And if the Alliance has landed there than it means there are resources for the taking" Jin-Zhao's voiced reverberated in Paradoxa's skull, an unmistakably pleased edge to it

"You see the importance" the insectoid noted "My scouting party informs me that the colony ship is lightly protected; they've had no time to truly fortify or prepare orbital defences, there are few ships accompanying the colony, only what escorted it to the world….yet vast shipments make their way to the world already and the colony itself must have great resources if it was intended to set up an entirely new population"

"Where would you see our efforts focused?" Jin-Zhao asked "The Predator lacks the capacity to take all of the spoils from this victory"

"Weapons and fuel" Paradoxa answered calmly" Cripple their ability to fight, either the Alliance will be drawn into a protracted conflict on Prosperity as their vanity forces them to protect their latest trophy or we can simply use the assets we take elsewhere; it will be for Lord Zedd to decide upon his return" Jin-Zhao let out a low, rumbling purr at the thought before her psychic voice intruded on Paradoxa's thoughts once again.

"It will be as it should be, their skies shall darken as we fall upon them and they shall know that the Great Devourer's wrath has visited them; they shall be broken and consumed entirely. The Acheron way shall prevail"

"Precisely" Paradoxa said simply, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at her fellow hybrids' fanaticism "Now go, ready your followers"

"As you command" Jin-Zhao bowed her head respectfully and stalked away, her talons clacking against the surface of the command bridges' floor; as the hybrid left Paradoxa caught a glimpse of her first mate waiting dutifully, another hybrid who used the title of Arch-Apostle rather than their military rank or any titles they had earned whilst rising to prominence upon their home-world; something which Paradoxa struggled to understand, the idea of a subservient Acheron hybrid with no desire for power was anathema to her.

It mattered little however, her plans were now in motion and it was now simply a matter of ensuring that her victories went as intended.

Everything that Paradoxa hold told Jin-Zhao about the Alliances' new Colony Ship and its' lack of defences was correct, but that was far from the entirety of the situation; the ship that had located the irresistible target was in fact not a scout vessel, rather it was a vast cargo ship that was currently waiting cloaked in the vicinity of the colony for Jin-Zhao's arrival. To Paradoxa it seemed obvious that the Power Rangers would respond to this attack and that Jin-Zhao would fall, not content to simply remove a potential threat to her authority the insectoid hybrid would also remotely be taking command of the cargo ship and emptying the Predators' hold when the mission inevitably failed, before crippling the smaller vessel.

In a single ploy Paradoxa intended to deal a crushing blow to the only Alliance outpost on an otherwise untouched and resource heavy world, remove the entirety of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer thus depriving Lord Zedd of his most loyal followers within the Vanguard Fleet and acquire a stockpile of supplies for the inevitable conflict that would mark the beginning of her own ascension to supreme power.

Plans within plans, Paradoxa had learned well.

* * *

Artificial night had fallen over the city within Promethea One, though it had done little to curb Panthera's relentless activity. The Pink Ranger had become a well known figure within the spacefaring community, well liked and instantly recognisable as she seemed to be able to acquire most goods that were scarce on the colony and had steadily been establishing herself as a trader of all things, dealing in rare trinkets, luxuries and commodities from a series of bars and garages around the city and taking any currency that her customers happened to have, being raised within the Smugglers Guild and spending much of her life in space meant that she had uses for more currencies than the limited scope of what was accepted on Promethea One.

She would be damned if she let something as simple as Corcus being an unrelenting taskmaster bring her to a halt.

The Pink Ranger had spent the day, blessedly free of the Aquitian Blademaster, hard at work as she flitted from one location to the next; considerable sums of money changing hands to ensure that she left the colonies' ports with several crates and packages whose contents had mysteriously failed to be searched which were in turn turn transported around the city to their various recipients; a task made all the more tedious and difficult by the fact that Panthera's bike, an Earth-made vintage motorcycle complete with several modifications and upgrades of alien origin and dubious legality was currently in need of repairs, one of its' internal components making a suspiciously unsettling rattling noise.

Currently however her bike was far from Panthera's mind as she reclined in a moderately comfortable seat in a back corner of a dimly lit bar whose smoke filled atmosphere obscured what little could be seen; exactly the kind of place that the Pink Ranger was accustomed to doing business

"Your friend is late" a melodic voice from beside her caught her attention and she rolled her eyes as she answered

"That's the third time today you've pointed that our….I swear if you start asking _'Are we there yet'_ I will glue you to the _outside_ of the colony"

"Sorry" Kay managed to sound utterly unconvincing and as Panthera glanced towards them she saw that the Green Ranger had their eyes on her once again; Panthera was unsure exactly what Kay was staring at as, whilst she was confident enough in her own appearance to know that she had very attractive curves they were currently lost beneath a baggy hoodie she had worn for the purpose of concealing her identity if the need arose, there were after all very few people within Promethea one with teal skin and purple hair. Kay themselves managed to look oddly dainty in an outfit of various pastel colours and freshly painted nails which had been chipped only slightly in the process of helping Paradoxa all day; the Pink Ranger noted that the word she was looking for was_ 'pretty'_ before promptly bringing that train of thought grinding to a halt. She and Kay had settled into something of a friendship and understanding since the Green Ranger had begun living with the rest of the team, though thinks were still undeniably shaky between them and most conversations that ventured beyond the mundane had the distinct feeling of walking on eggshells.

"Any sign of Jones?" she asked, turning her focus to something more productive and referring to the next customer she intended to meet.

"It would help if I knew who Jones was or what they looked like….I didn't realise we were still working" Kay replied.

"What did you think we were doing?" Panthera demanded incredulously.

"Hanging out?" Kay suggested tentatively "Since there's no theme-parks to sneak into here I thought this was just your way of having fun"

"Okay first of all shut up" Panthera huffed "Second of all, don't question my ability to party. It will end badly for you"

"That could almost be taken as an offer….if I squinted and was really, really hopeful" Kay shot back, amused and cheeky grin now firmly in place as they leaned forward, inhuman eyes with their vibrant magenta irises set against black sclera focused on Panthera who struggled to find a suitably playful yet scathing retort.

Until the sound of the last dregs of a drink being sucked though a straw caught both of their attention

"How long have you been standing there?" Panthera demanded as Rensa stepped through the haze of smoke and took an empty seat at their table

"Long enough" the Black Ranger noted quietly, though both Panthera and Kay could hear the quiet amusement in his voice; Rensa was as gaunt and pallid as ever with his eyes hidden beneath their filter goggles although his jet black hair with its' chemically bleached greenish tips had been tied back to give the younger teen a less sinister appearance.

"Jones isn't coming by the way" Rensa added, stealing Panthera's drink from under her nose "There was a shoplifter where they work….I handed them over to the police but he's still having to answer questions"

"You truly are the hero the city needs" Panthera chuckled, though despite her tone she couldn't help but be proud of the youngest Ranger whom the others considered a younger sibling; his commitment to helping those in need was commendable, the Black Ranger continued to prowl the streets of the city and fight any petty crime he encountered as well as spending much of his free time helping local charities.

"I'll have to join you on one of your patrols sometime" Kay gave a smirk "Perhaps it'll be more fun than whatever Panthera has planned"

"Ass-hole" the Pink Ranger answered bluntly, much to Rensa and Kay's amusement.

The Black, Pink and Green Rangers were likely closest with each other; whilst each of them considered Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug to be good friends the simple fact of the matter was that the Star-born Felidae orphan who had never visited her peoples' home-world or been raised within Felixian culture, the native of Dread who wasn't even entirely sure of his heritage and had been raised amidst a nightmarish battle for survival and the Dark Empire's rogue weapon who was both human and Acheron understood each other in the way that only lost children could.

All joking and conversation was brought to a halt by the sound of all three of their communicators bleeping in unison.

"Time for us to be the heroes the people need" Rensa murmured, his tone becoming serious. Panthera and Kay nodded and the three of them rose to their feet; though privately Rensa was almost glad of the distraction.

Being the third wheel to Panthera and Kay as they danced around each other was an experience that soon grew tiring.

* * *

Mercy and Aslaug had found their promised privacy, with Tempestus spending the evening with his parents and the other Rangers elsewhere in the city the two of them had the sizeable living quarters that the six of them shared to themselves save for Klo, Aslaug's alien war-hound currently curled up in the Yellow Ranger's room enjoying a large hunk of meat.

The two of them were taking full advantage of the opportunity that the privacy presented, as was evidenced by the gasping, whimpering moan of pleasure that escaped Mercy's lips.

Things had started innocently enough, Mercy having massaged Aslaug's tense and aching shoulders as the two of them watched a movie on the sofa before planting a series of kisses along the larger girls' muscular back and shoulder; Aslaug had responded by turning over, intending to kiss Mercy's lips only for the movement to send them both toppling off of the sofa. They had landed with Aslaug on top of the Red Ranger and from the moment Mercy had leaned up to kiss her things had rapidly become heated.

Mercy's legs were now wrapped around Aslaug's waist and locked behind the taller girls' back as she writhing and undulated her hips, thrusting upwards as she sought greater friction; the baggy t-shirt she had been wearing as the two of them relaxed has fallen away from one shoulder leaving it exposed to Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger kissed and bit along her neck, shoulder and collarbones whilst Mercy's hands slipped below her tank-top, nails running down her back until the Red Ranger managed to form enough coherent thoughts to push Aslaug back and take charge of the situation, slowly lifting her girlfriends' tank-top and trailing kisses upwards from her solid and defined abs.

And then their communicators began to sound.

"NO!" Mercy groaned, equal parts anger and disbelief "ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!" with that she flopped back onto the living room floor whilst Aslaug let out a wordless groan of utter frustration and the two of them silently glared at their respective communicators for a moment until the chirping which seemed to grow more insistently angry could be ignored no longer.

"Mercy here, what's the situation?" the Red Ranger asked, hoping she didn't sound as breathless and flustered as she truly was.

"We need you in the Command Centre immediately" Kimberley Hart's voice informed her, Mercy let out a hissed curse before turning back to her communicator

"Okay, we need a minute" she hoped that the request went unquestioned by Mission Control

"You've got twenty seconds" Kimberley informed her; Mercy ended the communication and she and Aslaug locked eyes for a brief second before quickly readjusting their ruffled clothing, with Aslaug being in the process of tying her dusty blonde hair back into its' customary wolf-tail as specks of golden yellow and cherry red light began to flicker into existence around the two of them before their teleportation streams manifested in twin streams of light.

"Good you're all here" Kimberley's voice greeted Mercy and Aslaug the moment they materialised inside the Command Centre, the two of them turned to face Mission Control and any thoughts of them being ridiculed or questioned about their flushed and dishevelled state were quickly pushed from their minds as the severity of the situation became apparent.

Since receiving his grievous injuries at the hands of Lord Zedd Zebidiah's body had been entombed into a the base of a tube based on that which had once projected Zordon's consciousness with the key difference that it allowed the sorcerer to manifest himself in one of three locations; within a private wing of the Lightspeed bases' medical facilities where his body lay, a second tube in his private quarters connected to a series of Alpha droids to manipulate the countless ancient texts and arcane relics he had accrued whilst the third and final tube had been installed into the Command Centre so that he could take part in Mission Control. Currently an image of Zebidiah could be seen hovering within this tube whilst Kimberley, Billy and the rest of Aegis Rangers were assembled in front of it.

"We received word from Prosperity….a Colony Ship that made planet-fall on a habitable world within the last six months; a Dark Empire light cruiser dropped out of warp travel and quickly engaged cloaking before deploying a landing party" Billy explained, stepping forwards to take charge of the situation "On screen please"

At his command the central sphere of the Command Centre came online and began using the various camera feeds and schematics of the Colony Ship to swiftly create an image of the attack; something about the make up of the enemy forces immediately became apparent

"They're not using Putties" Kimberley noted, face wrinkling in confusion as she studied the tactics that the Dark Empire's heavily armed ground troops were employing in this deviation from the norm.

"Security forces on the ground report that Dark Empire infantry are operating like strike teams and attacking strategic locations, this seems to be a raiding party" Billy explained as he began collating information "This is the monster leading the attack, a truly atrocious beast" the hard-light viewing globe shifted again and displayed a new image, this being of a lone warrior

"An Ichorian hybrid" Zebidiah noted distastefully "And a devotee of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer….expect a dangerous opponent Rangers" the monster in question was an almost skeletal husk of a thing, rubbery grey skin stretched over an emaciated frame, littered with patches of thick, fibrous black hair like that of a fly. They balanced in a squatting position rather than standing upright, on feet that appeared more like hands with long and spindly digits splayed wide; the things hips and torso seemed to connected by a spine covered in a thin layer of flesh and its' body sagged forwards' under its' own weight with the hunched posture exaggerated by the limpness of the monsters' arms; six limbs which were each longer than the monster was tall and seemed to be entirely boneless, writhing things whose undersides were lined with rows of suction cups giving them the appearance of a squids' tentacles save for the fact that each ended in a dessicated hand. The monsters head was vaguely egg-shaped and smooth, having an almost streamlined appearance as it angled backwards and large, elliptical eyes of a watery black and slits for nostrils which resembled the grey creatures which humanity had once imagined when it thought of aliens and its' mouth was filled with rows of needle like teeth. The Monsters' thighs and torso were encased in a lightweight black armour of some glossy material over which a torn and ragged robe had been draped, a hood pulled low over its' face; whatever colour it had originally been lost entirely to the crimson stains that now covered it.

"What's the plan?" Mercy demanded, her mind immediately focused on the task at hand.

"Colony Ships _'New Angel Grove' _and _'Mochizuki Chiyome' _are already scrambling forces" Kimberley assured her "Our ships need to time to get into the system and locate the Dark Empire ship but this isn't like Anvil Six, we can teleport ground troops in directly for reinforcements"

"Depending on the capabilities of Empire ground forces it's conceivable that you may need to assist Silver Guardian squads, but your highest priority is their leader" Billy added

"Don't worry about it" Mercy's eyes seemed to shine and there was steel in her voice "We'll take care of Squid-Worse and then help sweep up the rest"

"Squid-Worse?" Billy raised an eyebrow

"Don't ask" Zebidiah sighed "She's picked up some bad habits" despite the brief levity of the situation the six Rangers shared a glance and Mercy nodded as she gave the order that was now second nature to her.

"It's Morphin' Time!"

**Authors Notes:**

First of all this story has now hit 50,000 views on FF Net so I want to thank everyone who had read and re-read what I've written so far and I only hope I can continue to provide quality Sci-Fi.  
And now we've started off the eighth arc of the story, I honestly thought that I might take a break this week after not sleeping for a couple nights in a row; but honestly with everything that's going on in the world with regards to the Coronavirus I felt it would be selfish of me to take the time off.  
I'm a writer, this is what I do and if people are going to be confined to their homes for weeks at a time then the least I can do is continue to create content so that hopefully the days go a little quicker.  
Arc 08 is titled _'Identity' _and the various chapters will take their titles from various sociological terms, in this case _'Generative Actor' _which is defined as: _"__A__n instigator of social change. He or she promotes cultural change by defying cultural normatives"_….Which applies to characters such as Tempestus and Paradoxa.

With all of that being said, let's summarise shall we?  
I'm hoping that the differences in Lord Zedd and Paradoxa's leadership are showing, mainly Paradoxa wants to be revered and worshipped; Lord Zedd is slowly replacing all of her subjects.  
_The Cult of the __Eternal__Devourer_…..Just because I wanted to give the villains more of a culture that they belong to, the Acheron impulse to consume and assimilate taken to an extreme or manifesting as a cult or religion just seemed to work and Lord Zedd having a cult that see him as a Messiah makes sense.  
Okay I don't know why but the idea of Paradoxa being able to ultrasonic vibrate and shake off all the dust and muck that accumulates just amuses me.  
The whole, newer bigger Teleportation Gate won't be important this Arc….next Arc however.  
Also yes I'm taking care to make it clear that Lord Zedd's power does have limits, he can't just do whatever because he's the big-bad.  
Okay, so Paradoxa's suspicions aren't exactly stupid but at the same time; if Lord Zedd wanted her dead she'd be dead, a lot of this is just her projecting her own treasonous thoughts onto him.  
Corcus is an absolute beast of a Drill Sargent and you will learn to hate him, but more importantly you will LEARN.  
Its' interesting to think of all the reasons that the Rangers would feel like Corcus might single them out, the things that they're low-key self conscious about.  
In my head Corcus has the vibe of a stereotypical old Samurai or master martial artist training an appreciate which is why _"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate", "If a warrior is not unattached from life and death he will be of no use whatsoever", "Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force of circumstances", "Common sense will not accomplish great things, simply become insane and desperate", "Imitating another style is simply a sham"_ and _"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men, you are also a man; if you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon"_ are all quotes from the Hagakure, written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo.  
I've always tried to portray that Aquitian society is more collectivist and rigidly dedicated to hierarchy, with an emphasis on duty, tradition and unity; Corcus is a particularly strident and conservative example of that.  
Poor Tempestus, nobody wants to get packed in in front of their Dad.  
"_Aquitar is built on its' learning and invention; if Corcus wants to see a society built on violence I suggest he takes a long hard look at the Dark Empire" _that is Billy just handing out facts and shade.  
The father and son relationship between Billy and Tempestus is fun to write.  
I haven't actually decided what Mercy would go to college for, but I want her to move forwards with her life.  
I know that Marigold was a straight up cop in Dekaranger but obviously I needed to differentiate her here for the sake of the story and also, the ideas that she mentioned are ones that are interesting to me from a Sci-Fi perspective.  
_Algolia Separatist Movement_, shout out to the people who got that reference.  
Mari being a crack shot is a nod to her using those two handguns in Dekaranger _(Not that she ever got to use them)_.  
Honshu….so Google where Mt. Fuji is and think that but spacey.  
_Deadite Tree_…..You get it, you know you get it.  
40k fans, imagine Leslie being like a Tokyo-esque, Vapour-wave aesthetic city in a dome with the Jungles of Catachan outside.  
Also….What if I told you that the whole conversation about Leslie Outpost is actually foreshadowing that will be paid off later on.  
You didn't really think I was gonna have Aslaug get jealous and stuff did you? 'cos...eww.  
Mercy and Aslaug are definitely 'That' couple in public….press F for Marigold.  
Now I'm sure there's at least one Furry reading this who saw the way I described Jin-Zhao and thinks that she's oddly hot, I'm not judging you I promise but all I'm saying is wait until you see her tongue.  
Its' fun to get back to sneaky and tactical Paradoxa, she started of by abandoning her commanding officer to die, taking control of the fleet and then killing the Gold Ranger in her first engagement; she's a lot more than a lackey.  
Jin-Zhao's second in command that Paradoxa saw in the background is the guy who the Rangers and Mission Control saw attacking.  
Plans within plans, they can't stop everything.  
I want to stress that Panthera is not any kind of drugs or arms dealer….She's more like Del-Boy, for anyone here who's watched _"Only Fools and Horses".  
_The teasing and banter between Panthera and Kay was fun to write….as was the fact that Kay can't keep their eyes off her and she thinks they're pretty.  
"_That could almost be taken as an offer….if I squinted and was really, really hopeful"_ you slick mother fucker.  
Rensa just showing up loudly sipping his drink was iconic and you know it.  
I like the idea that Panthera, Rensa and Kay will slowly become a team within the team, not because they dislike Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug but because they understand each other in a way that the others can't.  
"_Being the third wheel to Panthera and Kay as they danced around each other was an experience that soon grew tiring"_ Mood.  
I'm going to keep this story away from a hard Mature rating as much as possible_ (Although the idea that making out is somehow more explicit than someone having their skull crushed on screen is ludicrous to anyone who isn't an actual Victorian) _but at the same time, the relationship between Mercy and Aslaug progressing in that direction is entirely expected.  
That being said, anybody who has read my RWBY stories knows how much I enjoy the trope of my heroes being cock-blocked in the most extreme way….Mercy, Aslaug, welcome to the club.  
The specifics of Zebidiah's new Zordon tubes felt like they were rushed and slipped in but there were other things to cover, that being said I felt it was still pretty clear.  
No Putties, the Alliance and Empire are both gonna be using actual soldiers which makes things a lot more interesting.  
Ichorian, from Ichor….a word that always makes me think of Squids, probably because of the Beast Wars Second character.  
The monster is based on a few different things, a giant Squid, the Amygdala from Bloodborne, the old-school Grey aliens and Ebony Maw from Avengers.  
'_New Angel Grove'_ is the Colony Ship that Mercy's old Cadet group are on, Google who _'Mochizuki Chiyome' _was.  
Squid-Worse….Nope, not sorry; not even a little.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Billy's gonna be around for at least the rest of the second arc, don't worry about that.  
I honestly forgot Cestro and Cestria were brother and sister.  
Zedd and Paradoxa's scenes are fun because they're both blinded by arrogant pride in different ways and that leads to some fun interactions.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	33. Adaptive Capacity

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 32 – Adaptive Capacity**

Steaks of coloured light burst into existence and streaked downwards, illuminating the pale, yellowish sky of the world of Prosperity which was now smudged and streaked with rising pillars and clouds of acrid black smoke as the battle for the Alliances' latest settlement raged.

"Take 'em out!" Mercy ordered as the Aegis Rangers materialised in the midst of a pitched battle, the chaos leaving few if any safer options; the rushing air that accompanied their teleportation halting the head of a squad of green-skinned aliens whose compound eyes widened at the sight of this new threat; the Dark Empire soldier quickly raised their weapon and fired only for the bolt of searing light that it vomited forth to be deflected harmlessly by the flat of the Red Ranger's crimson-bladed katana before Mercy launched a carefully measured spinning-heel kick to the aliens' skull to leave them crumpled on the ground.

"We can't afford to be gentle" Rensa hissed as the rest of the downed Dark Empire soldiers' squad barrelled around the nearest corner, their weapons fitted with broad cleaver-like blades that vibrated at an ultrasonic frequency in place of a more conventional bayonet.

"I know" Mercy ground out "But it doesn't feel right" in her mind using her abilities as a Power Ranger against a woefully unequipped enemy infantryman was hardly any different to the military attacking civilians, such was the scope of the difference in their lethality; the choice was taken from her however as the first salvo impacted against her armour, bolts of searing, poisonous green light that lacked the capacity to do anything more than leave faintly discoloured scorch marks on the Rangers' armour.

"So be it!" Aslaug barked and charged forwards to meet the enemy head on, though in a display of restraint the Yellow Ranger elected not to manifest her battle axe; Mercy chewed her lip nervously beneath her helmet for a moment before nodding and giving an order

"Let's go!" with nothing left to discuss the six Rangers sprinted into the aliens, all of whom wore the ragged red robes of what Zebidiah had called the 'Cult of the Eternal Devourer' over their cheap, mass produced and entirely ineffectual armour and though the Dark Empire's footsoldiers attempted to bring their melee weapons to bear against the Rangers it was a fruitless endeavour, within moments the green-skinned creatures were piled, unconscious on the ground.

"Mercy to Mission Control" the Red Ranger breathed out "We were intercepted on arrival but we're ready to engage priority target, send coordinates" the familiar clinical jargon was enough to soothe Mercy's nerves a little, though that peace was quickly taken from her by Corcus's irritable tone

"Your hesitation will see lives lost Red Ranger….be mindful that your kindness doesn't become a weakness for the enemy to exploit" Mercy's teeth ground together as she fought back a vicious retort and took a single slow breath; she knew that the former Aquitian Ranger would not accept any answers predicated on her own conscience and so instead she offered an answer that was coldly logical.

"We have prisoners to teleport to a secure location, they might have useful intel"

"It's unlikely they'll part with it without the use of methods that we would rather not employ" Zebidiah's voice chimed in darkly "A wise decision however, better than stooping to butchery" the barb at Corcus's approach was plain to see yet before anything more could be said Kimberley joined the conversation and, taking command of the situation and keeping both the Rangers and Mission Control focused on the task at hand.

"Coordinates are being sent to you now" her words were followed by each of the Rangers receiving a new alert, displayed on their visors "Silver Guardian units were attempting to pin the target but are currently pulling out, both Alliance and Empire forces are using heavy assets….this could get messy Rangers"

"Also be aware that the Prosperity Colony Ship has had its' atmospheric dome removed due to the planets' air being breathable….meaning that Dark Empire ships-"

"Can air strike or grow Squid-Worse" Mercy grimaced "Understood" without waiting a moment longer the Red Ranger led her team towards where they knew their target to be.

Sprinting through the streets at inhuman speeds allowed the Rangers their first real look at Prosperity, despite its' alien sky the Colony Ship was largely similar to Promethea One; its' architecture designed to mimic that found in any American city, that familiarity providing a deadly advantage to the Alliances' soldiers as they took sniping positions atop apartment blocks and cut down entire squads of the Dark Empire's infantry until the streets ran with alien blood though it was far from a one sided affair; Mercy's scream of warning came a moment too late as a group of human soldiers she saw hurling grenades were consumed in a lance of violet light a moment later, the blast leaving nothing in its' wake and throwing the Rangers' to the ground as its' concussive force shook everything around them

"Heavy assets" Panthera grumbled as she sprung to her feet "They brought more dakka" the Rangers hastily righted themselves around her and were confronted with the machine responsible for the blast.

A Dark Empire tank.

The thing hovered several feet above the ground and was formed of a main body which could most easily be described as a jagged and angular crescent, its' points facing forwards with a cockpit nestled between them whilst a large turret sat atop it, boasting a weapon whose barrel was large enough for a person sit inside and gave off a sinister purple glow as it swept towards the Rangers.

"I've got it!" Kay rushed forwards, emerald light coalescing in their palms as they planted themselves between their team-mates and the Dark Empires' war machine; both the tank and the Green Ranger fired and streams of coloured light collided with each other in an aurora of destruction, Kay sliding back as they held the blast at bay. Time seemed to move in slow motion for Panthera as the Pink Ranger manifested her twin blades and combined them, hurling the resulting weapon in what had come to be regarded as one of her signature moves; sending it tearing through the air and the hull of the hovering vehicle which quickly came crashing to the ground as its' power supply was destroyed, sparks and small explosions issuing from within it.

"Thank-"

"We've gotta keep moving" she cut through Kay's somewhat bashful thanks and prepared to take off again.

"Those soldiers, they-" Tempestus turned to the others and they could tell that beneath his helmet the Blue Ranger was horrified

"We can't think about that now" Mercy urged "We do our job and as few people get hurt as possible" with that the six Ranger burst into motion once again, surging through emptied streets towards an open park which had served as the Dark Empire's staging area where the abhorrent creature leading the attack waited for them.

"GET DOWN!" Mercy leapt aside as six, rubbery grey tentacle-arms ripped though the air before being retracted backwards; displaying the tremendous reach the Acheron hybrid possessed as it laughed at them in a watery, burbling voice.

"Rangers" the monster sneered "Don't attempt to surrender, your terms will be rejected. Today you will die and your bodies be broken and used to spawn more Acheron warriors"

"You make me sick" Mercy spat as she lunged back to her feet, katana in hand as those Rangers who had not manifested their weapons yet did so. This was what the Red Ranger had prepared for, defeating this kind of foe was what it meant to be a Power Ranger and she braced herself as everything around her seemed to fade away into a peaceful stillness.

Then the Rangers and the monster both charged.

* * *

Paradoxa adjusted her position and made herself comfortable in her throne aboard the Heliothis, relishing the feeling of power and control that had returned to her now that Lord Zedd was absent and that she was enacting her own plans, rather than acting as the simple servant and administrator that she had been reduced to since the warlords' arrival. The insectoid hybrid could have attended to her schemes from the comfort of her own hive-like and festering chambers to ensure that no record of what transpired remained, however the urge to believe herself to be powerful had been too great and she had simply ordered the crew of her Command Bridge to vacate the vessel and committed herself to scrubbing and modifying all records of incoming communications from other vessels within the Vanguard Fleet to remove any and all evidence of anything untoward. Presently she was notified of such an incoming transmission and promptly brought it on screen.

"Lady Paradoxa" somehow the machinery of Jin-Zhao's own Command Bridge transformed the monstrous hybrids' smokey yet distinctly synthetic and solely psychic voice into something audible, recreating the sound that Paradoxa had heard within her own mind perfectly.

"How goes the mission?" she enquired eagerly, taking a moment to examine the image being displayed across the panoramic viewing screen of the Heliothis. The bridge of the Predator was distinct to say the least, its' walls comprised of stone and stained glass whilst the various stations were draped with scrolls, trinkets and iconography and behind the vessels' Captain an ancient tapestry depicting an apocalyptic battle in which the Acheron people consumed all before them was displayed with pride; the resultant feeling being one of some abominable and technological monastery. In addition to the overtly symbolic décor each and every member of the Predators' bridge crew was swaddled in the arterial spray coloured robes of their fanatical order, those who were not Acheron Hybrids having sought to replicate their overlords' gift of adaption through surgical modifications to their own bodies, new limbs had been grafted to bodies whilst body parts which were deemed unnecessary to their allotted role had been amputated.

"The mission goes well" Jin-Zhao assured her, snapping Paradoxa's attention back to the matter at hand "My Arch-Apostle leads the devotees as we speak, enemies of Acheron will be cut down by the thousand whilst the spoils of their colony are being taken for our own as we speak, weapons and fuel are being given priority as you specified my lady"

"Resistance?"

"Mounting steadily as the Alliance teleports more soldiers" Jin-Zhao admitted "Nothing more than a further opportunity to display our superiority" Paradoxa allowed herself a small smirk at that, apparently the fanatic could be tolerable after all

"And what of the Power Rangers?" this question caused a psychic snarl of displeasure to escape the monstrous cultist whilst the bulging muscles of her neck and lower jaw writhed and coiled in agitation, giving only the merest hints of what lay beneath her scaly flesh.

"They are present Lady Paradoxa" Jin-Zhao admitted "My Arch-Apostle has engaged them directly, I will be entering the field of battle shortly; I plan to deliver a killing blow to the colony in its' entirety"

"See that it is done" Paradoxa nodded solemnly "Lord Zedd will expect no less"

"Yes Lady Paradoxa" with that the screen blackened and Paradoxa allowed herself a moment to compose herself, keeping her pale green face from morphing into a twisted smirk of victorious smugness and focusing on what was yet to be done; within seconds she had entered a series of commands into her throne and the Command Bridges' viewing screen came into life once more.

"This is-"

"Be silent and listen" the Captain of the warship Orpheus fell silent as Paradoxa quickly cut across them

"From this point forwards I will be assuming direct control of your vessel" the insectoid hybrid stated flatly "I am sending you the coordinates of the Predator and the frequency at which its' cloaking field is operating; you are to lock on and maintain total silence regardless of interference. On my order you will transfer the contents of its' hold to your own ship and fire on its' propulsion systems. Am I understood"

"Yes Lady Paradoxa"

"Good" the insectoid tyrant was unable to keep the smile from her face this time, the thrill of power was far too intoxicating and she had been denied it for far too long.

* * *

A tense silence hung over the Command Centre, the air charged and heavy as though a thunderstorm were evident as aides and technicians along with a dozen other specialists employed by Lightspeed whilst the quartet of uniquely experienced individuals who formed the core of Mission Control watched with baited breath as the Aegis Rangers did battle with the Dark Empire's latest warrior.

The Rangers were struggling.

The Arch-Apostle's choice to remain in the open park that the Dark Empire's forces had teleported into had proven itself to be a sound tactical decision rather than simple cowardice; the lack of cover or notable terrain gave a tremendous advantage to the six-armed horror whose writhing, boneless limbs could stretch to several times their apparent length, the rubbery grey skin that coated them becoming translucent as it strained whilst the monsters' hands were enhanced by the squid-like suction cups lining the underside of each arm, giving them a grip strong enough to lift and throw a Ranger with each flailing appendage.

"Billy, any idea of how to deal with that thing?" Kimberley demanded

"Negative" Billy shook his head, brow furrowed and mind clearly racing as he stared intently at the Ranger's foe; studying every inch of its' anatomy and making what inferences he reasonably could, though those were few and far between owing to the mutability of Acheron genetics.

"These are the kind of opponents your Rangers face?" Corcus whispered, eyes wide "How does one fight a creature like that? I've never encountered the like of it-"

"We have more pressing matters" Zebidiah's voice issuing from the tube which currently housed his consciousness caused the other members of Mission Control to turn and face him, each of them realising that the sorcerers' essence had returned from elsewhere.

"I had to consult my texts….I had no particular fondness for the Cult of the Eternal Devourer in my time as Lord Zedd" the former Acheron admitted "But something is amiss, the monster the Rangers are fighting is an Arch-Apostle, the markings on the robe and the way its' worn tell me as much….they have a leader, where are they?"

As if summoned by his words an alarm began to blare.

"We're getting a red alert from the Prosperity Colonies' Power station!" one of the Command Centres' aides called out frantically "They're under attack, brining it on screen now!" each member of Mission Control seemed to know exactly what was to come, even if they lacked the specifics and were soon left horrified by the sight of a monster that could be described as a muscular, bipedal tiger with a glossy black and scaly hide decorated with milky white stripes.

The entirety of the Command Centre watched in horror, unable to look away as the viewing glove showed a digitally enhanced image created from a composite of the power stations' camera feeds which showed every grisly detail as a team of lightly armed and armoured security guards attempted to halt Jin-Zhao's advance only for the Acheron hybrid to unleash her hidden weapon; the bloated, swollen mass of flesh and muscle beneath jaw opened, splitting her mandible with it and as her entire neck and chin separated a pair of tongues reached out from her gaping maw, turquoise in colour and coated in a viscous glowing slime each tongue was as thick as a mans' arm and several feet in length, ending in a series of hooked barbs resembling atrophied and vestigial claws.

The sound of retching and horrified gasps could be heard as the guards fanned out and aimed their weapons; their bullets pattering harmlessly from Jin-Zhao's armoured hide before her tongues seized the skulls of the guards and those who weren't crushed in showers of exploding gore were dashed against the walls until their bodies were left as crumpled, pulverised husks. As she strode forward the monster manifested a pair of curved and broad but short bladed cleaver like weapons in bursts of light, glancing directly at the cameras and destroying them before presumably continuing her onslaught.

"Teleport me to that beasts' location, immediately!" Corcus barked

"Belay that order!" Kimberley countered, voice dropping to a furious whisper as she rounded on the Aquitian Blademaster "What the hell are you doing?"

"My duty" he answered coldly

"You'll die!" the former Pink Ranger exclaimed

"A sacrifice I am entirely willing to make"

"It's not a sacrifice if it achieves nothing" Billy interrupted, causing the Aquitian to turn and face him with a furious expression "If you still had your Power Coin or we had a Morpher we could allow you to use I would agree with you, the colony is powered by a Horusite reactor and if its' damaged it could wipe out the entire colony and kill everyone on board….but you can't Morph and you can't hope to beat that monster alone without your powers"

"I-" Corcus fell silent for a moment before speaking again, his tone hushed and his fists clenched "We must act!"

"Send the Rangers" Zebidiah suggested "Have them split their forces

"Against two Acheron hybrids?" Kimberley raised an eyebrow

"Answer me one simple question" the former Lord Zedd demanded "Have the Aegis Rangers ever failed us before?"

With the facts of the matter laid out so bluntly before them Mission Control shared worried glances and were forced to conclude that there was only one course of action that could be taken.

* * *

"Perish!" the Arch-Apostle's burbling war-cry filled the air as Mercy's momentum was robbed from her, her attempt to charge at the repugnant creature halted as they flung all six of their arms forward, crossing the dozen feet between them to unleash a maelstrom of blows which the Red Ranger frantically struggled to defend against with a flurry of slashing attacks; the grassy ground beneath her being cratered slightly by the force of the barrage.

Then a streak of golden yellow announced Aslaug's intervention as the Yellow Ranger thundered towards the monster from its' left hand side, axe at the ready in an attempt to hack through its' many limbs only to be halted as the Arch-Apostle split their attention, three limbs continuing their onslaught against Mercy whilst Aslaug was apprehended by the remaining three; one flying out to grab the shaft of her weapon and attempt to wrestle for control of it whilst two limbs seized the Yellow Ranger and hoisted her into the air before slamming her down onto the ground with earthshaking force, cracking the visor of her helmet and knocking the wind from her before hurling her several dozen feet away seemingly effortlessly

"ASLAUG!" the panicked cry escaped Mercy's lips yet she found herself powerless to act on it as all six of the monsters' arms struck her in perfect unison, sending her hurtling backwards and bouncing across the ground before painfully rolling to a stop.

As she struggled to rise, limbs shaking and chest muscles screaming in protest at every attempt to breathe the Red Ranger saw that the Arch-Apostle had failed to buy themselves even a moments' respite as the Aegis Rangers continued their attack; though it was clear that their opponent was more than capable of meeting their efforts.

"Pitiful" the monster chuckled cruelly as they plucked Panthera's bladed weapon out of the air and crushed it into a thousand luminous magenta fragments which flared and flickered out of existence like embers before preparing to retaliate only for a beam of emerald light to blast them back a pace and leave sizzling flesh and boiling blood in its' wake as it struck their flesh. Kay rushed forwards, Dragon Blade in hand yet as they drew close the monster shifted their weight, still in their odd squatting position and leapt high into the air, each of their six arms shooting downwards and sinking into the ground to surround the Green Ranger and anchor the Arch-Apostle before the monster retracted its' limbs and rocketed downwards, a shock-wave rushing out from the point of impact as they landed on Kay's chest, the Green Ranger laying and the epicentre of a crater with cracks running along the surface of the shield that covered their chest.

Panthera leapt into the fray and managed to land a vicious knee strike to the monsters' face as she weaved between their limbs, forcing off the Green Ranger whom she quickly helped to their feet.

"Thanks, again-"

"Look out!" with the split second of warning Kay saw that the Arch-Apostle had recovered and had brought their six arms snaking around to attack from all sides and promptly tackled Panthera to the ground before taking the brunt of the blow themselves

"Kay!" Panthera' voice came as ragged scream as sparks jetted from the Green Ranger's armour, each blow leaving them reeling and dazed before they finally collapsed to the ground and the Pink Ranger was forced to rush in as the monsters' tentacle-arms raised overhead, poised to strike like stingers and she narrowly managed to pull her ally free a moment before the blows landed.

"Thanks….a-"

"Don't say it, idiot" she snapped as she pulled them to their feet again.

"Is this all!" the Arch-Apostle demanded, their voice a fierce challenge part mockery and part naked hate-filled rage "Is this all that the Power Rangers, enemies of the Eternal Devourer have to offer! I WILL FEAST ON YOUR-"

Tempestus silenced them by swinging his staff at their face like a baseball bat as he and Rensa went on the offensive.

Blood spurted from the monsters' neck and left their crimson robes sodden as the Black Ranger leapt onto their back and plunged his daggers downwards, ripping into his enemies' collarbones in an attempt to either end the monster completely or at the very least disable some of its' arms; the effort was unsuccessful however and the Arch-Apostle reached over their back and clutched Rensa's helmet in a single palm before hurling him through the and smashing his body into the floor, only to seize him by the leg with another limb as he attempted to rise and repeat the action before finally picking the struggling Black Ranger up with four tentacles, each grasping an arm or leg as they hoisted him into the air before delivering a crushing blow to his chest with their final two limbs.

"I haven't forgotten about you" the Arch-Apostle assured Tempestus as he discarded Rensa and rounded on the Blue Ranger who managed to leap over a low sweep of a tentacle aimed at his legs with his typical grace and fluidity only to be swatted aside by a follow up blow. Tempestus slid backwards in a one-kneed crouch and forced himself to not consider the pain in his side as a deluge of blows rained down on him and he surged upwards to meet them, rising to his feet and becoming a blue of motion; his staff twirling and lashing out to beat back the six tentacles the jabbed and slashed at him from all angles until eventually the Arch-Apostle managed to get the better of him; a single limb grasping at the Blue Ranger's ankle and forcing him off balance whilst a further two struck from the sides and clasped at his helmets, squeezing and crushing until a web of fractures began to spread across its' surface and warnings began to flash across Tempestus's visor.

Then the Arch-Apostle let out a howl of pain.

Glancing down Tempestus saw Mercy, katana outstretched and clasped in two hands after the Red Ranger had charged and stabbed; piercing one of the arms which held the Blue Ranger in place. The monster thrashed and pulled their limbs back to them only for another scream of pain to be torn from their lips and leave Tempestus's stomach roiling as he saw one of Rensa's daggers buried in one of the foul creatures' large and watery eyes.

With a howl of pure hatred the Arch-Apostle flung all six of their limbs forwards in a single attack only to strike nothing at all; time seemed to slow to a crawl as Aslaug rushed forwards and used the flat of her axes' blade to parry a blow aimed for Mercy whilst Panthera came rushing from behind Tempestus, leaping over the Blue Ranger and landing on the tentacle aimed for him; pinning it to the ground whilst the Green Ranger took advantage of the sudden opening and sprinted forwards, emerald light coalescing around their hands once more as they delivered a double palm strike to the monsters' emaciated midsection and folded their husk of a body nearly entirely in half as they were thrown back by the force of the blow.

"Okay Rangers, we can do this" Mercy panted out despite her obvious pain and exhaustion as the Rangers formed up behind her, weapons at the ready and each of them watching intently as the bloodied and battered Arch-Apostle dragged themselves to their feet, spitting out a mouthful of slick, oily blood and tearing Rensa's dagger from their ruptured left eye before crushing it in their palm

Then Mercy heard the subtle static roughness of a comm channel opening

"We have a problem" Kimberley's voice warned her

"Wouldn't happen to have six arms and be a real pain in the ass would it?" the Red Ranger replied despite the seriousness of the situation, her deep brown eyes narrowed beneath her helmet as the watched their enemy splay its' limbs out around itself; bracing itself for another attack.

"The monster you're fighting is a distraction" at the former Pink Ranger's words Mercy felt as though her blood had frozen in her veins "An Acheron hybrid, high ranking in some death-cult in their society just attacked the colonies' power station; there's nobody left to defend it" the unspoken implication in that statement horrified the Red Ranger yet she forced her emotions aside and desperately tried to reduce the situation to a purely tactical one

"Send the coordinates" she answered simply, quickly making an analysis of what would be needed to fight this unknown second threat; an attack on a power station would require technical skill and likely involve fighting in close quarters whilst also needing considerable power to defeat such a dangerous foe.

"Tempestus, take Kay and Panthera" she instructed "Whatever the Dark Empire are planning at the power station you need to stop it, we'll handle this"

"We'll handle it" the Blue Ranger assured her before quickly bolting in the direction of his new priority, the Pink and Green Rangers close behind him though Mercy could pay no attention to them as the Arch-Apostle rose themselves up on their serpentine limbs and began scuttling about the open field in a manner reminiscent of a spider, seeking some opening.

"Can the three of us win this battle?" Aslaug asked seriously, Mercy shifted her weight and prepared to shrug as she gave the only answer she could

"Do we have a choice?"

* * *

Jin-Zhao was far from the lumbering brute or single-minded warrior or fanatic that many within the Dark Empire made the mistake of assuming her to be. As a devotee of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer her it was her sworn and divine duty to become the most relentless, effective and all consuming weapon of the Dark Empire's manifest destiny and unbound wrath she could possibly be; she had spent years earning her position within both the cult and within the Acheron war machine; mastering her craft not only as a warrior, a tactician and a zealot but also in a dozen other fields such as engineering where she gained knowledge she had learned to employ in her war against all life that existed outside of the Empire's ever expanding grasp.

Which was why she had waited until her Arch-Apostle had engaged the Power Rangers and then promptly begun her lonely assault of the power station of Prosperities' colony city. After studying what designs and schematics that the Dark Empire had managed to reverse engineer or extrapolate from observation Jin-Zhao hand learned that the Alliances' Colony Ships were an effort largely made by the people of Earth who had at first scavenged and repurposed what remains they could from the initial attacks on their world; their designs steadily improving as they joined the Alliance and technology and scientific understanding was shared between its' disparate civilisations. More importantly the Acheron hybrid had learned that each colony ship was powered by a pair of gargantuan reactors; one of which was a Horusite based system intended to supply the entirety of their domed cities and the second of which relied on a more primitive human system and powered the vast engines which carried the Colony Ship on its' voyage through space. The two power supplies were connected however, each capable of backing up the other. Prosperity had landed and the vast inverted spire which formed the bulk of the colonies' mass had separated from the city landing in the distance where it could be seen looming in the skyline, still connected to the city and this was the reason for the cruel smile Jin-Zhao wore as she made her way through the colonies' power station, her task completed and wiping blood from her maw. Prosperity would be sacked and at her command it would be destroyed in a single blow; killing every inhabitant and every warrior that the Alliance had sent to defend it.

She walked through narrow corridors leading away from control rooms whose gleaming and minimalist décor was a feeble attempt to make them less claustrophobic before reaching a vast viewing platform positioned over an even larger reactor hall, the platform being almost the size of a sports stadium and lit from below by the soft orange glow of the refined but still volatile and highly explosive Horusite that powered the city and as she came to a stop the hybrids' smile widened and she planted her clawed feet in a wide stance as she readied her curved cleavers.

There were three Power Rangers waiting for her.

"Let's not waste time with words" Jin-Zhao's psychic voice had a mocking edge to it as she spoke directly into the minds of the Blue, Pink and Green Rangers before lunging forwards in a near invisible blur of motion; her bladed weapons being crossed over her chest and brought outwards in twin arcing slashes intended to cleave the Blue Ranger in half.

She missed.

Tempestus threw himself into a backflip, the monsters' blades coming within a hairs' breadth of his armour before he kicked out and landed a punishing blow on her chin which he used to launch himself backwards, landing in a crouch and springing forwards again.

Jin-Zhao was prevented from giving chase by Panthera and Kay who attacked as one, the Pink Ranger attacking from her left with a vicious kick that crumpled and buckled the monsters' knee whilst the Green Ranger delivered a blow to her face before spinning aside from her first wild, retaliatory slash and promptly bringing the Dragon Blade to bear, the glowing gladius holding both of the monsters' weapons at bay whilst Panthera delivered a blow to the back of Jin-Zhao's head which sent her face crashing into the floor with enough force to make the entirety of the platform shudder.

Tempestus rushed forwards and prepared to unleash a devastating flying kick to her face and leapt into the air at the exact moment Panthera and Kay moved aside; only for Jin-Zhao to unhinge her maw and unleash her twin, barbed tongues which promptly caught the Blue Ranger and hurled him through the air before he came skidding to a halt perilously close to the edge of the platform.

"Did you truly think it would be so easy?" with no verbal response to her challenge Kay and Panthera rushed into once again, hoping to maintain what momentum they had managed to build only for the monsters' eyes in their odd triangular arrangement to glow with ethereal and electric blue light as Jin-Zhao launched a psychic shock-wave which flung them both backwards and tumbling to the ground, ears ringing, vision swimming and blood dripping from their noses within their helmets as they struggled to stand with each of their nerves and muscles seemingly operating independently with no cohesion.

Jin-Zhao charged with her cleavers at the ready, only to be halted as their blades were parried by the Blue Ranger's staff.

"Whatever you're planning" Tempestus forced out through clenched teeth, being forced to give ground inch by torturous inch as he was overpowered "It stops here"

"Planning?" Jin-Zhao's voice echoed in his mind as she kicked him in the chest and sent him staggering backwards "Do you truly think you still have a chance Ranger? I've already completed the task I came here for, you're too late"

"Go" Panthera's voice alerted Tempestus to the fact that his fellow Rangers had risen to their feet behind him "We'll handle this" Tempestus nodded and without a word the three Rangers charged forwards on some unseen signal. Jin-Zhao charged to meet them and opened her grotesque jaws wide to unleash her prehensile tongues for another attack whilst the Blue Ranger slid beneath them and under the monster, righting himself and breaking into a full sprint in the direction that the monster had come from whilst behind the sounds of a raging battle continued; with Kay and Panthera evidently being forced onto the defensive.

The only twisted mercy to be found in the situation was that it was easy to see where Jin-Zhao had been, the trail of blood, bodies and bullet holes where she had rampaged through the power stations' guards creating a clear path for the Blue Ranger to follow which he did so whilst trying to pay as little attention to the carnage as possible; nothing in his safe life on Aquitar having adequately prepared him for the realities of being a Power Ranger which tormented him even now and with a steady stream of wheezed and gasped prayers for the fallen spilling from his lips as he raced towards his goal; finding it in the form of a control room whose armoured door had been ripped away and quickly making his way inside.

The control room was utter carnage and it became immediately clear what Jin-Zhao had done; every single control panel had been torn asunder with debris littering the floor whilst sparks and smoke issued from their gutted remains yet the screens of the various consoles remained entirely untouched, presumably so that the Acheron hybrid could take a twisted sense of glee from knowing that whoever attempted to undo her work would see the dire warnings those screens displayed and be overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation.

Before destroying the consoles the power stations' self destruct sequence had been initiated and Tempestus realised with a sinking feeling of dread that he had no idea how to stop it.

**Authors Notes:**

So two of four chapters done for this arc, how're we feeling about it so far?  
This chapter was a little shorter than what it feels like my average has been lately but that's because those chapters have been getting steadily longer.  
In keeping with the naming convention for this arc _"Adaptive Capacity"_ is a sociology term, defined as:_ '__T__he capacit__y __of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences'  
_The UK is now in a 3 week lock-down due to the Corona Virus and whilst I doubt it will increase my productivity as there's only so much I can write in a week anyway, I just want to give my full support to anyone else dealing with similar conditions across the world….we'll get through this.

But anyway, on a less morbid note let's summarise shall we?  
Not to get too Adi Shankar but how would the Rangers function as part of an actual military operation?  
I feel that Mercy, as much as she was trained to be a soldier doesn't like the idea of using her abilities as a Power Ranger in that kind of battle, even Aslaug didn't use her axe because hacking infantry apart like that would have just been overkill, these aren't Putties.  
'Blademaster' Corcus has definitely been battle hardened to the point where he would have killed those soldiers.  
The dome that the colony had is missing…..because in fights inside of a colony ship I'm having to create new contrivances to allow the Dark Empire to fire a mutagenic grenade in without ripping through the dome and sucking the colonies' atmosphere out, although it wouldn't have actually been a problem here.  
"_More dakka"_ call back to arc 01 when Panthera pulled out the alien mini-gun; and yes the Dark Empire just pulled out a tank….they have tactics other than_ "Drown them in bodies"_.  
Kay and Panthera saving each others' asses so many times this chapter was great.  
'_Staging area'_ or _'Why the fights in Power Rangers always happen in the same park or quarry'_ obviously they only have so many locations that they film at, but as an in universe explanation I'm using the excuse of the villains needing an open area to teleport so many of their footsoldiers without risking them getting teleported into a wall.  
Extendable arms….six of 'em; enjoy.  
Getting comfortable in that throne and thinking about having it all to herself again.  
Okay the fact I'm a fan of Warhammer 40k was entirely out on display when I described the bridge and crew of Jin-Zhao's ship; just a body horror, diesel-punk, grim-dark temple.  
And Paradoxa's backstabbing plans are in full effect.  
Good to see Corcus get bitch-slapped in he face by reality.  
Zebidiah basically invoked Murphy's Law…..not exactly but close enough.  
I told you last chapter that Jin-Zhao's mouth had a hidden weapon; there it is double murder-tongue.  
You might dislike Corcus but at least he's willing to put his money where his mouth is and throw down.  
Horusite….you know, the volatile stuff that Paradoxa tried to steal and that the Rangers turned into a bomb to blow up one of her ships.  
The idea of Zebidiah having the most faith in the Rangers is one that just works for me, everyone else still sees them as kids despite being Rangers themselves at the same age; to him a Ranger's a Ranger.  
I hope you appreciate the fight scene with the Arch-Apostle because figuring out how six people would fight something with six arms and stupid reach was tricky.  
But also if you're imagining the Kenshiro "Atatatata" when the Arch-Apostle unloaded on Mercy then you're entirely valid.  
Sorry, Panthera's signature move can't work all the time.  
Yes, that was the ultimate drop-kick.  
"_Don't say it, idiot"_….Oh my God she's a Tsundere.  
Bat to the face, chat shit get banged.  
Rensa is a vicious little bastard.  
Yes he was going to implode Tempestus's skull; he's the bad guy he plays dirty.  
That six on one combo beating was just enough to force him back a touch.  
Mercy you gremlin now is not the time for jokes.  
Mercy didn't just pick three at random….but also I would have split the teams that way even without the distraction.  
Trying to find an interior picture of a Power Station that I could use as a basis for this area was more difficult than it needed to be, luckily I can hand wave and say "Sci-Fi"  
Okay here's a thought…..look at Terra Venture, look at how much stuff there is under the actual city and tell me how that thing lands.  
"_Let's not waste time with words"_ neither monster of the week was playing today, they just got straight to it.  
Green and Pink combo moves, gotta love 'em.  
I actually only initially gave Jin-Zhao a psychic voice so that she could still talk and have that mouth weapon but then I realised that it made sense for her to have a Psychic EMP as well.  
Jin-Zhao went full Ozymandias at the end of Watchmen on 'em.  
And there's the action movie cliché cliffhanger we were waiting for….because I wanted Tempestus to have some focus this arc so I put him in a place where his skills shine right after shaking his confidence.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their reply on the last chapter.  
Odd to see that someone likes Corcus.  
I have Rensa stuff planned for Arc 09….No spoilers.  
I'm glad the character interactions and dynamics are going over well because at the end of the story is driven by and only as good as its' characters.  
Gotta have a crazy death-cult in your evil empire or what's the point.  
Of course she's in over her head, the two-faced henchman is always in over their head lol.  
No, no love potions….here at FandomPariah Inc we take a dim view of anyone, even our villains using what are effectively date-rape drugs for any reason.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	34. Asabiyyah

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 33 – Asabiyyah**

Kay hit the ground with a painful thud, stars dancing in front of their eyes beneath their helmet as they pulled themselves back to their feet and stared up at the landing at the top of the flight of stairs they had just been kicked down; Panthera had managed to manifest her curved blades once again and the Pink Ranger fought with Jin-Zhao the Arch Apostle, though as Kay watched her lock blades with the monsters' own cleaver weapons whilst at the same time weaving around grasping, stabbing attacks from her twin clawed and glowing tongues it became obvious that their fellow Ranger was in the clearly weaker position.

Kay prepared to rush back up the stairs and leap into the fray once again but came to a stumbling halt as they watched Panthera backflip over a slashing attack from Jin-Zhao, landing on the Acheron hybrid's weapon and lashing out with a kick which she in turn used to launch herself backwards and into a graceful leap which brought her almost sailing down the flight of stairs and into a crouch beside the Green Ranger who hastily gathered a small aurora of blazing green light around their palm and launched it with a thrust of their arm; the steady steam of carefully measured energy based attacks was draining and it would be suicide for Kay to unleash their full power in their current environment. Jin-Zhao parried the blast with her blades, their surfaces glowing and cracking until the hybrid vanished them back into ether from which they'd been summoned and unleashed an attack of her own; a psychic pulse which ripped into the walls of the of the stairwell as it surged downwards and both Panthera and Kay quickly sprinted to avoid it, fully aware of Jin-Zhao leaping down the stairs and giving chase.

All according to plan.

"Not much further" Kay noted, though their anxiousness was clear

"I can't believe this is actually working" Panthera noted, their brief conversation being held through the internal comms of their helmet so that Jin-Zhao couldn't hear it; they had made certain, as much as possible that the monsters' telepathy was a one-way thing and that she could only project her thoughts as a voice rather than the read those of her opponents. The two of them continued to sprint through the vast facility of the power plant, at impossible speeds with Jin-Zhao close behind until Panthera gestured for Kay to follow her and the two of them quickly took an unexpected turn which brought them into an open canteen, the large room filled with rows of tables and chairs but otherwise a suitable area in which to do battle.

"Don't give the game away to early" the Pink Ranger warned, she and Kay bracing themselves as Jin-Zhao thundered into the room.

"Running like cowards?" her psychic and oddly modulated voice taunted, reverberating in their skulls "I expected better, though it's nice to see that the enemies of the Dark Empire have learned their place" with that Jin-Zhao leapt lunged at them, leaping over several tables and unleashing twin strikes with her clawed tongues that sent both the Pink and Green Rangers flying backwards and crashing to the ground with visible gouges in the armour covering their chests whilst the monster continued her assault, leaping towards them with her claws extended; Panthera quickly combined her weapons into a single form and hurled them through the air, robbing Jin-Zhao of her momentum as she was forced to avoid the blades from slashing open her chest and then her back as it returned to the Pink Ranger's grip, the momentary pause being all the Green Ranger needed to surge forwards and deliver a devastating punch which sent the hybrid hurtling backwards; her claws tearing into the ground as she forced herself to a halt before rising to her full, intimidating height on legs which seemed at least a little unsteady and spitting out a mouthful of blood as she took several ragged breaths whilst Kay and Panthera watched her warily, searching for any signs that she'd surmised their intentions on her alien features.

There was little chance however as Jin-Zhao almost immediately began her offensive anew, this time the alien horror leapt to the side and bounded across one of the canteens' walls before hurling across the room to the opposite side and then leaping once again, crashing bodily into Panthera with enough force to send her flying across the room. Kay immediately came to her aid and forced the monster back with a spinning heel kick followed by a wild and uncoordinated haymaker which left Jin-Zhao's blood spattered across the linoleum floor in thick gobs before she retaliated furiously; distending her maw and unleashing her twin tongues once again, the muscular appendages ensnaring the Green Ranger's arm and hauling them overhead before slamming them through one of the canteens' many tables then promptly dragging them free of the debris; Kay manifested the Dragon Blade in their free hand and attempted to stab at Jin-Zhao's chest only for her to bat the blow aside, the weapon clattering to the ground some distance away as the monster seized one of the Green Ranger's arms in each of her prehensile tongue

"A valiant effort" her psychic voice sneered before held Kay in place and unleashed a flurry of blows at their skull which shattered the visor of the Green Ranger's helmet and tore deep gouges into its' surface whilst small cuts in their flesh where her claws had pierced began to rapidly heal

"I'm going to enjoy watching you die" Jin-Zhao assured him "Your body will broken down and your genetic material returned to the Empire, for use in a more worthy-" Her tirade, punctuated by more blows was cut short and interrupted a shriek of agony which left Kay disoriented as they struggled free of her grasp.

Panthera stood, clutching the Dragon Blade as one of Jin-Zhao's prehensile tongues fell to the ground with rivers of blood cascading from the wound before it sealed

"You okay?" Panthera asked as she pulled Kay free and the Green Ranger managed to nod in reply before their opponent unleashed her latest attack, all three of her electric blue eyes glowing with ethereal light as she projected another pulse of psychic energy, this one accompanied by a low, warbling and vaguely metallic grating sound and appearing somehow more focused and concentrated. Both Kay and Panthera were struck by the blast and hurled backwards, painfully aware of the sensation of walls shattering behind them despite how dazed and stunned the blast left them.

When they managed to help one another to their feet they realised that they had been blown out of the power plant entirely.

"Well….the plan worked" Panthera managed a smirk beneath her helmet even as Jin-Zhao stalked out of the hole in the side of the building, her remaining tongue retracting back into her mouth. She and Kay had planned to take this battle away from the power station so that they could fight without being hindered by their fear of damaging something volatile or vital to the colony of Prosperity. Kay and Panthera were forced to leap aside and away from each other as their opponent leapt into the air and came crashing down between them, her knee cracking the ground as it impacted before promptly spinning and rising to face the Rangers whilst summoning her weapons to her hands once more, their blades somehow repaired in the time that they had been out of use.

"Now you die Rangers!" the Pink and Green Rangers had swiftly moved to position themselves between Jin-Zhao and the power station and now that the two were on opposite sides Kay began gathering his power to himself as he gave a weary but defiant reply.

"No….now we can fight without holding back"

* * *

Tempestus's hands danced from one piece of ruined machinery to the next in a frantic and desperate attempt to repair gutted and destroyed consoles so that he might save Prosperity from a chain reaction that destroy it more completely than the Dark Empire's forces could ever hope to. His efforts were rewarded by sparks that were spat angrily at his armour and yet more alarms and sirens screaming harsh warnings until, with a sense of grim finality something within the tangled mass of burnt wiring and twisted metal that the Blue Ranger was attempting salvage exploded and whilst he was entirely unharmed by the flames and force the armour around his hands and visor were blackened as a result. Tempestus sank to his knees and stared wide eyed at the situation before him, several seconds passed, each of them a vital commodity which could not be reclaimed before Tempestus opened a comm channel and addressed Mission Control.

"Order the evacuation of Prosperity" his voice cracked and though Aquitians did not cry in the way that humans did he let out a single choked sob nonetheless "The power station is going to explode, the chain reaction caused by the Horusite will wipe out the entire colony….I've tried to stop it, I've tried to fix it but I can't" the admission of defeat hung in the air and the Blue Ranger's broken spirit was laid bare for all to see, with only tense and heavy silence answering him for what seemed like an eternity until finally a warm, soothing and instantly familiar voice gave him a simple reply.

"Yes you can. Wait there" Tempestus was left blind-sided by the blunt assertion and more so by far when, mere seconds later a teleportation stream erupted into being within the ruined control room, an oddly colourless stream of light rather than the vibrant streaks that announced the Ranger's arrival or departure, a simple glowing distortion of the air whose dissipation revealed Billy Cranston, former Power Ranger and one of the undisputed greatest mind ever produced by humanity clutching a toolkit in one hand and adjusting his glasses with the other.

"Father what are you doing?" Tempestus demanded in a panicked cry "You need to go, the controls are in-"

"A sorry state I'll admit but nothing that you can't work around I'm sure" Billy interrupted with a bright smile as he set down the tools he had brought "So, I can pull up a diagram of the controls and how they connect with the power station as a whole….where should we start?" Tempestus stared at him in utter disbelief, his father had gone mad; insanity after being pushed to the breaking point by one too many missions and the shock of finally being surrounded by humanity again after decades on Aquitar were the only possible answer

"I can't do it!" he shouted, proper Aquitian decorum and deference to ones' elders entirely forgotten

"You need to leave! Mission Control needs to start an evacuation or thousands of people are going to die!….I can't repair this, I don't know how….even if I did we'd have to replace most of it; it would take days, we have minutes" his voice cracked again, becoming something hollow and fearful only for him to be left completely dumbfounded at the sound of Billy letting out what sounded like an amused chuckle.

"Aquitian thinking and Aquitian society" the former Power Ranger sighed "Logical and orderly with everything in it's place….it certainly has its' positives but the conformity does make things terribly unoriginal after a while"

"Father….I am an Aquitian" Tempestus pointed out, not certain of exactly what Billy was driving at.

"You are Tempestus, scion of Anuket….Tempestus Cranston to me, what the Elders allow be damned" his adoptive fathers' voice grew forceful as he continued "You're same Tempestus that tinkered with anything and everything with buttons and wires that was left unattended until you learned what it was for and how it worked, that asked me why I had hair and no facial ridges in front of Cestria's family and wanted to know everything about everything. You were the youngest Aquitian to be accepted into Anukets' Artificer Guild for a century because you were a bright, brilliant mind and bursting with questions….you can be anything you want to be despite what anybody tells you, but what you will NOT be, what I will not allow you to be is a quitter!"

Billy's words echoed off of the walls and Tempestus remained silent with his head lowered, his Ranger suit breaking into a maelstrom of incandescent shards which flickered like cobalt embers before fading away; silence reigned for a little longer and Billy almost thought that he'd pushed too hard and too far until his adopted son glanced upwards and squared his shoulders and the elder Blue Ranger could almost see the thoughts racing and forming into something great behind those pale, coral pink eyes.

"I know how to stop the explosion"

"How?"

"I've been too focused on the controls, thinking that what was used to create the problem must hold the solution, focused on restoring it" Tempestus admitted "We need to disable the entire system at the other end which will forcibly enable the fail-safes which the Dark Empire's monster has attempted to override. We go from the entire colony being destroyed to a temporary blackout….though we may still need to evacuate or at least pre-warn the hospital" Billy nodded in understanding before cocking his head and smiling with immense pride and a faint yet odd sense of amusement

"Fixing a problem by breaking it somewhere else" he noted "That's a distinctly human approach….let's get to work, your plan is definitely the most feasible we have and time isn't on our side"

"Groovy" Tempestus noted with dry sarcasm that he hadn't possessed when he had left Aquitar

"Morphenomenal" Billy agreed as father and son set about the task of saving lives.

* * *

The battle against Jin-Zhao's Arch-Apostle continued though Mercy, Aslaug and Rensa could not be said to be gaining any ground by any reasonable measure; the fanatical monstrosity continued their relentless assault against the remaining Rangers despite the blood still leaking from the various wounds they had accrued, with even the loss of an eye seeming to do nothing to halt their rampage.

A fact which they underlined as six palm strikes struck Aslaug in the chest and midsection, each striking with the force of a falling comet and bringing the Yellow Ranger to a halt but also collapsing to her knees as sparks of crackling golden yellow light burst from each point of impact, her Morphed state fluctuating for a fraction of a second.

"Rensa cover her!" Mercy bellowed as she flung herself between the Yellow Ranger and the lashing tentacles that made to attack her once again, the Red Ranger leaping around the attacks that ripped through the air and ground, her Katana a crimson blur of motion as she slashed at the Arch-Apostle's tentacles; blocking, countering and parrying dozens of blows within the space of second before a single blow struck her and sent her skidding backwards in a crouch, her blade cutting a gouge into the grassy ground beneath her as she came to a halt beside Rena and Aslaug.

"You will perish here Rangers" the many-limbed monster burbled as Mercy rose to her feet once again, gesturing wildly with its' boneless arms "Here, in a field; no great battle and honourable sacrifices just more bodies to be ground into the dirt"

"Sorry Squid-Worse" Mercy sneered, trying to convey a sense of brave defiance that she didn't quite feel "You're gonna need to be more than well _'armed'_ to beat the Power Rangers"

"Vexatious child!" the monster spat "No more words, to battle!"

"Let's get this….kraken" Mercy was fully aware of how unlikely it was that she would be unable to enrage their opponent to the point where they threw caution to the wind and made a critical mistake, however at this point she knew that she, Aslaug and Rensa needed some kind of opening and she was willing to try anything.

Letting out an irate, almost gargling snarl the Arch-Apostle launched themselves forwards by hurling the lowest of their three pairs of arms into the ground close to the Ranger's feet and using them as anchors as they sling-shotted themselves into their enemies

"GO WIDE!" Mercy yelled, launching into action and acting completely on instinct. The vaguely squid-like creature rocketed towards Mercy with its' middle pair of arms launching out to the right and left, ripping trenches into the ground as they wildly and blindly sought out the Black and Yellow Rangers and the uppermost limbs streaking downwards towards the Red Ranger at an angle, rippling the air as they grazed her armour whilst Mercy surged forwards to meet her adversary, letting out a feral war-cry as she charged.

The monster answered her with a howl of pain.

Mercy came skidding to a halt behind the Arch-Apostle, the blade of her katana glowing with fiery red light as her power coursed through it and the monster collapsed to the ground in a heap as they were thrown off balance; the Red Ranger had cleaved through their lower right arm whilst it was anchored into the ground and the sudden lack of tension had sent them careening to the left.

Mercy realised that this might be the opening that she had needed to create, though before she could act on it her enemy reacted in a berserk fury; retracting all of their limbs back to themselves and abandoning their attempts to subdue the Black and Yellow Rangers for the moment and instead whipping back around to face the Red Ranger, their single remaining lower tentacle arm sweeping out in a counter-clockwise arc that struck Mercy square in the gut and lifted into the air; forcing the air from her lungs and leaving her vision swimming as the blow tore her legs from under her and caused her to almost somersault over the clammy grey appendage with her sword falling from her grip in the process. Mercy tried to rise, still wheezing for air only to be halted by multiple writhing limbs colliding with her; each possessing the force of a moving train as they cratered the ground beneath her and cut gouges into her armour, she was almost certain she felt her Morphed state fluctuate for a moment as Aslaug's had as her helmet was warped by the impact with her cracked visor finally shattering.

Still reeling from the crushing assault she was entirely unable to stop one of the Arch-Apostle's spindly hands closing around her katana and bringing it overhead, blade held downwards for a skewering attack that she would almost certainly be unable to avoid.

"Rensa, help me!" Mercy was stirred by the sound of Aslaug's voice, normally gruff and rumbling letting out a frightened yell before another pained scream was torn from the Arch-Apostle's lips, the grey-skinned horror losing yet another limb as the Yellow Ranger poured her power into the weapon and hurled it like a blazing, golden yellow comet into the limb that held the stolen sword.

Mercy sprung to her feet and caught the weapon as it fell, time slowing to a crawl for her as she watched the now unarmed Aslaug barrel into the monster with a primal roar, seizing each of the two limbs that the Arch-Apostle sent snaking towards her in her own grip and holding them at bay through sheer, unrelenting force of will; Rensa rushed in from the monsters' right and hurled his daggers into their chest and flank, fresh waves of watery blood soaking the ragged crimson robes of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer before the Black Ranger vanished the weapons away and manifested them in his hands once again as he weaved around the Arch-Apostle's final pair of limbs before finally leaping over them and pinning them in place as he landed before stabbing through the tentacle like appendages to stake them into the ground.

Mercy glanced to the katana in her hand and then to the Arch-Apostle as they continued to fight, slowly beginning to overpower her friends; face contorted with rage and an unfathomable hatred filling their sole remaining eye.

It was clear what she needed to do and in a fluid blur of motion she'd closed the distance and delivered a single slash, precise and impossibly fast.

The Arch-Apostle's head fell to the ground and their body collapsed under its' own boneless weight.

"Oh my God, oh my God what did I just do?" Mercy's voice trembled as she willed her katana to disappear; unable to stand the evidence of the bloodstained blade. She had led the Aegis Rangers to well over a dozen victories against the Dark Empire at this point and each of them had culminated in the destruction of some Acheron hybrid or gene-spliced horror that had been defeated but this felt different, decapitating a restrained opponent rather than the use of something like the Power Blaster feeling far closer to murder than she was comfortable with.

A strong pair of hands on her shoulders turned her away from the body a moment before she would have seen Rensa, in his a display of his usual unfiltered pragmatism, begin to kick the headless body to ensure that the Arch-Apostle was indeed dead.

"You did what you needed to do. You ended one life to save thousands" Aslaug leaned down enough to rest her own head against Mercy's and though the two of them still wore their helmets they could see each others' eyes through their broken visors, exhausted and pushed to their physical, mental and emotional limits by the gruelling battle they had endured.

"The mission isn't over yet" Corcus's almost unintentionally abrasive tone informed them, though it sounded closer to a warning than the chiding that Mercy might have expected from the former Black Ranger.

"Billy is on site with Tempestus counteracting the damage done to the power stations' reactors, Panthera and Kay have engaged the second monster….they're going to need help"

"Understood" Mercy managed a small nod with the reply, entirely out of habit as she looked to Rensa and then back to Aslaug

"Time to keep doing what the people need us to do" she managed to straighten her back and force her concerns to the back of her mind "Back to action"

* * *

The struggle against Jin-Zhao continued and Panthera and Kay could only hope that Tempestus was having more success than they were.

The Pink and Green Rangers had managed to draw the fight further away from the power station, though that was the closest thing to a victory they could honestly claim as the fanatical horror that they fought continued to keep them at bay and steadily overwhelm them with a terrifying mixture of raw psychic might, mastery of her chosen weapons and simple brute strength; as was proven with each blow Panthera and Jin-Zhao traded in their current exchange, both of them wielding two bladed weapon which had become blurs of motion surrounded by magenta coloured sparks, the Pink Ranger's ruthless and underhanded style of fighting pitted against unhinged and reckless ferocity.

Panthera blocked a pair of downward hacking attacks aimed for her shoulders and waited until Jin-Zhao began to put her weight behind the blow and promptly lashed out with a kick to the monsters' knee, buckling the joint and sending her toppling to the ground just as the Pink Ranger leapt into the air and delivered a crushing knee-strike to her snout; in response Jin-Zhao's jaw splayed open wide and her remaining prehensile tongue whipped out to grasp Panthera's leg and slam her downwards with enough force to leave a web of cracks on the ground beneath her before rearing up and bringing a taloned foot over the Pink Ranger's prone form, clearly intending to shatter her ribs.

A burst of emerald coloured light sent her reeling backwards.

Light continued to coalesce and arc around the Green Ranger's hand as the Dragon Blade manifested within it and Kay leapt into the air, attempting to deliver a downward stab to Jin-Zhao's skull. The Acheron hybrid's psychic snarl rang in their ears as she pounced upwards and left sparks showering from the Green Ranger's shield as she parried Kay's attack and retaliated with her own blades; the two of them continued to dance around one another, their blades clashing at an impossible rate until it became clear that, as impressive a warrior as they were the Green Ranger was simply exhausted and that Jin-Zhao had the upper hand. Each blow that Kay blocked was quickly followed by a punishing strike from the weapon in the hybrids' opposite hand until finally her clawed and barbed tongue lashed out to deliver a blow that could only be described as the equivalent to a gut punch which brought the Green Ranger to their knees, struggling to rise as their Morphed state faltered around them and the monster loomed over them menacingly.

"NO!" Panthera's yell shook the air as she re-entered the fray; Jin-Zhao managed to bat aside the combined form of the Pink Ranger's curved blades as they hurtled towards her though she left her self unguarded in the process and Panthera took advantage as she leapt over Kay's still prone form to deliver a spinning heel kick to the jaw which impacted with a resounding crack as it sent Jin-Zhao tumbling to the ground.

"Than-"

"Stop thanking me and start trying to survive today, idiot" Panthera spat as she dragged Kay to their feet; Jin-Zhao righted herself a moment later and let out a psychic snarl that reverberated in their minds and the three of them faced off against one another, the air between them charged as the bloodied and mauled Acheron hybrid regarded the two weary Power Rangers stood before her in their now heavily damaged armour.

Then she attacked.

The Psychic pulse she sent forth rippled the air and left both Kay and Panthera reeling and disoriented, unable to counter her charge as she made to cross the distance between them.

Yet a counter attack still came.

Jin-Zhao's ears pricked up as she heard movement behind her and she began to turn just in time to see the Blue Ranger manifest their staff and drop into a low, spinning sweep that brought the weapon crashing into her ankles and tore her legs from under her.

Leaping to her feet she launched her clawed tongue at her latest adversary only for him to twirl his staff and drive the weapon into the bottom of the muscular appendage, leaving Jin-Zhao with the taste of blood in her mouth as he fangs ripped into her own tongue; another blow knocked the air from her lungs and was quickly followed by the Blue Ranger letting out a grunt of exertion as he used the leverage to hurl Jin-Zhao overhead and casting her aside. Without a word Jin-Zhao leapt to her feet once again and threw her cleaver-weapons at Tempestus, whose staff blazed with cobalt light as he span the weapon to deflect the attack, both his staff and the monsters' blades being destroyed by the burst of energy yet Jin-Zhao was relentless and continued to charge towards the now unarmed Blue Ranger.

"TEMPESTUS!" the Aquitian turned towards the yell and saw the Red, Yellow and Black Rangers racing towards the ongoing battle as fast as their superhuman power would allow, Mercy throwing her katana towards her friend.

Tempestus's entire world narrowed to the blade soaring through the air and the Acheron hybrid bounding towards him with her claws extended and he allowed himself to sink into an almost meditative state, a serene sense of calm washing over him as he clutched Mercy's Katana and dropped to one knee, spinning the sword and stabbing behind him; a shadow falling over his body and a pained gasp echoing in his thoughts confirming that the blow had found its' mark and in a single fluid movement the Blue Ranger kicked Jin-Zhao off of the blade and launched himself towards the Rangers were regrouping.

"We need to finish this, can we form the Power Blaster?" Mercy asked as she regarded Jin-Zhao, the Acheron hybrids' crimson robes soaked with blood that leaked from her mouth and the new, grievous wound that Tempestus had pierced through her chest and back; Tempestus would have answered that they could not, his staff would be unavailable to them for some time yet before he could it became a moot point ad Jin-Zhao's voice echoed in not only the mind of the Aegis Rangers but was forced into the consciousnesses of everyone for miles around as the monster performed the psychic equivalent of screaming to the heavens as she gave an order to the crew of her ship, determined to slay those who opposed the Dark Empire at any cost.

"FIRE A MUTAGENIC GRENADE ON MY POSITION!"

* * *

Billy's eyes widened in shock behind his glasses. The Former Blue Ranger and his adopted son had worked frantically to counteract the damage done by the Dark Empire's fanatical minion and prevent the destruction of the Prosperity colony; using the various tools that he had brought to cause a degree of damage that bordered on sacrilege to the marvel of technology that was the Xybrian designed power plant. Once it had become apparent that the risk of mass devastation and countless casualties had been averted Billy had sent Tempestus to rejoin the battle and aid his friends, his pride being intermingled with an entirely warranted and understandable sense of worry.

With the immediate crisis averted and every faith in the Aegis Ranger's ability to overcome the current threat despite the reservations he forcefully reminded himself were entirely illogical Billy had remained within the vast power plant and began the process of undoing some of the damage that had been done, making sure that there was no lingering risk of an explosion and chain reaction in the process.

Then he had heard the psychic order, Jin-Zhao's mental scream sending him crashing to the ground and clutching his skull in pain.

"Mission Control!" he gasped into his communicator, hi breathing ragged as he scrabbled to his feet "Bring me back to the Command Centre! We have a situation!"

The shimmering particles of light that preceded a teleportation stream began to flicker into existence a moment later and before Billy had fully recovered he felt the familiar tingling sensation before his surroundings were consumed by a bright light which soon dissipated to reveal that he had been returned to the spherical Command Centre aboard Promethea One.

"What's going on?" Corcus demanded as Kimberley reached out to drape Billy's arm over her shoulder and support weight that his legs currently seemed unable to.

"The monster at the power station just ordered a mutagenic grenade to be fired on her own location"

"That's insanity!" Corcus declared "She's still alive"

"A cloaked Dark Empire ship just fired on the colony, working to extrapolate coordinates!" a voice from one of the many officers working within the base of operations called out, confirming Billy's fears

"I don't get it" Kimberley admit it "They grow their monsters all the time, why is this different?"

"Mutagenic grenades are intended to be used on a recently deceased warrior, why do you think the Dark Empire never leads with a giant monster, even with the tactics my second born allows?" it was Zebidiah Lord who answered, his image presented within the tube that currently housed his consciousness wearing a pensive expression

"A living target subjected to a mutagenic grenade will keep much of their motor and higher brain functions….for a time, however it is a certain death sentence and the results can be….volatile" as if to highlight his point the vast viewing globe that formed the central sphere of the Command Centre now displayed Jin-Zhao, who had grown to a towering and titanic height and whose three eyes had become nexuses of swirling psychic energy and crackling lightning, the milky white stripes adorning her iridescent black scales becoming more jagged in appearance and her claws lengthening whilst her gaping maw spread wide to reveal her prehensile tongue and the bloody stump of its' companion twisting, merging and finally splitting, bursting out into a dozen glowing, serpentine appendages lined with barbs and claws which writhed and thrashed with a mind of their own.

"Oh this looks bad" Kimberley noted with a visible wince, Billy nodded in agreement before letting out a sigh as he answered.

"Maybe, but it's an opportunity to field test some upgrades that I made to the Aegis Zords"

**Author's Notes:**

Boom, three quarters of the way through Arc 08 and we're ending on a cliffhanger, so I'm sure at least some of you can guess what's gonna be coming in Chapter 34.  
In keeping with the theme of this arc the Chapter Title is a sociological term, Asabiyyah _(A__rabic__)_ being defined as:_ "__A__ concept of social solidarity with an emphasis on unity, group consciousness and sense of shared purpose, and social cohesion, originally in a context of 'tribalism'" _for example the kind of thinking which Tempestus was struggling with, as it seems to be a large part of Aquitian society as well as the Cult of the Eternal Devourer's own brand of single-mindedness.  
I hope people like this chapter, it feels like I rushed it in some places as writing was a bit of a slog this week just because I've had a few projects on the table, general Lock-down brain-fog and the fact that I've used the lock-down as an excuse to up my efforts to get into something resembling shape….meaning my arms have ached all week.

But all complaining aside, let's summarise:  
No messing about, let's get straight into the fight scenes….in fact, most of this chapter was fights and I know that we're all PR/Sentai fans so we're kinda okay with that being a good chunk of an episode/chapter, but was this a bit too much?  
Panthera's action scenes are always great fun, she's a mix of bits of Tempestus's fluidity, Mercy's overall style and Rensa's berserk energy.  
All according to plan, because Rangers don't run away for no reason.  
Yeah if Jin-Zhao could read thoughts as well as project them the Rangers would be fucked.  
Oh you know it's gonna get hectic when someone spits out a mouthful of blood and carries on.  
Y'know in Dark Knight Rises when Bane just beats the stuffing out of Batman until his cowl caves in, that was what I was thinking with Jin-Zhao laying into Kay's helmet.  
You knew Panthera was gonna step in.  
And now they're outside, which was the entire point.  
Oof, Tempestus being ready to give up is definitely a sign that things have gone completely wrong.  
"_Tempestus Cranston to me, what the Elders allow be damned"_ oh Billy went off.  
Damn Billy went for the full supportive but stern Dad speech….hope I got it right, I've never had one of those.  
"_Fixing a problem by breaking it somewhere else a distinctly human approach"_….Work with mechanical fitters and tell me I'm wrong.  
"_Groovy" and "Morphenomenal"_….you love it, don't lie.  
Aslaug getting floored like that was slow motion in my head.  
Damn the Arch-Apostle hitting with those insults…..you're not just gonna die, but it's gonna be in a random park.  
Puns and stupid nicknames for the monsters are Mercy's coping mechanism.  
That elastic arm slingshot move is just funny to me.  
Mercy just pulled some straight up cinematic shit….like the scenes where they're both frozen for a second and then one fighter collapses, something like that except with an arm falling off.  
Okay Aslaug taking the arm off with an axe and Panthera cutting the tongue off with Kay's sword….I'm not even trying to be subtle with the parallels.  
I think throwing his daggers and then vanish/re-summoning them is becoming Rensa's signature the same way Panthera's combo-blade move is.  
Oof, the kids are not okay, like not even slightly….and you can definitely see where I'm coming from with this right? Using the brightly coloured lights and hero posing or summoning your giant mech is one thing, straight up stabbing someone to death like you're making a Drill music video is different.  
"_Back to action"_….look if anyone's gonna use it it's Mercy.  
So when I started writing the second part of Kay & Panthera Vs Jin-Zhao all I had in mind was RWBY Vol.3 when Neo jumps over Roman's back to join the fight on top of the airship; so I took that idea and expanded it outwards, I want to make the whole_ 'Pink and Green combo'_ thing that started in the last arc something of a running trend.  
"_Stop thanking me and start trying to survive today, idiot"_….such a Tsundere.  
Low spinning sweeps are more Mercy's speed than Tempestus's, yet he pulled it out of the bag anyway.  
And Tempestus pulling off a cinematic move of his own with the_ 'Faux sheathing'_ maneouver, I felt like it had to be Tempestus that landed the decisive blow of the fight; he's getting some focus in this arc, although I'm still not sure if I'm doing him justice.  
Billy's a Dad of course he worries.  
I'm gonna assume that the Ranger's armour filters out at least some of the damage from Jin-Zhao's psychic attacks, Billy was close by and doesn't have a Morpher; hence being floored by the psychic scream.  
So once again I've taken the monster of the week leading to a Megazord fight formula and given it an in-universe explanation; the Dark Empire might be a callous meat-grinder but there's no point sending good soldiers to their certain death on a regular basis, that type of stupidity fuels rebellions.  
Zord upgrades….as I said, you know what's coming.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	35. In Group Out Group

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 34 – In Group/Out Group**

The Hawk Zord tore through the air and Mercy felt the familiar feeling of acceleration within her own mind as she teleported into the machines' cockpit. Quickly reorienting herself the Red Ranger surveyed the situation ahead of her, the now gargantuan form of Jin-Zhao towered over the buildings around her letting out what could only be a silent scream of rage and pain

"The Zords are shielded from external psychic interference, they have to be considering they control system or they could be hijacked" Billy's voice sounded in her ear and Mercy nodded silently in understanding, relieved that at least one of their adversaries' devastating weapons had been denied to her. Before she could form anything close to a plan of action the sky around her darkened for the briefest of moments as the Dragonzord surged overhead and deployed a barrage of missiles from its' clawed fingers which streaked through the air towards the giant monster only to be deflected by Jin-Zhao's newly recreated cleaver-weapons. The Dragonzord dove towards her undeterred and the ground trembled under the force of the collision, Mercy was left watching as the Green Ranger's mecha grasped the arms of the monster, holding her weapons at bay whilst Jin-Zhao's lashing tongues fought off the Dragonzord's tail.

Then Panthera's Sabre Zord leapt onto the monsters' back like some great mechanical monkey and began raking its' monstrous claws into her scaly flesh until Jin-Zhao managed to not only force the Dragonzord back several paces but use the opening to grasp the Pink Ranger's war machine by its' skull with her prehensile tongues and promptly hurl the Sabre Zord through the air, decimating several buildings as it came crashing to a stop several streets away.

"Kay, can you hold her long enough for us to form the Megazord?" Mercy demanded, finally coming to her senses and taking command on the situation as she saw the Plesion, Ursa-Titan and Osore Zords moving into position.

"I think so" Kay answered her, the Green Ranger's voice sounding strained as they brought their monstrous machine whirling back around to join the fray once again, shrieking and snarling as it went.

"Okay Rangers" Mercy called across the comms "We need Megazord power!" within moments the now familiar combination and transformation process had begun. The Sabre and Osore Zords moving into upright positions as their limbs folded away and their necks rotated back and allowed the machines' heads to become feet; the Ursa-Titan Zord connecting to them as its' limbs rotated into place and its' entire hindquarters split before the machines' entire torso folded down and the face of the mecha rotated back to be covered by more armoured plating which followed the design of its' reinforced and stylised mane. The Plesion Zord broke apart and its' entire body reconfigured into arms connected by a central pillar from which the tail and neck rose up, the former collapsing as it formed a faux sheath for the Megazords' gargantuan sword whilst the latter shifted into its' cannon formation and finally the Hawk Zord took its' place, its' tail and rear forming the stylised Ranger helmet of the Megazords' head whilst its' wings formed additional shoulder armour and the head sunk into a groove within the Ursa-Titan.

"Megazord activated" the digital and synthetic voice announced as each of the five Rangers felt their consciousnesses brush against one another. The sight that greeted them as they took control of the Aegis Megazord was that of the Dragonzord staggering backwards, sparks and flames spewing from a wound that had been torn into its' neck by Jin-Zhao, more sparks bursting from the machines' back as it howled and roared once the monsters' weapons tore into its' back and flank as it attempted to retreat until its' lashing, drill-tipped tail forced the monster back a step.

Panthera took command of the Megazord and the towering mecha had begun to move before she was even aware of the decision; the ground shook again as the Aegis Megazord broke into a full sprint and leapt over the thrashing tail of the Dragonzord with its' right arm pulled back before delivering a crushing, downward haymaker than sent Jin-Zhao staggering backwards and crashing through several buildings as she came to a halt and quickly braced herself for another exchange whilst each of the Rangers winced at the scale of the collateral damage that this battle would almost certainly continue to cause.

"I'll distract her, go for the finishing blow!" Kay snapped into the consciousness of each of the Rangers within the Megazord and before Mercy could ask what they intended the Green Ranger brought the Dragonzord rearing back and spewed a beam of searing emerald light from the gaping maw of the mecha which Jin-Zhao attempted to deflect with her blades, only for her knees to buckle and the weapons to begin to melt and break. Wasting no time the Red Ranger took control of the Megazord and brought it rushing around to attack from the side; Jin-Zhao was still far to mobile to risk using the Mega Sword or Cannon and so she had the gestalt mecha deliver a roundhouse kick to the monsters' skull.

Jin-Zhao caught it.

In a single fluid motion the titanic Acheron hybrid had flung her molten cleavers at the Dragonzord and forced Kay to break off their attack whilst also reaching out with their lashing tongues to snare the leg of the Megazord and hurl it aside with a devastating impact.

"Rangers you need to be careful!" Billy urged them "With the way this monster was grown to their current size their body is more volatile than usual, you risk doing significant damage to the surrounding area"

"We're open to suggestions" Aslaug growled as she sized up Jin-Zhao and ruled out simply choking the monster into submission.

"I have something in mind" Billy assured them, his tone filled with a sense of pride "Sending an update to all six of you" before any of them could question the former Blue Ranger they felt a lurching sensation in their minds that was distinctly different from the feelings that accompanied any Zords that they were used to.

Then the knowledge entered their consciousness and the way forward was clear.

"_Star-Dragon formation has been initiated"_ the Dragonzord breathed a wall of emerald fire around the two colossal machines to prevent them from being attack before taking into the air as the computerised voice made its' declaration.

Then, as it wheeled and screeched above them the Dragonzord began to break apart; each of its' components glowing as they were reshaped and combined with the Aegis Megazord.

The entire hind quarters of the Dragonzord detached and formed three distinct components, its waist splitting vertically before each of the two halves and the rear leg attached to it reconfigured into a clawed and armoured gauntlet which slid over the existing Megazords' forearm, whose fist retracted to accommodate it; one of these new clawed limbs reached over the Megazords' back and detached the entire tail which served as a faux sheath before holding it outstretched and upside down for the Dragonzord's own tail to connect to, each skeletal segment locking in place as sections slid out to reveal glowing components of what was now a gigantic lance. Next the entire upper body of the Dragonzord separated into various components, the arms retracted into the vast curved shoulder armour whilst they and the central torso piece of the Green Ranger's war machine formed additional armour for the Megazords' torso, the central section of the Ursa-Titan Zords' mane which contained its' head sliding back to allow the Dragonzord's chest to combine and cover the Hawk Zords' head, the shoulders joining the assembly at an angle in a display that evoked the Green Ranger's own shield. The remaining sections of torso that had not been used twisted and reformed into a pair of armoured side-skirts which fitted to the Megazords' waist; leaving only the head, neck and wings remaining and this final assembly soon found its' place upon the Megazords' back, granting it a pair of vast pinions fanned out behind it whilst the neck and head reshaped themselves into an armoured collar and helmet; the fanned tail-feathers of the Hawk Zord which formed a crest protruding through the Dragonzord's skull as it's bladed fin moved forwards to accommodate them whilst its' gaping jaw engulfed the Megazords' cranium. As the flames subsided what stood, poised and ready was a gleaming silver Megazord with highlights in the colours of the various Rangers, draped in black and forest green armour with wings spread wide and its' lance at the ready.

"_Aegis Megazord: Star-Dragon Formation activated"_ the familiar voice of the Megazords' AI announced and each of the five original Aegis Rangers felt not only Kay's presence in the matrix of their interconnected minds but also, briefly the Dragonzord's own savage and primal consciousness before it was pushed into the depths of their shared psyche.

"This. Is. Awesome" Mercy's voice was breathy despite the fact that they were communicating psychically as she was left staggered and awestruck by the sensation of overwhelming power that this new Megazord filled each of them with. The chance to relish in the sensation was cut short however as Jin-Zhao surged forwards, claws extended and three eyes glowing as she rushed into combat once again.

"So, what's the plan?" Rensa asked "We're more powerful but she's still volatile"

"We've got wings" Tempestus countered "She doesn't have to be anywhere near the city when she explodes" with that the Blue Ranger took charge and each of the other Rangers followed his lead, their unity of thought allowing the Star-Dragon Megazord to strike with greater speed and power; the Power itself guiding the six of them as they attacked.

The Star-Dragon Megazord moved at near invisible speeds and Jin-Zhao vomited rivers of alien blood as she brought to a halt, the Mega-Lance having torn through her chest and burst from her back; a moment later the Megazord had seized the monster in its' giant, clawed hand and taken to the air with contrails of blinding green light streaking behind it until both the Megazord and Jin-Zhao were far above the colony of Prosperity. The Megazord held its' lance downwards and as the monsters' limp form slid from its' blade the glowing green components of the weapon shifted to a brilliant white, surrounded by brilliant coronas in each of the Ranger's colours before unleashing a single unspeakably powerful shock-wave which sounded as though every storm in history had been condensed into a single moment and looked, from the outside like the birth of the universe itself. The monster was obliterated entirely and the Star-Dragon Megazord hovered above the city like some terrifying yet angelic mechanical figure.

"I've never felt anything like that" Kay managed to breathe out after a moment that could have lasted an eternity "That was incredible"

"That was amazing" Mercy admitted, equally stunned before turning to the Green Ranger and smiling beneath the remains of her helmet "Couldn't have done it without you….cousin" through their partially shared consciousnesses each of the Rangers felt Kay practically glowing with warmth at the praise and even more so from the acknowledgement that Mercy had given him; a moment later Kimberley's voice filled the cockpit

"Mission complete Rangers. It's time you came home"

* * *

"That power signature! What was that?" Paradoxa demanded, her voice an equal mix of sudden anger and apprehension. The insectoid warlord remained alone within her ornate throne aboard the Command Bridge of the Heliothis; its' vast and near panoramic viewscreen having been linked to that of its' fellow Dark Empire warship, a series of tactical displays and readouts being shown that made it painfully clear that Jin-Zhao's Cult of the Eternal Devourer were being steadily overwhelmed throughout Prosperity as the Alliances' superior teleportation technology allowed the defending forces to teleport more troops and equipment from further afield; Paradoxa however was primarily concerned with a flash of light within the colonies' boundaries that had been visible to the naked eye from space.

"My Lady" the captain of the cloaked ship spoke "The Power Rangers used an unrecognised Zord formation; we're unable to locate Jin-Zhao or her Arch-Apostle, both are presumed dead-"

"Understood" Paradoxa's voice was silky and darkly satisfied; where in any other circumstances the loss of two highly capable warriors might be a cause for alarm here the hybrid was unable to keep the twisted smirk from her face as she relished in the feeling of events bending to her will and her plans coming to fruition.

"You have the frequency of the Predators' cloaking field" she stated

"I do my Lady" the captain of the second, unseen vessel that she had sent to lurk in the void and cripple Jin-Zhao's ship answered.

"You know what to do" the hybrid said coldly "Empty their cargo holds then lock on and destroy them. Their cult dies today"

"Lady Paradoxa" the Captains' voice was suddenly alarmed "The Predator has dropped its' cloaking field and is on the move….current trajectory puts it on a collision course for the Alliance colony!"

"CRIPPLE ITS' ENGINES! BEGIN EXTRACTION OF RESOURCES!"

"Their shields have been raised my Lady, we won't be able to disable them in time"

fierce yellow eyes widened in sheer horror as Paradoxa began to realise what was about to occur and frantically hailed the Predator so that she might dissuade Jin-Zhao's helmsman from a course of action that would cost her personally.

"Lady Paradoxa" the voice that greeted her once an audio channel was opened was far too eerily calm considering the course of action being taken and the insectoid hybrid was left wondering if the cyborg cultists that formed the vessels' crew could truly feel anything at all; though a far more important question was the first from her lips.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she screamed, all sense of control lost in an instant "I ORDER YOU TO ABANDON YOUR CURRENT COURSE!"

"That's quite impossible I'm afraid" the helmsman of the Predator answered simply and without tone

"YOU ANSWER TO ME! I AM THE HEAD OF THE VANGUARD FLEET AND I ORDER YOU TO LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND STAND DOWN!"

"Jin-Zhao is my Captain and she has decreed that the colony world must burn. For Lord Zedd, for the Empire and for Acheron" the comm channel fell silent and Paradoxa was left numb. Taken several seconds to process before turning back to the captain of the still cloaked second vessel

"Bring them on screen!"

"At once my Lady" the viewing screen of the Heliothis shifted to display the now entirely visible warship dubbed the Predator; a behemoth of rune encrusted metal whose blood-red hull pulsed with arcane light as magic and technology conspired together to protect it, like many Dark Empire ships it had the overall shape of a battleaxe with a pointed prow and swept forward wings connected by a central body, though it had undergone some modification as the ship featured several additional weapons batteries and along its' central body several towers and spires rose, giving it the appearance of a spacefaring temple of dedicated to death and destruction. The ship sped towards the world that the Prosperity colony ship had settled on, specifically the colony itself and its' shields rippled under the constant barrage of several defensive systems that the city below turned against it.

Then space itself was torn asunder.

"No!" Paradoxa spat as fully half a dozen Alliance warships teleported into the space between the Predator and its' target and began unleashing every weapon at their disposal; the Dark Empire warship continued onward despite this, the helmsman evidently deciding that if the colony could not be destroyed in a final blaze of glory then the ships defending it would suffice. It was not to be however and a maelstrom of lasers, torpedoes and plasma tore into the Predator before its' shields finally flickered out of existence a moment before the ship was consumed by blasts of fire that guttered out as the atmosphere was sucked from its' sundered hull into the void of space and explosions tore it apart completely.

Paradoxa was numb, her victory and the beginnings of her campaign to usurp Lord Zedd and seize control of the Dark Empire for herself had been within her grasp; the Cult of the Eternal Devourer had been destroyed along with the powerful and charismatic hybrid who led it, removing the first major hurdle to Paradoxa's own supremacy. However with the resources that they had pillaged lost to her the insectoid had as little to work with as she had before and now Lord Zedd would know that she had sent another Acheron hybrid, one of rank and importance to her death; leaving the small victory she had eked out hollow and bitter.

Her scream of rage echoed throughout the Command Bridge.

* * *

By the time the Aegis Rangers had returned to Promethea One late night was already giving way to early morning, though it would still be several more hours before the colony was bathed in artificial daylight once again. The Ranger's ordeal was still not over however as upon their return they had been subjected to the mandatory debriefings and a medical check courtesy of Cestria that had been far more diligent than even the usual meticulous standards owing to the brutality of the fight that the teens had endured; each of them discovering that they had suffered bruised and cracked bones and several instances of tissue damage which the Power itself had healed even as they continued to fight, meaning that whilst there was no lasting damage they would all likely ache for days. As a result of this the Rangers had finally been allowed to leave, the birds that called the Colony Ship home chirping as the six of them trudged, utterly exhausted and spent back to the student dormitories that they lived above in search of some hard earned sleep; upon waking up the Rangers had learned that they had been excused from all training for the next few days in order to fully recover from the battle of Prosperity.

Tempestus however had other ideas.

Corcus's storm of flowing attacks which melded seamlessly into one another was concluded first with a spinning crescent kick which the younger Aquitian showed equal grace and agility in avoiding and then finally a straight-armed palm strike which Tempestus turned at the waist and allowed to sail passed his chest whilst in the same movement bringing his right arm arcing around to deliver a punch to Corcus's temple; the former Black Ranger leaned back and felt the air ripple as the fist missed his nose by a hairs' breadth only to be forced to leap away as Tempestus followed up by lunging forwards and aiming his elbow at his face. The unmorphed Blue Ranger pressed his advantage without hesitation and closed the distance once, leaping over the low, spinning sweep that Corcus aimed at his legs and making to bring his knee crashing into the older Aquitians' skull only for Corcus to burst upwards and seize Tempestus by the midsection, using the momentum of his spin to simply hurl the teen away, crashing into the padded mats of the floor and springing back to his feet in an instant.

"You served the Alliance admirably on Prosperity….and I admit I may have misjudged your study of multiple disciplines as a lack of commitment and focus" Corcus's expression hardened as the two of them circled each other "But you were instructed not to train in order to recover, I'm not sure what point you are aiming to prove with this defiance" Tempestus merely remained silent, he had awoken as late morning drifted into early afternoon and departed for the base as soon as possible to seek out Corcus and demand, in the most respectable but insistent terms possible a rematch. Thus far their sparring had progressed much like any of their previous bouts with Tempestus being undeniably skilled and a paragon of physical strength, yet simply outmatched and outmanoeuvred by Corcus's years of experience and total mastery of the Aquitian martial arts.

All according to Tempestus's plan.

The dark skinned Aquitian made no effort to instigate their next exchange of blows, continuing to circle until Corcus seemed to find an open and rushed toward him. Aquitian martial arts all tended to share a common tenet of fluidity in motion and building momentum and as such almost all kata started with spinning or sweeping gesture of some kind, as such the former Black Ranger was caught completely unaware when Tempestus delivered a side kick from his leading leg that caught him square in the midsection and promptly left him doubled over and wheezing; Tempestus continued however and raised his fists and assumed a stance recognisable to any human boxer before delivering a flurry of jabs, hooks and finally a haymaker which sank his opponent to his knees, Corcus tried to lash out only for Tempestus to manoeuvrer himself behind him, hooking his arms around the older Aquitians' from below and clasping his hands together behind his head to hold him firmly in place

"Yield Blademaster" Tempestus demanded bluntly; Corcus struggled a moment longer before finally tapping against the floor

"I yield" he sighed "What is this?"

"It's called a full Nelson Blademaster" Tempestus smiled as he added "It's part of a human school of fighting" there was a moment of tense and heavy silence as Corcus was released and rose to his feet, the Aquitian Blademaster staring intently at his pupil before finally nodding

"I see the point you were trying to make" the ghost of a smile tugged at Corcus's lips as he made the customary triangular Aquitian salute with his hands before turning to leave "We will continue your training when you are ready, though you've clearly learned much" Tempestus waited until Corcus was out of sight and hopefully earshot before finally sinking down on the padded ground and massaging his aching and burning muscles whilst a groan of pain and exhaustion escaped him; eventually a soft smile crossed his face and he spoke to the seemingly empty room.

"You can come out now" a moment later one of the other entrances to the training area swung open and both Billy and Cestria entered, the amused laughter trailing off as his mother stood with her hands on her hips as she looked down at him with a lecture as both a parent and a medical professional about the foolhardiness of his actions just waiting to begin whilst his father simply pocketed a cell phone with Tempestus was almost certain had been used to record the sparring match, footage which would just as certainly be passed around the staff of the Command Centre and the Project Lightspeed base as a whole.

"Well done son" Billy held out a hand and pulled Tempestus to his feet whilst wearing a wry smile "I will very rarely encourage violence, but sometimes as an educational tool in a controlled environment it has its' uses and it was unlikely Corcus would expand his world-view any other way"

"I see that you're recovering well, despite throwing yourself headlong into your training" Cestria noted, though their was no hint of agitation in her voice "Are you well enough to visit us later?"

"I….actually already have plans for tonight" Tempestus admitted "Some of the students in the dormitories below us were already planning on throwing a party, they apparently saw us return and decided to throw it our honour instead"

"Then I hope you enjoy yourself" Billy beamed "But go and rest and eat something first, a party on an empty stomach is a sure way to ruin your night" Tempestus made the same gesture that Corcus had given him out of simple habit, both of his adopted parents held ranks that should be saluted in Aquitian society and Billy struggled not to roll his eyes at the sight; a moment after Tempestus had left Cestria spoke up

"A human celebration?"

"A college party" Billy corrected his wife with a knowing smirk "For a lot of human parents is a source for about eighty percent of their nightmares….for Tempestus it'll be a learning experience"

* * *

The party had already been in full swing by the time the Aegis Rangers had arrived and after being there for over an hour already the six of them were well and truly enjoying the atmosphere and broken off into smaller groups as they intermingled with the college students who had organised the party. The organisation had been far greater than Mercy had been expecting, rather than perhaps a dozen or so students it seemed that several entire floors of the apartment block which housed the doors had taken part, with several distinctly separate house parties being amalgamated into a single event. Music blared from over a dozen sources, various DJ's and speaker systems seemingly thrown into competition with one another every time a door was opened; the lights were dimmed however countless fairy lights had been strung up within the dorms themselves and the corridors between them whilst additional light was provided by the glow-sticks that one student had brought, apparently as a joke but had been loved by the other partiers.

Marigold had introduced the Aegis Rangers to several of her friends and acquaintances that they had not yet encountered and currently the older girl who had surprised Mercy by revealing herself to be something of a crack-shot was in the midst of showcasing another of her skills, that being that she was an incredibly talented singer. Someone had obviously encouraged the equally obviously tipsy student to sing and now she stood atop a pile of precariously stacked chairs and delivered a haunting yet beautiful rendition of a song that Mercy vaguely recognised as actually being sung in Japanese, despite the sub-dermal chip that she and every other citizen of the Alliance was fitted with translating it in real time. Across in the room Tempestus was chatting animatedly, despite struggling to be heard with a group of engineering students that he'd been introduced to which included several individuals who were obviously not humans; one of them having almost fluorescent green skin. The rest of the Aegis Rangers were elsewhere, Rensa had found a room where the music was more to his liking, loud and aggressive where he had used his gift for scaling surfaces and contorting himself to sequester himself away in a corner until he had been spotted and encouraged to join the party properly; Mercy was not entirely sure where Panthera and Kay were and merely hoped that the two of them were not attempting to kill one another.

She had a far more distracting and enjoyable thought on her mind at the present moment.

"You look incredible tonight" Aslaug's low and rumbling voice was almost a purr in her ear that left Mercy's knees weak and heart racing. The Yellow Ranger had felt no need to dress especially nicely for the party and in Mercy's opinion looked stunning and as striking as always in ripped jeans and a short sleeved lumberjack style shirt whilst the Red Ranger herself had decided to use the party as an excuse to wear a figure-hugging outfit which displaying a considerable amount of her toned thighs and dark red lipstick which had left stains that would be plain to see decorating Aslaug's lips and collar in more reasonable lighting. The two of them had been dancing energetically until Mari had found herself with a microphone pressed into her hand and from then the pair had naturally slowed to a pace and closeness that Mercy had jokingly described as 'Junior High' before the two of them had made their way to a less crowded corner of the dorm, though as Aslaug leaned down and kissed Mercy, taking a moment to graze the smaller girls' lip with her teeth the two of them were painfully aware of being surrounded by others. Mercy was left flustered and more than a little discombobulated by the kiss and eventually settled for draping her arms around Aslaug's broad and powerful shoulders and leaning comfortably into her chest

"It's nice to be able to just relax and be normal….whatever the hell normal is for us any more"

"Where I'm from beer pong would be considered a disgusting waste of ale; but I can enjoy Earths' idea of normal, it's comfortable" Aslaug noted before glancing down and chuckling "Much like you seem to be" Mercy blushed at the comment but made no effort to move and in fact buried her face further in Aslaug's chest as if to hide it, causing her to laugh deeply. Eventually Aslaug noticed that Marigold's singing seemed to be winding down, the students' voice becoming hoarse as alcohol proved itself unsuitable for hydration and as much as she enjoyed having Mercy pressed into her while her hands wandered to her girlfriends' hips she had no desire to keep her from her friends, such notions of possessive jealousy being entirely beyond her.

"We can join Mari and her friends if you'd like?" she offered, Mercy looked up at her and considered for a moment before a hungry expression filled her deep brown eyes and she stood on her toes to lean up kiss Aslaug fiercely, her tongue slipping into her mouth and drawing a primal, rumbling growl of satisfaction from the taller girl as her hands drifted lower. Eventually Mercy broke away only to lean close and nibble at Aslaug's ear as she whispered

"I've got a better idea….if we can't get some privacy now then we never will" with that she took Aslaug's hands and eagerly led her out of the room; both of them wearing wide smiles as they slipped away unnoticed.

* * *

"Should you be smoking that with bruised ribs?" Kay asked hesitantly as Panthera was racked by a seemingly painful coughing fit. The two of them had been the first to drift away from the other Rangers as a student who was one of Panthera's regular customers, buying several perfectly legal but hard to come by goods from the teal-skinned alien had pulled her aside to settle some outstanding payments and place their next order and it was from here that she and Kay had found themselves in a dorm several floors below where she assumed that the other Rangers still were; eventually she had grabbed Kay and led the Green Ranger out onto a balcony and closed the sliding door behind so that she could both have a brief reprieve from the music which had assaulted her sensitive ears to the point of giving her a headache and smoke the almost certainly less than legal substance that Kay seemed to take issue with; the Green Ranger wasn't precisely sure what the small stick Panthera held gently between her fingers was but was certain that anything which burned a vibrant shade of electric blue and whose smoke crackled and sparkled when exhaled was unhealthy despite the Pink Ranger's assurances that it only burned that colour in this atmosphere and looked far less shocking on other planets.

"Probably not" Panthera eventually shrugged "Gonna tell on me?" her amber eyes were mischievous and shone in the night sky as she gave Kay a playful smirk, only to see their reproachful and worried expression and look away for a moment before taking one last drag of the substance and promptly stub it out on the railing of the balcony.

Even despite the painkillers she had been given by the bases' medical staff her head had been left with a dull, pounding ache after the latest battle and her entire body had seemed leaden and sluggish, after smoking the substance which was more acquainted with than Kay, having seen several members of the various crews she had raised by use it before the pain began to fade away and a quiet, peaceful clarity settled in its' place; colours seemed to shine brighter and become diffused the longer she stared at them until the entire world seemed like a swirling kaleidoscope of flickering lights and reality as a whole became somewhat distant for a fraction of a second before she quickly snapped herself back to her senses and flicked the stub over the edge of the balcony and committed herself to never using that particular substance again; she could definitely see the appeal but could also plainly see what drove many people to abuse it. As she came fully to her senses she realised that she must have looked as though she might collapse as Kay had made themselves ready to catch her if she fell.

"Will you relax" she huffed in mocking faux indigence "I'm a big girl, I'll be okay"

"Yeah well, I didn't throw myself into harms' way saving you just for you to fall over the railings because you were intoxicated" Kay shot back, their own inhuman eyes seeming to shine with mirth as they delivered the cheeky retort; Panthera couldn't help but scoff at this

"Okay first of all, even if I did fall I'd land on my feet" she assured them, reaching up to playfully poke their nose with a clawed fingertip that had been painted hot pink and adding "Besides if we're gonna talk about saving asses we can, but don't think for a second I wasn't keeping score….idiot"

"Nice to know you think so highly of my ass" Kay's response left her choking on thin air for several seconds; the human Acheron hybrid had been synthetically aged in a pod so Panthera could only guess at where they had learned such slick delivery and unrestrained sassiness but she couldn't pretend for a moment that she didn't find it highly enjoyable.

"Funny" she dead-panned "But if we can be serious for a moment….you did good today, I'm not sure we would have won that without you; the Star-Dragon Formation is great too"

"Thanks" Kay looked away bashfully, averting their vivid fuchsia eyes; Panthera hesitated for a moment before raising a subject that had been at the back of her mind since she'd felt the Green Ranger enter the matrix of shared consciousnesses "Hey, when we did form the Star-Dragon Formation and you joined us in the cockpit….there was a weird feeling there for a second; not to get poetic but it felt like pure, distilled rage….are you okay?" Kay turned to face her for a moment wearing an expression of utter confusion before bursting out laughing as comprehension dawned on them

"Oh you thought that was me! That I've been about to snap all this time!" Panthera quickly began to backtrack, realising that her comment could sound like an accusation; Kay waved her concerns aside however and simply clarified

"The Dragonzord is bigger than the other Zords, closer to the Megazord in size and there's only me piloting it so I don't have anyone to network my mind with….when Lord Zedd had my Zord built he worked around that problem by giving the Dragonzord a limited AI and instincts of its' own; that's why it screams and roars all the time, I'm not doing that"

"That's-" Panthera trailed, gesticulating wildly as she tried to find the words "While the rest of us have each other you've been having to fight your own Zord as much as anything else?"

"It's gotten easier" Kay assured her

"You're probably the strongest person I've ever met" Panthera blurted out suddenly; the notion of the Dragonzord intruding upon the Green Ranger's own thoughts reminding her uncomfortably of what had been done to Acinonyx and without thinking, in a move that was at least partially the fault of the alien substance she had just smoked she found herself pulling Kay in to a crushing hug and nuzzling, in a particularly catlike way into their neck. Her tail tail swished behind in lazy happiness whilst her chest pressed into theirs and the moment lasted until Kay managed to overcome their shock and was left at a loss as to where they should put their hands, the feeling of them coming to rest on her waist seemingly bringing Panthera to her senses. She immediately pulled away and cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking again

"So….you're the one who worked in a bar, you gonna go get some drinks?"

"Uh yeah sure" Kay mumbled, their voice still oddly melodic despite being almost shell-shocked as they disappeared into the dormitory whose balcony they were stood on.

Kay realised that things had just become needlessly complicated.

She had found Kay endearing and entertaining to be around from the moment they had met, the hybrid capturing her attention in a way that none of the humans who had been interested in her had managed; then the realisation that they were in fact the Green Ranger had left her bitter and angry, trying to convince herself that she hated them until they had joined the team, Kay had since proven themselves to be brave, self sacrificing, loyal and frankly adorable and it would be senseless to deny that she was more than a little smitten with him at this point.

The realisation made her want to scream every expletive from each of the many languages she spoke, all at once.

* * *

As Kimberley strolled through the corridors of the Promethea One Lightspeed Base, whose corridors were entirely deserted owing to the lateness of the hour she mused to herself how entirely in character it was for Billy to continue working through the dead of night and into the early morning seemingly without tiring. The Former Blue Ranger had always been excessively committed to his invention and study, as a student he had routinely skipped meals and foregone sleep for days at a time in search of his desired results until someone, usually Trini managed to convince him that he was being counterproductive; it seemed that growing older had done nothing to curb his obsessive tendencies and if anything with his hair showing signs of greying and wearing a lab-coat the majority of the time he simply looked even more fitting as the mad scientist that Kimberley realised he had always been destined to be.

A point that was seemingly highlighted as she entered his laboratory just in time to see him reeling back and sputtering as a small device that he was working on let out a worryingly abrasive popping sound before issuing a thick cloud of acrid black smoke which an overhead sprinkler system quickly attempted.

"What was that?" Kimberley asked with far less concern than many others would have had upon witnessing the situation; she had seen Billy work enough times to know that he would mitigate any risks

"Attempt number forty two" he muttered as he removed the pair of safety goggles which rested over his glasses and dried his, now damp hair before taking the failed component and placing it on a separate desk where Kimberley realised with a sudden shock that several other, similarly damaged devices had been placed for later examination and cataloguing.

Each of them was a failed prototype Morpher.

"I didn't realise that you this far along in the process" Kimberley breathed out as she made her way closer to the failed Morphers and carefully examined each of them without touching, completely aware of the fact that she didn't truly understand the principles involved in tapping into the power of the Morphing Grid; both the technology and magic involved were disciplines whose study was highly restricted and the combination of the two was frankly mind-boggling to the former Pink Ranger.

"Not as far as you'd think" Billy lamented with a sigh "My efforts to recreate the 'Light of Good' that Zordon used to power the White Ranger have moved forward, the prototypes are certainly channelling something….just not very well, they can't handle the Power"

"None of these have a Power Coin" Kimberley noted as she continued to examine the prototypes, aware that her input was of the most basic kind but hoping that it might spark some fresh inspiration in her old friend "I mean I understand that we don't have any Power Coins just lying around but I thought you might use something in their place"

"A dummy Power Coin…." Billy trailed off as he stroked his chin "In the most rudimentary terms a Power Coin, or any of the crystals and other artefacts that various Rangers have used are the conduit for the Power, they're the battery of the Morpher which acts as a regulator and an interface between the Power and the person using it. The Aquitian Rangers could use the coins on their own and the Morphers made on KO-Thirty Five act as their own conduit….this feels like I'm trying to create both at once; I'm missing something but I don't know what"

"You'll figure it out" Kimberley assured him, before sighing and taking up the familiar role "But in the meantime go get some sleep, it's nearly two in the morning….even the college party is winding down by now and Cestria will be wondering where you are" she quickly halted herself there, she knew that Aquitians slept in aquatic pods to rehydrate themselves and had always privately wondered how things such as sleeping arrangements were handled in the interspecies marriage but would never be disrespectful enough to ask.

"I hope so" Billy answered, suddenly morose "The Dark Empire's latest attack felt like a distinct escalation….I fear our Rangers may need more aid than we can currently give them" Kimberley was left sobered and undeniably afraid as she realised that she couldn't refute his claims.

* * *

Paradoxa knelt before Lord Zedd and suddenly felt the cold grip of terror clutching at her very soul. The tyrant had ordered the insectoid hybrid to present herself before him the moment the ship he had taken returned from the distant and barren area of space far from the prying eyes of the Alliance or anyone who may sell information to them; seemingly already aware that whatever actions Paradoxa had taken under the guise of following his orders had suffered negative consequences and she felt the air leave her lungs and icy numbness set into her limbs as the armoured warlord glared down at her from his full, towering height; the sight of Gibil cavorting gleefully behind the tyrant whilst he examined his own handiwork only making the scene more obscenely disturbing as Paradoxa realised with cold detachment that many of the workers that the imp had modified both mechanically and genetically to carry out Lord Zedd's work were convulsing and their bodies sent into death-throes as they struggled and ultimately failed to breath in the atmosphere that they had previously been accustomed to.

"Rise" Lord Zedd demanded coldly, eyes glowing with hateful crimson light from behind his masked helmet "And explain"

"Yes my Lord" Paradoxa nodded her defiance crushed beneath simple, primal fear "I ordered an attack on one of the Alliances' colonies, to keep their forces occupied as you demanded….I sent the Cult of the Eternal Devourer rather than Putties; I reasoned that if your intention is to consolidate power then it would be wise to gather more resources whilst denying them to our enemies" the reasoning and justifications were carefully measured, the insectoid hybrid having made care to have plausible rationalisations ready for the inevitable questioning and deliberately obscuring and twisting the truth rather than uttering outright falsehoods, certain that Lord Zedd would somehow know if she outright lied.

"Not an unreasonable notion" Lord Zedd's voice rumbled through the floor "And yet I see no supplies, only empty space where one of my warships should be Paradoxa….have you failed me again?"

"The Power Rangers intervened my Lord; with her second in command defeated Jin-Zhao ordered a mutagenic grenade be fired on herself rather than their body" Paradoxa protested "The Rangers used a Zord formation we've never seen before….upon Jin-Zhao's death her followers set their ship on a collision course with the colony but were destroyed by Alliance forces before they could reach it" all of this was true, though naturally the detail of there being a second vessel laying in wait would not be disclosed. The insectoid waited for seconds that seemed to stretch out forever, waiting for Lord Zedd to decide her fate and mentally preparing herself to leap aside and fight for her life if the warlord decided to dispose of her.

Eventually he bowed his head, his demeanour as close to understanding as it could possibly be

"The dangers of fanaticism and devotion to tradition" he growled, almost mournfully "Jin-Zhao lost sight of the true goal of the Dark Empire. Fortunately we are not so blind and neither are the allies that will soon join us….A teleportation gate will soon be fully operational and the Vanguard Fleet will have reinforcements. Soon the Alliance will fall"

"I await it eagerly my Lord" Paradoxa bowed her head. Internally however her rage threatened to consume her, her plan to place herself in a position of power had entirely unsuccessful and she had played into the hands of the Lord whom she sought to overthrow; with even her meagre victory she had afforded herself in removing the fanatical cult devoted to Lord Zedd would soon be replaced by a fleet of warships filled with warriors who had no loyalty to Paradoxa.

She needed to rethink her plans; she could not afford the price of failure

**Authors' Notes:**

And that ladies and gents is the conclusion of arc 08.  
As with the other chapters in this arc the title is a sociology term, in keeping with the title for the arc _"Identity"_, this one probably being more readily understandable than the others.  
I've planned out roughly half of Arc 09, which will definitely have a _"Mid-season highlight" _feel to it as I'm sure you can guess by the threads that are being set up; that being said if I don't finish planning it out over the weekend then I'll take a break of a week because I refuse to start working on an arc that I don't have a definite course and plot for.  
If I don't post a chapter of Aegis next week then I'll almost certainly post two RWBY stories instead; so if anyone's looking for other stories to read while we've all got time on our hands…..allow me to shamelessly plug my work.

But anyway, let's summarise:  
Straight into the cockpit and Zord battle, no need for nonsense and resting on our laurels.  
Yeah the idea that a mentally controlled machine would be left susceptible to psychic attacks just seems dumb to me….so also there was a good chance that Jin-Zhao was actually trying to taunt/talk to the Rangers the whole fight, they just couldn't hear her.  
Pink and Green, they even do the saving each other thing when they're in their Zords.  
Yes, Jin-Zhao is still in control of her faculties which means that the Rangers actually need a diversion because forming the Megazord isn't a free action for once.  
Had to quickly remind myself of how the combination process worked prior to writing the combination/transformation for all six Zords.  
Y'know that video/meme of the kids running across his school canteen, jumping a table and bitch slapping someone in the face….That's basically what Panthera just did with a Megazord.  
This is the 'Upgrade' that you all saw coming; the 'Star Dragon Formation' because I just don't like the sound of 'Aegis Mega Dragonzord'  
The Star-Dragon takes design cues from both the Dragonzord Warrior Mode and the Mega Dragonzord and in my head it has an almost Gundam feel to it in certain aspects; also in case anyone forgot the Aegis Zords are mostly silver with Ranger coloured highlights whilst the Dragonzord is Black Green and Silver; giving the combined forms a more uniform finish.  
I'm sure you realised that the Dragonzord forms armour which is concentrated around the upper body of the Megazord, this is for two reasons: _a) because I like the idea of a more top-heavy and almost bestial, yet refined look to this form and b) because it leaves sections free for the inevitable 7 Zord combo.  
_Also, a Megazord is a standard combination, and Ultrazord is a final form with ALL the Zords; there is no six Zord term, which is why I've just gone with calling it a formation; there's also the fact that in Zeo Tommy had the _"Battlezord….a solo Zord roughly the size of a Megazord which combined with that teams Megazord, that designation could also fit the Tiger and Dragon Zords if we were to be consistent about classes/categories"  
_My Zord categories and also the Star-Dragon were at least partially informed by the same author whose work I always recommend, J Raine….and also the way he handled the issue of the original Ultrazord was brilliant.  
I wanted Tempestus to take charge and be the one to usher in the new special move….which in my head just looked anime as fuck.  
Paradoxa was so close, she thought she was gonna get what she wanted; she thought it was gonna be another Triforia where she won overall even though the Rangers won the fight.  
She really thought she could rely on the cultists to do cultist type shit….nope.  
The ship having cathedrals along its' hull was definitely inspired by Warhammer 40K.  
I feel like Paradoxa is slowly becoming more unhinged and honestly it wasn't even a conscious choice to start writing her that way.  
Seriously Jin-Zhao and the Arch-Apostle wrecked shop, they could have won that fight without much changing and the Rangers are definitely gonna be feeling that.  
The rematch had to happen, you knew it was coming.  
Yes Corcus offered something close to an apology, because he's a hard-ass and a traditionalist but he's not blind or stupid; he knows that entire colony would be gone without Tempestus.  
Corcus's whole issue his traditionalism and single/closed-minded world-view, which is why Tempestus specifically used human martial arts to win the match….and yes it did have to be a Full Nelson.  
Billy isn't just a nerd, he's a mad scientist; give me Billy with chaotic gremlin energy.  
He's also been on the receiving end of bullying and would have no patience for Corcus's shit.  
Yay for college parties….but any young people reading this; always eat first.  
Have you ever been to a college party where an entire block of dorms became one big party? I have, I was 17 and it was the campus for all of the music, theatre and digital arts students….great time.  
Marigold being a great singer and speaking in Japanese are obviously homages to Dekaranger, because whilst I've had to make changes to what limited character she was given in canon I still want to respect the source material.  
Tempestus is canonically the only straight member of the team, but he also just doesn't find humans attractive….so if you want to imagine him going back to the green girls' dorm and getting his Captain Kirk on I'll let you have that.  
Rensa definitely hung out with the goths and emo kids  
So I'll just let that Mercy and Aslaug moment fade to black and whatever happened when they got back to their place is entirely up to the readers discretion.  
It's not a college party without some questionable substances.  
As far I'm aware, drugs burning different colours as the flames interact with other atmospheres is scientifically solid….not that we can test it right now.  
I won't tell you to say no to drugs, I'm not a cop….what I will say is be careful, don't experiment alone and don't buy from strangers.  
The banter between Panthera and Kay was honestly great to write because they're both utter gremlins.  
Awww Panthera does care.  
But also yeah, none of the other Rangers knew that Kay was fighting against their own Zords' AI; because that's an issue that the others just don't have.  
There you go, I gave you a cute moment, are you happy?….Now the awkwardness.  
Also, mood Panthera.  
Of course Billy pulls all nighters and forgets to eat.  
"_Attempt number forty two"_ oof, feel that annoyance.  
A lot of techno-jargon just to keep the fact that there's a seventh Ranger pending in everyone's mind; also the idea of most Rangers needing a conduit and regulator in order to Morph with teams like the Alien Rangers being outliers just works for me.  
Gibil in the background just watching people whose lungs he modified explode or implode was something I was completely compelled to add.  
Paradoxa's real power is that she's fluent at chatting shit and weasling.  
So….more villains are coming, and next arc is gonna have some big moments….are you hyped yet?

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	36. By Demons Be Driven (Arc 09)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 35 – By Demons Be Driven**

Rather than a jet black nothingness the expanse of space that could be seen on the command bridges' viewscreen was a vast expanse of featureless white as the light of individual stars seemed to blur together in the face of the incomprehensible speeds that the Astro Megaship Mark Three, or as it had been somewhat playfully been dubbed the 'Ultra-ship' travelled at as it hurtled through the void of Dark Empire controlled space.

"_Final approach on target area imminent, preparing to drop to sub-light propulsion systems"_ the computerised voice of the ships' AI which had once again been named DECA in honour of its' predecessors announced, though whilst the Mark Three was vastly larger than those ships to bare its' name before it; being a vessel intended to house a small army rather than merely a single team of Power Rangers and handle all of the attendant logistics in waging a protracted campaign of subterfuge there were still only a mere of quartet of individuals present on the bridge to heed the warning.

"Understood, engage cloak prior to disengaging warp drive. Raise shields to full power and prime all weapons systems" Andros's brow furrowed as he gave the orders, unsure of what he would be confronted with in the coming moments and silently attempted to prepare himself for anything whilst turning to his current companions, Zhane whose expression was one of serene calm and yet clearly a mere facade to mask his nerves, Karone who eyes had a fierce gleam to them that might have been equally fitting on the face of her former self, Astronema the Empress of Evil and finally Elgar; the pirate turned privateer and fellow guerilla insurgent who wore the peaceful expression of someone who had been acquainted with death several times already each made similar mental preparations.

Over the course of the months that they had been active far behind enemy lines Andros's guerilla force comprised of those liberated from the Prison World of Dread alongside veteran saboteurs, spies and assassins of all disciplines, snipers and rabble-rousing firebrands picked from the most decorated members of KO-Thirty Fives' own resistance movement had caused the Dark Empire no small amount of misery; making their presence felt as they liberated prison worlds to add more recruits to their number, destroyed production facilities and fleets of warships as they attempted to refuel and resupply, incited riots and violence amongst the Dark Empire's citizenry and in several cases killed ranking members of the enemies' command structure through means that were by no means honourable but certainly effective, all whilst using the jockeying for power between those left in command during Lord Zedd's absence from his throne to their advantage.

In truth Andros hated it all.

He had never wished to live through another war and certainly never to engage in it in such a way, however he was a Power Ranger and that meant that he would put the needs of the galaxy above anything that he might wish for; even if it became harder to ignore with each ruthless and merciless order that he issued and each act of terrorism that he authorised in the name of the greater good that the years spent on Dread had changed him in some fundamental way and when the time had come for their insurgency to split into smaller factions the Red Astro Ranger had frankly been grateful for it; their forces had split into dozens of cells operating on worlds all across the Dark Empire, recruiting, liberating and sowing chaos and in being able to plead a degree of ignorance, if only to himself Andros had felt a sense of liberation.

It had been short-lived however as the head of one of the various sub-factions within his insurgency had contacted him to warn the remaining Astro Rangers of a matter that only the Ultra-ship was prepared to act against; whilst by all accounts the Vanguard Fleet had been stalled in their advance on the Alliance, with the Aegis Rangers even managing to hold the line in the face of Lord Zedd himself joining the fray the Dark Empire had been fortifying its' borders and expanding them slowly and inexorably outwards and subsuming all that stood in their path, seemingly in keeping with this effort there had been talk and rumours of massively increased activity at shipyards, production facilities and Forge-Worlds that Andros's insurgency had been able to gain a foothold on, all of which had culminated in a fleet gathering and setting a course for parts unknown.

Andros, upon learning of this had made the decision to intervene and engage this new fleet directly before it could be deployed against any of the unsuspecting worlds that the Dark Empire intended to squeeze the life from with its' monstrous grasp.

"_Leaving warp space"_ DECA announced flatly and Andros along with his crew-mates watched as the space before them remade itself, the darkness of the void seeming to bleed and leak into the starlight which shattered and coalesced into individual pinpricks of light and constellations; a moment later and the targeting systems of the Mark Three had located their quarry and brought a magnified image onto the viewing screen.

The air seemed to leave the bridge as its' four inhabitants silently stared death in the face.

"I would like to remind everyone here that death doesn't need to permanent and with your permission I can see to it that each of us wake up somewhere warm and comfortable after this is all over" Elgar's voice was the same lazy and commanding drawl that he had spoken in since being freed of Divatox's influence yet still seemed to perpetually surprise those who had known him as the bumbling fool his Aunt had reduced him to; Zhane and Andros shared concerned glances as whilst the former pirate may have delivered the offer in a joking tone he was undeniably serious.

"No cloning" Andros answered in a tone that would brook no argument, his people had very clear beliefs on such a procedure "Better to die properly than to come back without a soul"

"If you say so Captain" the galactic swashbuckler noted "In that case I best make sure that the Megalodon is ready to get us out of here in case this goes sour" with that he began to begin remotely prepping the systems of his own vessel which was currently docked within the Ultra-ship whilst Andros turned his attention to his sister

"Karone….can we take them?"

"There's fifty ships" she answered incredulously as she gestured to the fleet that they were silently stalking through space; a growl escaping her as she added "We could thin out the smaller ones or, focus on one or two of the larger vessels, not both" Andros contemplated her suggestion for a moment before shaking his head and deciding that he would employ his insurgencies' approach of removing the head of the monster here as well

"Zhane, scan them and find a flagship; we take that out first" the Silver Ranger nodded and set about the task with silent determination before looking up from the terminal that he worked out soon after with the colour draining from his face whilst the image on the view screen shifted to one that displayed a specific vessel within the fleet ahead of them, a truly monstrous thing that sported the same axe-like shape of many Dark Empire vessels with sensors and weapons emplacements running along its' main body like towering spines; larger than average crescent shaped wings whose tips pointed forwards and a command bridge nestled into an arrowhead shaped prow which all served to give warship a sleek and draconic appearance

"Andros….it's the Draco-Ocidendum; its' Captain is Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name" the revelation sent an almost palpable wave of fear through the bridge with even Andros's forced stoicism and Elgar's nonchalant disinterest crumbling at the news that one of the most feared conquerors, responsible for the utter destruction of a dozen worlds and the sacking and enslavement of scores more was at the head of the fleet they intended to assault left a chill in the air.

Fate however was not finished with the Astro Rangers yet.

"Spatial rift opening" DECA announced as in the distance, far ahead of the Dark Empire fleet the beginning of a glowing and pulsating tear in the fabric of reality itself was beginning to take form; revealing that the fifty ships before them were not simply making their way towards a new target, a teleportation gate was being opened for them and they were intended to be reinforcements for an ongoing battle.

Andros felt as though his blood had turned to ice in his veins as the realisation that there was only one campaign that the Dark Empire was embroiled in which would require such destructive power to be added to their existing forces dawned on him.

"THESE SHIPS ARE HEADING FOR ALLIANCE SPACE!" he exclaimed "TARGET THEIR FLAGSHIP AND FIRE ALL WEAPONS, WE'RE STOPPING THEM HERE!"

* * *

The world looked so much clearer now that he was able to see it through his own eyes once again and as he perched precariously on the roof of the apartment block the Aegis Rangers called home Rensa found himself appreciating the artificial sky and mass produced buildings that formed the city of Promethea One and finding a beauty in the urban landscape that only one raised in a far bleaker environment could manage.

Billy Cranston, the former Blue Ranger and the man Tempestus called father had, in an almost laughably nonchalant display of his intellectual prowess taken the technology involved in the filter goggles Rensa had been forced to wear and streamlined it to the point where it could be contained in a pair of contact lenses; noting upon providing the Black Ranger with the lenses that the design would likely be patented and available to the general public within the year.

Rensa had made his way onto the rooftop that Mercy often trained on and found it vacant save for small group of students whom the Black Ranger knew in passing who had been smoking something pungent which they had quickly stubbed out before leaving on his arrival; the youngest Aegis Ranger may have been just appreciated for his heroics just as much as his team-mates but the knowledge that he often stalked the city and dispensed his own justice on its' petty criminals separate to Lightspeeds' orders set him apart and gave him a sinister air that was only magnified by his ability to crawl along walls and ceilings with ease and the fact his eyes could now be readily seen, twin orbs of pure, bottomless darkness that many found unsettling to look at for any amount of time.

The Rangers had been given a reprieve from the predictably brutal training regimen that Corcus had imposed on them and Rensa knew that Mercy had elected to spend the time studying with Marigold as she gave more and more consideration to her future education whilst Aslaug, understanding that the Red Ranger was busy had chosen to spend the day with Tempestus; the two of them having formed a solid friendship despite their obvious differences, something which Aslaug had half jokingly attributed to born warriors recognising one another. Rensa had found himself alone, something he had no particular aversion to even if something about the situation did cause an odd niggling feeling in the back of his mind although he had expected to be able to spend the day with Panthera and Kay; the three of them having formed what Mercy had playfully called 'Their own little clique' within the Rangers.

Then as if summoned by his thoughts the Pink and Green Rangers came into view below him.

Panthera's heavily modified motorbike came skidding to a halt, tires smoking and screeching whilst its' alien power source left it spewing a trail of electric blue flames behind it only for the effect to be ruined as Kay, who had been riding behind Panthera and clutching her waist as they held on for dear life was thrown from their seat and came rolling to a stop on the ground. Panthera frantically rushed over to their side and pulled them to their feet only to let out a visible sigh of relief as the cuts and grazes littering the Green Ranger's body healed within moments as their hybrid physiology came into effect; the two of them remained close for several second longer until the pair seemed to realise that Panthera's hand was still resting on Kay's cheek and an almost palpable atmosphere of awkwardness began to form between them; causing Rensa to turn away as he decided that he'd seen enough. The teen was well acquainted with sex as a concept even he found it an unpleasant and borderline revolting idea in practice, yet that was not what bothered him as he thought of the interactions between the Green and Pink Rangers and compared them to Mercy and Aslaug, only for his stomach to plummet as the realisation hit him.

His tribe was fracturing.

On his home-world of Dread relationships were fleeting and purely physical things and ones' largest emotional attachment was to ones' tribe as a whole, Rensa realised however that this what not the case for many other cultures and that Kay and Panthera, as much as they seemed to dance around their painfully obvious feelings would almost inevitably become an almost separate entity much like Mercy and Aslaug; a prospect which would have meant certain death for all parties on Dread where strength and survival were paramount. With a pang of sadness the Black Ranger admitted to himself that he knew that this was not the case for the cultures within the Alliance and that his worries were unfounded but the fact that they remained unrelenting, gnawing at his consciousness reminded him of just how little he truly understood about the galactic society he had found himself defending; Rensa soon found himself wondering morosely about him place in the Alliance whose laws and custom were still alien and near impossible to reconcile with the primal savagery that he had been raised in and realised that he needed a more experienced opinion. He thought about speaking with Billy, the man had after all spent more than half of his life living away from the world he was born on, or even Zebidiah Lord who served as undeniable proof that there was nobody whom the Alliance considered impossible to integrate into their society. Rensa shook his head and dismissed all of these ideas, knowing that there was only one opinion he would truly value on the matter.

He wanted to speak to Andros again.

* * *

The central park within Promethea One which Mercy often visited with Aslaug was pleasantly warm and comfortable as always; though currently the Red Ranger was joined by Marigold, the two of them sharing a series of comfortable blankets as they sat away from the usual small crowds of joggers and parents with their small children that filled the area; Mercy seemingly lost in the book she was reading whilst Marigold took a break from her usual studiousness to play with a small rubber ball which she proceeded to ricochet off of the branches of a nearby tree and back to her hands in a series of almost comically overwrought trick-shots until she finally grew bored of this and turned her attention back to Mercy and found a playful smile forming on her lips.

"Y'know of all the subjects you could have decided to study I didn't think you'd pick history" she adjusted the flower that decorated her hair as she added "I thought you were too cool for something like that?"

"I've been a nerd my whole life and I'm still cooler than anyone you know" Mercy countered in a bored and flat tone, before ruining the illusion of aloofness by sticking her tongue out and giving into a fit of giggles "Besides I suppose I've always liked certain kinds of history, like anything about the Power Rangers, old music and movies….I suppose it's just a matter of finding a way I can channel that into something…..well, useful"

"Useful?" Mari exclaimed in disbelief "Individual members of Power Ranger teams actually changed the face of human science, pretty much inventing entire new fields of study decades before they would have been proposed otherwise and you are on actual first name terms with at least a dozen of them"

"Yeah….and It's always Blue Rangers for some reason" Mercy noted before her face took on a wistful expression "Oh that reminds me, I spoke with Justin last night….Blue Turbo Ranger, worked on the Aquabase where I grew up, the coolest guy and he was happy for me and Aslaug….even if he was a total dork about it" having the support of Justin meant a lot to her, especially now that she knew that the Scientist was one of the donors of the many genetic samples that had gone into creating her and as such could be considered something akin to a parent, even if that had never been the kind of relationship that the two of them had shared; naturally none of this was something she was willing to discuss with Marigold who whilst being a good friend was simply not privy to such classified information to say nothing of the conflicting emotions that Mercy felt whenever she truly considered her origins.

All of these thoughts were pushed firmly from her mind with Marigold's next words

"You are adorable, it's cute watching you and Aslaug be completely in love"

"Huh?" Mercy managed to gasp out as she choked on air, her book slipping from her grasp seeming to signal the end of even the illusion that she was still studying. Mari watched the younger girl try to compose herself, expression suddenly becoming thoughtful and somewhat panicked which in turn caused Marigold's hands to fly to her mouth as she realised what was wrong

"Oh!" she breathed out "You haven't said it….I thought, well it's probably cliché but with all the saving the Alliance you do that you would have…." she trailed off slowly whilst Mercy chewed her lip in silence before turning to face her again with a bright smile

"What about you? Were you dating anyone on Leslie before you came to Promethea?"

"Uh huh" Marigold nodded with a soft smile that managed to convey an amount of bittersweetness "Banban Akaza….we were together all through high-school but we kinda drifted apart when I came here, we're still great friends though"

"Banban….seriously that's his name?" Mercy snorted with a smirk

"Shush you, he's sweet" Marigold defended before bouncing the rubber ball off of the Red Ranger's forehead and catching it "Besides, you're changing the subject….spill"

"I mean we haven't said it" Mercy grumbled as she looked away, cheeks reddening "But yeah I think?….I mean I don't know y'know I've never….And we're both from completely different worlds what she doesn't…." she gesticulated wildly, seemingly determined to not use the word that had started this whole conversation as she struggled to overcome her own awkwardness; life on the Aquabase may have prepared her for a great many eventualities but in matters such as this she found herself to be woefully underprepared.

"Awww look at you all nervous….you're like the little sister that didn't steal all my stuff when I moved out" Mari teased, debating throwing her rubber ball at the younger girl again but thinking better of it before adding "Seriously say it, be honest about how you feel; awkwardness is no for anyone except the people watching and taking bets" she had hoped that Mercy would reply with some teasing of her own but instead realised that whatever thoughts were running through the Red Rangers' head had managed to upset her as the smile was completely wiped from her face; she quickly picked up the textbook and let out a sigh

"I need to work on this paper, there's a lot of stuff that wasn't covered in my classes at the Aquabase that I'm gonna need to do if I want to get into college; even if I can get in on some kind of scholarship"

"Yeah, okay sure" Mari nodded, a comment about Mercy would certainly qualify for such a program dying on the top of her tongue as she watched the younger girls' deep brown eyes scanning the page before her and retaining none of the information she read; privately Mari cursed herself for intruding on what was frankly none of her business and hoped that she hadn't damaged what was undoubtedly one of the most positive relationships her young friend had in her confusing, responsibility-ridden life.

* * *

"I brought you a coffee and a salad, I know you don't like having food in your lab but Cestria mentioned that you missed breakfast and you skipped lunch….You need to eat Billy"

Kimberley cleared her throat and used the offer of food and caffeine as a mild form of bribery and to announce her presence as she stepped carefully into Billy Cranston's laboratory; taking care to keep an eye on her surroundings, particularly the floor whilst taking care to touch nothing that could be potentially volatile and making sure that she didn't startle her former team-mate as the results of such a mistake could prove explosive.

In reality she needn't have worried, as she approached the former Blue Ranger she saw that he was working at a computer system which featured several interconnected screens and vaguely resembled the set-up which Justin had used on the Aquabase though was almost certainly orders of magnitude more powerful as Billy had designed and built the equipment himself; Kimberley saw that he was running some kind of simulations which seemed to factor countless variables and possibilities along with the cellular and atomic structures of several hypothetical subjects although the former Pink Ranger would readily admit that she could comprehend none of what she saw, only the sound of displeasure that escaped Billy as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes after frowning at the results of the latest battery of tests.

"Thank you" he sighed before taking the coffee and downing it in a single gulp and setting the salad down carefully, eyeing it with suspicion as though he thought that the food might somehow contaminate his workspace if left unsupervised.

"What are you working on?" Kimberley asked conversationally as she took an empty seat beside him, she knew that Billy had multiple projects that he was undertaking at any given time and that the present was no exception; his improvement of the alien technology that helped Rensa see in normal daylight being one particularly helpful example. He took his time chewing a mouthful of food whilst seemingly considering the wording of his answer to ensure that he was understood before finally speaking

"You already know that the problem I had in creating a Morpher for our potential seventh Ranger wasn't with the Morpher itself; the problem was in creating a physical power source that could channel the Light of Good….and damn it if I wish Zordon had trusted us enough to speak plainly, if he'd have just told us what his plans were the Alliance could be decades ahead with the technology at our disposal and-"

"Billy, breathe" Kimberley reminded him in a tone that was light yet still held an unmistakable edge, Zordon was and would forever remain the father figure that she had never truly have and she took any ire directed at him personally.

"Right, I'm sorry" Billy nodded before refocusing himself on something more productive that he could potentially change "What I'm trying to do is take what information we have about this Light of Good and use it synthesise it and refine it into a physical object; I've been using what little information we have to work with regarding things like the Zeo Crystal as a starting point….apparently Tommy had a calcified chunk of the Morphing Grid itself in his possession, the logistics of that are simply incomprehensible but it would undeniably save us a lot of time; Zebidiah and I could practically jerry rig a fragment of it into a working coin-"

"You trust Zebidiah with this?" Kimberley asked, for voice dropping to a hushed whisper, the former Lord Zedd had been unwavering in his loyalty to the Alliance and seeing him Morph before being laid low by his own sun had dispelled what little doubt had remained about his intentions though the former Pink Ranger found herself unable to shake the sense that her old enemy helping to create a new Ranger was sacrilege of a sort

"It can't be helped" Billy answered with a shrug, detaching his feelings from the simple practicality of the situation "I hate to admit Kim but what we're attempting here is the fusion of technology and magic and I have never been magically inclined; Zebidiah is the only person who could do this, he's been studying the texts recovered from Phaedos….dating puts them at older than the planet itself"

"I hate to rush you on this" Kimberley sighed "But do you have any idea when we could expect some results? We don't know how soon we might need them"

"It could be too early to say, it could be in a week" Billy answered apologetically "But I do know that we're looking in the right direction now and that progress is being made….so with that in mind, if you want my advice Kim now might be the time to start considering who's going to wear this new Morpher" hearing this Kimberley's eyes seemed to light up and the dark rings beneath them, a product of countless sleepless nights seemed to visibly lessen as a sense of purpose and direction filled her

"We have several other candidates in mind, I've been reviewing the files of potential Ranger candidates that were overlooked in favour of Project….in favour of Mercy" she quickly corrected herself "Both of Aurico's two sons"

"Fine examples of the Aquitian Temple Guard, but perhaps a little too narrow or single minded to be Rangers" Billy suggested gently, being well acquainted with the sons of the late Red Aquitian Ranger.

"There's an entire cadet group on the Aquabase, led by one Jack Landors and including the son of the second Lightspeed Red Ranger" Kimberley added, accepting Billy's criticism "Spike Skullovitch might be a washout but he is compatible, Skull would happily bring him back into Lightspeed; Justin tells me that the various Ninja Academies have some promising candidates with no Morphers to give them….then again we could always speak with-"

"There's an obvious solution to this problem" Billy noted with startling bluntness "And at this point it feels like you're deliberately ignoring it"

"What are you talking about?" Kimberley demanded

"You" Billy answered plainly "You and I are the most experienced Rangers left; I can't Morph any more but you can….you have done"

"I can't do it again" Kimberley shook her head "The Titanium Morpher….it felt wrong, it made my skin crawl….I know you're not superstitious Billy and I know that I shouldn't be but it felt forced in a way that I'm not comfortable with" he stared at her in silence for several moments, wearing an expression that Kimberley would be lying if she said she couldn't see any judgement in.

"That is possibly the most illogical and frankly-"

"Billy we're not debating this" Kimberley snapped "I'm not a Power Ranger any more, that's the end of the matter" the air seemed charged between them, both former Rangers knowing that their next words could be the fatal blow to a friendship that had lasted decades and had survived the gulf of space yet neither of them seemed willing to relent.

An intervention came in the form of Kimberley's communicator, the same one that Billy himself had made for her chirping loudly.

"Captain Hart here, what's the situation?" she fought to keep the misplaced anger out of her voice as she answered and was greeted by Zebidiah Lord

"I'm in the Command Centre, in spirit of course. We just received a top priority communication with proper clearances on an unknown channel, we haven't been able to trace the signal" that made Kimberley's brow furrow, there were very few vessels in the galaxy that could remain hidden from the Alliance whilst directly contacting them.

"I'll be there right away" she answered simply before ending the call and staring at Billy, the two of them remained silent for a moment before her old friend rose to his feet and gave her a weary smile

"Back to action?"

"Back to action" she nodded, silently wondering what Jason would think if he could see what had become of them.

* * *

The darkness of space was set alight by lances of blazing light and blossoming explosions which were quickly snuffed out by the vacuum as colossal warships did battle in the void and tore gaping wounds into one another's hulls.

"Preparing to teleport again!" Zhane warned, prompting Karone to take a moment to cease firing the countless weapons at the Astro Megaship Mark Three's disposal and swiftly beginning recalibrating

"We can't keep taking hits like this, the shields won't hold" Elgar warned, the three Astro Rangers had each Morphed at their posts to better endure the shock of the various impacts against the ship and its' failing shields and behind his helmet Andros grit his teeth but was unable to reply before the ship blinked out of existence and reappeared again on the other side of the Dark Empires' fleet, where Karone turned its' weapons on a new target.

The teleportation gate was still open, an unimaginably vast maw torn into the fabric of reality; the glowing crimson edge of the tear in space its' only identifiable feature as nothing but empty space could be seen beyond it, yet the Mark Three had fought ceaselessly to see that none of the enemy vessels reached their destination regardless. Stealth had been abandoned and the superior teleportation systems of the Alliance which Andros had avoided using until now due to the power required and the fact that it could easily be detected by sensors had been employed with remarkable results, the lone ship attacking and rescinding only to appear elsewhere in the enemy fleets' midst without mercy; thus far seven of the fifty ships had been claimed although it was clear that the feasibility of such tactics was coming to an end.

"Shields at fourteen percent and decreasing. Fluctuations inevitable" DECA informed the crew dispassionately as the four of them were sent staggering by the return fire that struck them from all sides as the Mark Three reappeared, tearing gouges into the ships armour as its' shields failed to withstand the entirety of the attack.

"They predicted our move Andros!" Elgar warned "We need a new plan!"

"Give the order" Karone added coldly, rolling her shoulders back and cracking her neck in anticipation.

"She's right Andros, we're out of options here" Zhane agreed, voice betraying his panic and the Red Astro Ranger gave a silent nod before speaking to the ship itself

"Form the Astro Ultrazord!" DECA complied and unleashed a torrent of fire from each of the spaceships' weapons batteries before beginning the transformation into its' battle mode.

In its' standard form the Mark Three, or Ultra-ship as it had been dubbed by those who live aboard it largely resembled its' predecessors with its' largely circular from, sleek nose and royal blue colour but had the notable exceptions of its' vastly increased size, new primary weapons in the form of a pair of large, angular cannons mounted in the centre of its' upper hull and the fact that beneath it were four long propulsion systems which combined into two pairs. Its' transformation was also largely reminiscent of those Megaships that had come before it; the nose and rounded sides of the vessel peeling away and rotating around to form legs whilst the entirety of the war-machine repositioned itself, large chunks of the multiple layers of armour peeling away and adjusting themselves to fit their new formation. The twin pairs of propulsion systems rotated out to the sides to form arms, the gargantuan thrusters which connected each pair becoming armoured gauntlets whilst one of each pair slip up onto the top of the new shoulder assembly to form a gigantic cannon, the twin cannons of the Ultra-ship and the turret that they had rested upon folded in on themselves to become a heavily armoured chest which angled forward somewhat whilst a head that was reminiscent of the Astro Megazord slid into place; the completed Astro Ultrazord was larger than its' predecessors and whilst clearly similarly in design had a look about it that was uniquely heavy and robust yet somehow streamlined, if by no means sleek.

"How's it feel?" Zhane asked Elgar, decidedly more confident now that the battle had taken a more familiar turn "Your first Megazord experience"

"Like I'm gonna be sick" the privateer shot back, stepping away from his console as he watched the Astro Rangers suits merge which parts of their controls as their minds were connected together by the internal matrix that allowed the mecha to function at the speed of thought.

"We've got a ship locking weapons on us" Karone noted

"Astro Ultra-Sabre ready" Andros replied dispassionately and those looking on from the outside watched as the towering machine reached to its' hip where a series of hatches opened to reveal a circular device with a large handle for the Ultrazord to grasp, this device in turn deployed a sturdy metallic emitter of sorts several hundred feet in length from which a glowing and fiery red blade reminiscent of a katana burst into existence and without hesitation the Astro Ultrazord braced itself as though preparing to charge before launching itself forwards in an incomprehensible burst of speed; the Dark Empire warship that had been abut to fire upon it being bisected horizontally as the burning blade, roughly the size of two of the vessels' decks at its' widest point tore through it.

"Don't get complacent" Andros warned, cutting off Zhane's cheer before bringing the Ultrazord into a graceful pivot as the bisected ship exploded and opening fire with the Ultrazords' cannons; each impact overloading the shields of another Dark Empire vessel and destroying it entirely whilst doing sizeable damage to ships around them.

Then sparks flew throughout the cockpit and alarms blared

"THEY FLEW A SHIP INTO US!" Karone spat furiously as the Astro Rangers attempted to bring the Ultrazord out of the flailing spin that it had been thrown into by the catastrophic force of a near crippled vessel colliding with its' back

"We've lost shields!" Zhane warned "We're taking a lot of damage!" his words were punctuated by several more sirens and warning flashing across the mechas' viewscreen as the wreckage and debris left by the ship that had struck them continued to tear into the armour of the Ultrazord as it hurtled passed all whilst several members of the enemy fleet opened fire, laser, plasma and all manner of other weapons leaving the Astro Rangers reeling.

Andros's eyes widened as he realised that there was a far more important facet of their situation being overlooked

"THEY'RE HEADING THROUGH THE GATE!" he roared "WE'VE GOT TO STOP THEM!" Zhane and Karone turned their attention to the teleportation gate as best they could and saw that he was right, several Dark Empire ships had already made it through the gaping wound in space and several more were close to following. Elgar, whilst unconnected to the mental network that controlled the Ultrazord could still sense the herculean efforts of the trio of Rangers around him as through sheer force of will and single-minded determination alone they brought the Ultrazord out of its' spin and raced towards the fleets' destination, flying through burning wreckage even as it wreaked more damage upon their war-machine; firing on every ship in their path with devastating results.

"Do we have a plan?" the former pirate demanded

"We cross the gate ourselves so we can destroy it from the other side, cut them off!" Andros answered, voice trembling with desperation; sirens and alarms screamed incessantly and the entire cockpit shook violently with each impact as the Dark Empire fleet unleashed salvo after salvo, but finally they reached their goal; the Ultrazords' systems issuing several warnings as it reappeared in an entirely new region of space though the Astro Rangers paid them no mind, instead they shared a single thought and brought the gargantuan mecha into a graceful pivot with its' blade at the ready; poised to cleave through the unspeakably large structure of dark and twisted metal pulsing with arcane energies that was the teleportation gate.

Then a single lance of light, fired with precision struck the Ultrazords' weapon and caused an explosion which ripped away the machines' entire right forearm; yet the Astro Rangers received no quarter or respite as a moment later the Dark Empire ship that had fired on them surged through the gate, its' mechanical form having the air of some monstrous beast stalking its' prey about it

"It's the Draco-Ocidendum it's-AGGH!" Zhane's warning was cut short as the vessels' legendary Captain ordered a particularly brazen manoeuvre and swept passed the Ultrazord, bringing the edge of its' curved and scythe-like crashing into the mecha, the void of space swallowing the sound of screeching metal as the Ultrazord was torn almost entirely in half at the abdomen

"WE JUST TOOK MASSIVE DAMAGE!" Karone yelled "WE'RE LOSING POWER, PROPULSION IS ALMOST GONE!"

"They're coming back around!" Zhane warned. Time slowed as the crew of the Ultra-ship watched the flagship of the Dark Empire ship turn to face them, its' various weapons glowing as they were primed whilst the other ships that had it made it onto this side of the gate abandoned the fight; almost certainly ordered to do so by their leader. Andros slowly removed his helmet and turned to Elgar, locking eyes with the pirate and wearing an expression and unshakeable resolve.

"Have Cullis track their flagship when it jumps to warp" he then let out a slow, mournful sigh as he turned his attention to DECA "Prepare for critical core overload"

"Confirmed" the AI was as toneless as ever as it put measures into place that would ensure its' own destruction and Elgar's eyes widened in sudden panic as he realised what was about to happen

"Cullis, get us onto the Megalodon now, full stealth full speed!" the cockpit of the Ultrazord was emptied an instant later in streams of coloured light. The Draco-Ocidendum opened fire and the withering barrage of weapons tore the crippled mecha asunder, only for its' power supply to explode in a cataclysmic flash of light that consumed almost a third of the teleportation gate which in turn sent a series of explosions ripping through its' monstrous form, leaving those ships that had not yet traversed it stranded as its' power failed.

It was a high price to pay for a partial victory, but one that Andros would gladly pay again.

"They're jumping to warp speed" Cullis, the alien who vaguely resembled some manner of bipedal silkworm and served as Elgar's First Mate alerted his new companions

"After them" Elgar growled as he and the Astro Rangers took their positions in the latest iteration of the Megalodon, preparing to give chase whilst the Empire vessel suspected nothing.

"We can't take them on alone" Karone noted, her voice holding both a simple warning and a hint of bitterness at the fact that they had not been strong enough.

"I know" Andros nodded "Contact Lightspeed, we're going to need the Aegis Rangers"

* * *

Paradoxa's footsteps echoed as she strode through the corridors of the Heliothis, her pale green face fixed into a scowl that bordered on murderous as each knuckle of her spindly, many jointed fingers cracked loudly in agitation.

The knowledge that her Vanguard Fleet would soon be bolstered by reinforcements from elsewhere within the Dark Empire and that she was powerless to stop it had caused the insectoid hybrid endless torment and caused her treacherous thoughts to fester and sour further with each passing day. The latest insult to her honour which she promised to correct once she had taken the mantle of Lord Zedd and claimed the Dark Empire for herself had come in the form of a simple summons; whilst the towering and armoured titan who currently bore the title of Lord Zedd was within his rights to call any of his subjects to him at any time the notion of being summoned to the bridge of her own ship as though she were some mere serf or footsoldier had felt like a slap to Paradoxa; though as she reached the command bridge of the Heliothis with its' lattice of lights in a hexagonal pattern casting the space in a crimson glow and giving it the appearance of the inside of some sort of mechanical hive she forced herself to speak in an even tone and betray none of her desires for supremacy, though in a rare bout of open defiance that could have spelt death for a lesser being she refused to bow.

Lord Zedd seemed not to notice, only further infuriating her.

"Paradoxa" he rumbled "Come, our reinforcements should be making with us at any moment. Greet your new partner, the two of you shall be the instruments with which I lay the Alliance low"

"As you command my Lord" Paradoxa managed not to grind the words out through clenched teeth and took her place at Lord Zedd's right hand, stood beside a throne that had once been her own and waiting for only a moment before the Heliothis was hailed by another Dark Empire vessel

"My Lord, I am Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name and I humbly answer your call….how may my forces be of service to you?"

Carnifex of Wyvern was truly monstrous creature to behold, an Acheron Hybrid of some manner of reptilian or saurian origin who stood at perhaps seven feet tall and possessed a broad shouldered and powerfully built form, with rippling masses of muscle visibly coiling and flexing beneath his scaled hide; his armoured exterior a deep, burned reddish colour though each jagged scale sported an edge of iridescent blue which almost resembled a burning flame. Ornate armour of a dull, darkened silver coloured metal which might make someone from Earth think of some fantastical knight and had been stylised to resemble fanged and draconic maws embellished with countless runes adorned the hybrids' torso and upper legs which were supported by a pair digitigrade and almost avian knees, scaled and muscular calves leading to three-toed and broad clawed feet whilst his arms were largely humanoid though each bicep was as large as a mans' chest as he clasped his hands in front of his chest, holding onto the hilt of a massive double-edged and serrated sword whose blade tapered down towards the cross-guard; his left arm had been removed at the elbow either due to a simple desire to upgrade himself or, seemingly more likely after having been lost in battle and the prosthetic that had replaced it featured bundles of black mechanical muscle that walked a thin line between biological and mechanical whilst being encased in yet more armour and ending in clawed digits. His shoulders were hidden from view by a pair of vestigial wings, or more precisely a ragged and membranous right wing folded and draped over his shoulder like a cape whilst left was yet further cybernetic augmentation, a plethora of metallic panels shaped to emulate the wing yet which clearly hid some greater purpose beneath them. The hybrids' face was simply inhuman with three long horns splayed wide on either side of his skull like a crest which trailed behind him whilst his mouth and nose formed an almost beaked snout, a streamlined and jagged protrusion which could vaguely be said to resemble an axehead with a spiked and armoured helm bolted over its' upper half whilst his eyes were a fierce, blazing amber with slitted pupils.

"You are to rendezvous here on Unus at the base established by Captain Paradoxa of the Vanguard Fleet"

"I was of the understanding that the Vanguard Fleet was under the command of Captain Yokai; did they fall in battle?" Carnifex spoke in oddly dulcet tones that carried an air of importance, a voice used to giving orders and having no reason to doubt that they would be carried out, Paradoxa bristled as she felt his gaze turn to her.

"Yokai failed to complete an order assigned to them by Lord Zedd" she almost hissed in response

"And so naturally stepped in to dispense judgement, I trust that proper tradition and chain of command was followed?" Paradoxa would have slashed at his throat had they been in the same room, the insult to her honour was obvious and far more importantly undeniably warranted.

"Be that as it may" Lord Zedd growled "You have your orders Carnifex"

"Yes my Lord" the saurian hybrid bowed deeply "Though if I may be so bold as to offer my suggestions and to inform you of some….unseemly developments"

"Speak" the command bridge trembled under the force of Lord Zedd's voice whilst his eyes blazed with malevolent magic at his words.

"We were intercepted my Lord" Carnifex began regretfully "Our ship was intercepted by the Power Rangers responsible for countless obscenities within your Empire, one of their Zords has done an unfortunate amount of damage to the teleportation gate my fleet arrived through and several ships were lost; though more than half of our might is still your to command-"

"Make your suggestion" Lord Zedd demanded, his limited patience wearing thin with the news that the Power Rangers had once again interfered in his plans.

"The would be marauders were forced to cross the teleportation gate themselves in their attempts to halt my fleet, thus separating them from the upstarts and curs they lend aid to" Carnifex gave something that might have been a smile, showing countless shark-like teeth lining their beaked maw "It may be that whilst their Zord was destroyed they survived and were I in such a circumstance I would certainly give chase to my enemies flagship. I ask that you allow me to send my fleet to your side whilst I myself draw our enemies out; gather these Rangers and those that oppose you directly in a single place so that I might defeat them all and make something fortuitous of these losses"

"You believe yourself capable of slaying such a force when you lost half a fleet to a single Zord?" Lord Zedd demanded, though rather than anger his distorted snarl was filled with faint amusement

"On the ground they will be forced to face their death like warriors" Carnifex answered simply to which Lord Zedd simply let out a low chuckle in response

"Do not underestimate them, but by all means go and test your strength"

"By your leave my Lord" Carnifex of Wyvern bowed his head again before ending the communication; Paradoxa silently seethed as she realised with the destruction of a Megazord credited to him and the removal of the heads of guerilla forces waging war of the Empire from within her new rival had already cemented his status as a capable warrior amongst not only Lord Zedd but the thousands of underlings who would see the arrival of this new fleet as nothing short of her fall from grace and rob her of yet more potential allies and assets that she would need to rise to power.

"He certainly seems eager to prove his worth" Lord Zedd noted, intruding on her thoughts

"That he does my Lord, perhaps he has the power to match that eagerness" Paradoxa's voice was as silky as always, though privately she was plotting ways to slay Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name herself.

Provided that survived an encounter with the Power Rangers of course.

**Authors Notes:**

Ah it's good to back, I took a week off to plan ahead and work on some RWBY stuff but normal updates should be going ahead for the next month.  
This is Arc 09, titled _"A Vulgar Display of Power" _after the Pantera album, which should give you an idea of the way this arc is heading and if that doesn't then the chapter titles are _(Spoiler alert) "By Demons Be Driven", "A New Level" "No Good (Attack the Radical)"_ and_ "Rise"  
_This arc will also mark the halfway point of the second 'season' of this story, meaning that we're actually roughly at the overall mid-point of Aegis as well.  
Apparently they're doing some casting for season 28 of Power Rangers and whilst I've never been an actor _(Although being a rapper got me a couple of cameos)_ finding out I'm officially too old to be a Power Ranger makes me a little sad, I'm not gonna lie.

But anyway let's summarise shall we:  
I use Mega/Ultra Zord prefixes so a scaled up Megaship is the Ultra-Ship.  
Andros might be experienced at Wet-work but it doesn't mean he likes it, and he knows that he's definitely not the same after Dread.  
Elgar has died so many times that it just annoys him when he's gotta pay for a new clone body at this point.  
Also_ "Death doesn't need to be permanent"_ and _"Better to die properly"_ yay for foreshadowing.  
Karone as gunner/tactical officer just makes sense to me.  
"_Draco-Ocidendum"_ or translated from the Latin, literally: "Murder Dragon".  
Wyvern is pretty self explanatory, Carnifex however is the name given to a Roman now it's clear that this is the backup that Lord Zedd has been waiting for and that they're using the teleportation gate that he had built in the last arc whilst Paradoxa was using the Cult of the Eternal Devourer as a distraction.  
Yeah it's about time Rensa got rid of those damn goggles, 'cos there's no way that Billy wouldn't fix that problem once he knew why he had to wear them.  
Yeah those students got the hell out there because let's be honest you wouldn't smoke weed in front of Batman or the Punisher would you?….And also Rensa is kinda scary looking, fangs, freakishly double jointed and eyes that have no whites or iris.  
Aslaug has literally led an army and as we learned last arc Tempestus was born to be a warrior, real recognise real.  
Panthera still can't ride that bike properly.  
Also, look at these adorable awkward dorks, look at them!  
Reminder that Rensa is ace.  
Okay so take normal fears of third-wheeling you friends and factor that up to accommodate for where Rensa comes from, then take concerns about not fitting in and scale them up a million percent because Rensa is the baby of the team.  
And he misses Andros, 'cos baby gets homesick.  
Mercy is a nerd and a fangirl and that's that on that.  
Also Mari just doing trick-shots with whatever is lying around is just gonna be one of her little quirks from here on out.  
"_It's always Blue Rangers for some reason"_ Yay for meta jokes.  
Yep Aslaug and Mercy are definitely 'that' couple.  
Oh boy, the L word is getting thrown around.  
Military bases where you've been raised since birth cannot be a healthy place to learn to process your feelings.  
Banban Akaza a) Dekaranger references b) his name is Banban lol.  
Mari canonically sings, so now I have the image in my head of her serenading Mercy and Aslaug with _"Kiss the Girl"_ from the Little Mermaid.  
If you step in Billy's lab you better have caffeine to bribe him with and not touch shit.  
Don't badmouth Zordon or Tommy in front of Kim, she will chin check you.  
Also we never really saw Billy struggle in canon that I can remember, he could always pull an Ex Machina out of the bag at the last minute and I'd love to see what he's like when he's thoroughly done with the nonsense he has to deal with; I've worked with enough engineers and intelligent and creative people to know it would be entertaining.  
Remember when Tommy had a calcified chunk of the Morphing Grid just casually in his basement, yeah what the actual fuck was that?  
Zebidiah has been studying Ranger stuff for long enough to have made his own Zord, with no Dulcea he'll have to do.  
So, not this arc but we're getting close to our seventh Ranger reveal.  
Obviously Spike, the SPD team, the Ninja Academies and Aurico having kids were all Easter-eggs; there was a name that was specifically not used.  
Kimberley not wanting to take the mantle again, oh the drama.  
Yay for distractions with convenient timing.  
"Back to action" has a different context depending on who's using it; Mercy has grown up being a Ranger fangirl but Billy and Kimberley actually heard Jason give them that order.  
Teleportation is one of the advantages that the Alliance has, that's been a thing since the prologue and that's why the Mark Three took out seven of the fifty ships it was up against on its' own, constantly out-flanking them and using hit and run tactics.  
I like the idea that Karone has to struggle against some instincts left over from being Astronema.  
Okay so the Ultra-Ship is a scaled up Megaship with four of those propulsion/totally not arms under it and a pair of big guns on top; the Ultrazord is a scaled up Astro Megazord with shoulder cannons more armour and proportions and aesthetic of a Gundam.  
Y'know the Samurai movie trope where the move passed each other and one guy collapses, the shot that Mercy paid homage to on Triforia….the Ultrazord just did that to a spaceship with a katana that totally isn't a Gundam beam-sabre.  
Tough as an Ultrazord is a kamikaze from a spaceship is gonna do damage.  
Andros's plan was solid, if that attack had landed the Empire's fleet would have been stranded in Empire space which would have set them back weeks at the very least and given the Alliance a warning.  
The problem is that a giant Mech is not built for fighting a fleet of spaceships, it's like trying to box with a flock of pigeons.  
The idea of using an_ (Admittedly axe-shaped) _spaceship as a melee weapon is brilliant and you know it.  
And there we go, Ultrazord gone but so is the teleportation gate and now Andros is making the call to Promethea One but having this scene after Kim and Billy just felt like it flowed better for some reason.  
Paradoxa should probably just think less, stop taking shit so personal and stop taking herself so seriously because Lord Zedd gives precisely zero fucks about her attitude.  
It took me days to figure out how Carnifex was going to look, I knew I wanted something bulky and armoured in contrast with Paradoxa and that they'd speak with a sort of_ 'nobleman'_ style; then I saw a picture of the Pokemon Corviknight but_ "Bird Knight"_ was too close to Corax from Arc 02 but then the idea _"Dragon Knight"_ hit me.  
Robot arm and a robot wing….y'all know there's a weapon tucked under that wing right?  
Oh Carnifex took one look at Paradoxa and pegged her as an opportunistic, social climbing backstabber and pretty much called her on it.  
He's not dumb either, he knows Rangers are hard to kill and he knows that if they're alive they're gonna follow him; so he's luring them away from Unus so that they and by proxy the Alliance don't find out where the Vanguard Fleet are docking.  
And now the rivalry begins.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
I'm glad that solid character interactions and dialogue are one of the things that I'm consistently hitting the mark with across fandoms.  
Well there's how he's gonna make a power source, by using what little notes they have on stuff like the Zeo Crystal.  
Ninjor died twenty years ago, he and Dulcea were ancient so even if Dulcea had taken an apprentice the day Ninjor died they most likely wouldn't have been ready at this point and that's even assuming that Dulcea was ready enough to take an appreciate of her own.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	37. A New Level

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 36 – A New Level**

Jarl Ragnar, ruler of the Frost Fang Tribe and father to Aslaug was a giant of a man whom Kendrix Morgan, Pink Galaxy Ranger and representative of Project Lightspeed, Terra Venture, Earth and the Alliance as whole privately found herself wondering if she would ever find herself anything less than awed by his presence.

"They certainly know how to put on a show" Kai murmured from beside her, seemingly sensing her thoughts and she could only nod in silent agreement; Jarl Ragnar stood at roughly seven feet and his skin was so extensively covered in tribal markings and tattoos that his true complexion was almost lost entirely beneath a sea of midnight black which blended into the pelt of some monstrous predator that he draped across his shoulder like a cloak with armour plainly visible beneath it whilst a fanged jawbone that had been dipped in some precious metal served as a crown and both the double-edged broadsword at his hip and axe slung over his shoulder completed the appearance of a fierce warrior King even if that was not the way Ragnar would describe himself. Everything about the appearance of Ragnar and the dozen or so members of his tribe that flanked him, acting as an honour guard with their weapons held at the ready was somehow amplified by their stark contrast with their surroundings as they marched through the streets of Terra Venture, the colony city, designed to resemble the North American cities that many of its' inhabitants had hailed from seeming far too small and mundane for such a procession despite the near reverence Earths' first foray into colonising other worlds was held in by much of humanity.

"But do they have to do it every time?" Kendrix asked with a gentle sigh as her eyes panned across the scene before her and she saw expressions that ranged from blank stoicism to outright terror on the faces of the Colonies' guards who lined the streets with a not inconsequential crowd around them.

"Of course" Kai grinned, something of the military man he had been trained to be rising to the surface "It's a show of force, just to remind everyone that the negotiations are on their terms….this is the polite way of doing things….better than pulling our pants down and measuring" Kendrix made a wordless sound of disgust at that but quickly brushed the comment aside with a roll of her eyes and focused on the matter at hand. Ever since Aslaug, Jarl Ragnar's only heir had become the Yellow Aegis Ranger and a de-facto citizen of the Alliance relations between Earths' colony and the admittedly fiercely independent tribe had slowly improved with talk of trade and cultural exchange being something that could be entertained rather than simply scoffed at and dismissed; as evidenced by the automated drone which trailed behind the Jarl and his envoy, its' wide flatbed supported by six wheels with oversized tires and carrying the supplies that the party had provisioned for their trip from their homelands, having flatly refused the offer of being flown or teleported out of naked distrust of the technology involved though they had taken the offer of improvements to their ships gratefully. The building Kai and Chen stood in front of was the equivalent to a city hall on the colony and was considered a government building under the auspice of the Alliance and yet was also partly operated by Project Lightspeed and Promethea who had commissioned, built and continued to operate the colony and its' infrastructure; the pair had chosen to wait outside so they would be plainly visible to Jarl Ragnar who had specifically requested that the Power Rangers who had come to his peoples' lands be the ones to mediate any and all negotiations, something that they could see was the correct choice as a broad smile, far warmer and more welcoming than one of have expected split the towering mans' face as he caught sight of them

"Star people!" his low rumbling voice carried through the ground as well as the air and was felt as much as it was heard

"Jarl Ragnar" Kai fought the urge to snap to attention as the behemoth of a man strode towards them, knowing by now that such gestures were never appreciated by the Frost Fang Tribe whilst Kendrix simply stepped forward and felt out a hand which was swallowed entirely by Ranger's own as he grasped it firmly before a single gesture from his free hand prompted each of his honour guard to lower their weapons

"What news of my daughters exploits? I trust Aslaug continues to write her saga in the stars" hints of countless emotions filled his voice as he spoke, pride most easily identifiable amongst them.

"She does, what tales reach us are of a hero whom the Alliance will remember for an age" Kendrix nodded solemnly, as a woman of science as well as being someone whom Jarl Ragnar respected the Pink Galaxy Ranger had been present in each of Terra Ventures' own envoys to the tribes' lands and she had found herself learning at least the basic of tenets and foundations that their culture was built upon as well as how to phrase things in ways that would be amenable to them; as was proven as Jarl Ragnar gave a pleased smile and behind the mountain of a man his retinue let out approving, if wordless grunts.

"My people have travelled far and need food, ale and rest"

"I'll have the escorted to the mess hall, they'll have a hot meal waiting for them there" Kai assured him, privately noting that it might be worth having the Lightspeed bases' canteen emptied of the rank and file before the envoy arrived as he contemplated the myriad ways that a meeting between the two groups could go disastrously; Ragnar accepted the gesture graciously with a nod

"We are permitted no such luxuries however" he lamented with a good natured chuckle "To business"

As if summoned by his words alone a vast presence manifested over Terra Venture.

A flash of blinding light and impossibly strong winds flung Ranger, civilian, infantryman and tribal warrior alike to the ground as a Dark Empire ship timed its' exit from warp travel so expertly that it returned to sub-light speeds and came to a halt directly above the colony city within the atmosphere of Mirinoi, blocking out the sun and darkening the sky with its' massive presence.

Then the sky was set ablaze once again as the monstrous axe-shaped vessel unleashed torrents of missiles and beams of scourging light into the city below it; the air being filled with the sound of screaming civilians as the crowd that had come to see the Jarl's arrival scattered in blind panic whilst the shrill shriek of alarms rose above it

"Stand and fight!" Ragnar roared, his sword and axe already in his hands as his retinue closed ranks around him and readied their weapons, each of them wearing hateful and enraged expressions as they sought out a target.

"They're not fighters!" Kai snapped before addressing the nearby soldiers "Get people to shelters! Now!" he then began scanning every possible angle of attack for the ground forces that he knew would come.

They arrived within moments.

"GO! GALACTIC!" Kai and Kendrix exclaimed in unison, flashes of blue and pink light engulfing them as they morphed the moment they heard a new sound rising above the chaos that had filled the streets of the city, a distinct warbling note issuing from a hundred or more sources at once as Putties came surging into view from various side streets.

"Get your people to safety, we'll handle this!" Kai barked as he sprinted away from the Frost Fang Tribe and towards the Putties only to find Jarl Ragnar keeping pace with him and sprinting ahead at the last moment, crashing over the automatons like a tidal wave of destruction; his axe cleaving bodies in two half a dozen at a time whilst his sword was forced through stony chest plates with ease, the Jarl letting out a fierce roar that seemed to split the sky with each Putty he unmade until finally one of their number landed a crushing blow to his skull and sent him staggering back with blood spilling from a split eyebrow. Ragnar prepared to simply tackle the thing to the ground in retaliation but before he could act it was reduced to shattered fragments by a single blow from Kai and instant later Kendrix had joined the fray, Ragnar's own honour guard several paces behind her and within moments the first wave of Putties had been utterly decimated, the two remaining Galaxy Rangers slipping between them with practised ease and leaving the Frost Fang Tribe standing in pure, undisguised shock as the processed the sight and finally understood exactly what it meant to be a Power Ranger.

Then the sunlight returned, stained and filtered by the smoke from the countless fires caused by the ships' barrage

"They….left?" Ragnar asked, almost affronted at the gall of such a cowardly opponent.

"No" Kai snarled

"They've hidden themselves and pulled back out of our reach so that we can't trap them….they're still here" Kendrix added equally scornfully

"And these are the monsters my Daughter slays? This is the kind of warrior she's become?" he gestured to the two Rangers before recovering his weapons from where they had fallen "Then it would be beneath me to not fight alongside you WARRIORS OF THE FROST FANG, TODAY WE FIGHT ALONGSIDE THE STAR PEOPLE!"

Kendrix and Kai were both grateful for the aid though both of them knew that it was far from enough; they needed the Aegis Rangers.

* * *

Aslaug and Tempestus, who had gone on to become better friends than one would expect upon their initial meeting had spent their day free from their extensive training regimen 'hanging out' as the humans called it, a concept which both of them had taken some time to adjust to.

Their current location was not one that their friends would have expected them to gravitate towards yet there was a reasoning that made sense, if only to the two of them behind it; both of them being warriors despite hailing from vastly different cultures had led to some friendly rivalry and bickering as they made their way through the city, Tempestus answering Aslaug's boasts regarding her own abilities by stating that he could subdue many of his worlds' apex predators without the need for violence which the child of Mirinoi admitted was impressive but quickly countered that not only could she do the same with her own worlds' beasts but that she could ride them afterwards; this had opened the floodgates for teasing as the Aquitian noted that whilst Aslaug could ride Panthera's motorbike all of the Rangers knew about how Aslaug had struggled with roller-skates on one of her dates with Mercy.

From there the gauntlet had been thrown down and the pair had made their way to a skate park.

Aslaug noted as she sat on some railings close to a half-pipe ramp that it was fortunate that the park was currently deserted, its' usual crowds all likely still in school considering the hour; she was sure that neither she nor Tempestus wanted to be laughed at by children for their inexperience. A point that was highlighted as Tempestus came flying off of the skateboard that they had purchased on the way before rolling and sliding to the base of the half-pipe in a crumpled and undignified heap.

"Decidedly not groovy" he grumbled before dragging himself to his feet and making his way over to Aslaug with only the slightest of limps and siting beside her; long sleeved and unbuttoned floral shirt trailing behind him in the breeze whilst the Yellow Ranger looked as imposing as always in a leather jacket that complimented her tribal markings

"I thought that with all your peoples' machinery you have mastered the wheel" Aslaug noted with a soft chuckle

"It's harder to fall off of water" Tempestus replied "Your falls were gnarly as well" Aslaug lacked the context that made much of the Blue Ranger's vernacular as entertaining as Mercy found it and instead simply glanced down at her ripped jeans and shrugged. The two remained in peaceful silence for a moment before Aslaug quietly mused

"You've been happier since your parents arrived, it's good to see"

"I am" Tempestus nodded "You're all most Bodacious but there's something different about having my own people around me once again….Even if one of them is Blademaster Corcus….You miss your tribe?" his coral pink eyes were on Aslaug, reading her closely and she simply nodded

"I do….Speaking with Justin and knowing that she's one of Mercy's, if not parents then the closest thing she has makes me want to see my own father again" her smile was gentle as she added "I wonder what he'd make of Mercy"

"In human custom meeting your partners' parents is a sign of the relationship becoming serious" Tempestus noted offhandedly "Mother tells me that meeting Fathers' family for the first time was an interesting affair" Aslaug didn't respond, far too occupied by her own thought which had been whipped into a frenzy by Tempestus's words as she contemplated just how serious she and Mercy were and what it might mean.

Her thoughts were interrupted mere moments later by the sound of their communicators

"Understood" Tempestus's voice became businesslike and toneless as he received the message before turning to Aslaug and nodding silently; conveying the message that they were about to be teleported a moment before the familiar tingling feeling and shimmering specks of coloured light began to take hold.

An instant later the pair were in the Command Centre, where they were joined by Kimberley, Billy, the projection of Zebidiah Lord within one of the tubes which held his consciousness along with their fellow Aegis Rangers.

"We have a situation" Kimberley began, seemingly stating the obvious as a way to prepare the Rangers for bad news "The Astro Rangers were following a Dark Empire fleet which was using a teleportation gate to enter Alliance space. The gate was destroyed and much of the fleet was either damaged or stranded however the Astro Megaship was lost-"

"Are-"

"Andros is fine, as are the other Rangers" Billy interjected, with as much warmth as he could muster "They pursued the fleets' flagship in Elgar's ship, unfortunately they were forced to maintain a safe distance to avoid detection and the Galaxy Rangers report that the ship, verified as the Draco-Ocidendum has attacked Terra Venture on Mirinoi. On screen" at the former Blue Ranger's request the central viewing globe was activated showing footage, created from a hundred different sources of the vast warship appearing above the colony and opening fire.

"This is a set up" Panthera's low and smokey voice rose above the gasps of horror from the Command Centre staff and all eyes turned towards the teal-skinned alien "Dropping from warp to sub-light inside of a planets' atmosphere, with a ship that size? I'm surprised they didn't break it in half….That's making a statement"

"Panthera makes a sound point" Zebidiah's projected form growled "The ship has since retreated and cloaked itself, meaning that its' initial appearance was almost certainly calculated to draw our attention; likely to stop us from tracking the remainder of its' fleet to the Dark Empires' base of operations"

"It's a distraction we can't ignore" Kimberley noted "Putties and ground troops have been deployed in large numbers along with a monster leading the attack; the Galaxy Rangers have already moved to engage but there's only two of them and they don't have Zords….the Astro Rangers are still inbound" at her words the image on the viewing globe changed to show a live feed of the Dark Empire's forces locked in battle with Terra Ventures' defenders; at their head was a creature whose repulsive form almost defied description.

"Great, another one with too many arms" Panthera noted with a resigned sigh; the thing was tall and emaciated with corpse-white flesh that seemed to moult and slough off of its' body with each jerking and unpredictable movement. Whilst its' form was roughly humanoid its' ribcage seemed to have to distorted and misshapen to accommodate its' maw, monsters' head was nearly featureless dome of flesh featuring only a pair of beady black eyes and protruding, snout-like nostrils whilst its' lower jaw stretched and distended down to its' abdomen and was lined with rows of hooked and jagged teeth. The arms that Panthera were long, spindly things that featured more joints than one might expect and each of them ended in a bony blade over a foot in length that had been sheathed in metal and sharpened, of equal concern was the fact that it sported six of these bladed appendages.

"That mouth is….Jawful" Mercy paused and shook her head before reconsidering and searching for a new moniker for the beast "Ortha-Don't-ist?"

"I think we'll stick with Jawful cousin" Kay murmured with amused shake of their head

Aslaug didn't hear them.

Her icy blue eyes were wide at the sight of several figures clad in furs and leathers wielding swords, axes and war-hammers against Putties and contingents of Dark Empire infantry; their weapons shattering stone automatons with ease but being little match for the ranged weapons which spat lances of burning light into their midst, at their head was a man Aslaug would know anywhere.

"No" she breathed out in terror at the sight of her father charging into battle against the Dark Empire. Hearing her tone Mercy had fallen silent and was beside her in an instant as she realised exactly who the tribal warriors must be the moment she saw them.

"Teleport us there! We'll clear out the Putties enough for the Silver Guardians to push 'em back while the Galaxy Rangers hold the monster off" the Red Ranger spoke with unshakeable authority and her eyes blazed as she gave her superior officers what could only be considered an order.

"You heard her!" Kimberley barked, her words spurring the Command Centre into action whilst Mercy herself turned to Aslaug and firmly squeezed her hand and meeting her gaze for a brief moment before giving the command that each of the Aegis Rangers knew would come

"It's Morphing time!"

* * *

Jarl Ragnar had been left shocked, dumbfounded and for the first time in many years he would admit, truly afraid for his life as it was made clear to him in the most brutal of terms that the star people and the Empire which they fought against made war in a way that was far beyond anything the myths and sagas of his people could describe. Where Trakeena and her forces had turned Mirinoi to stone with magic that crept and washed over the planet the Dark Empire sought to destroy everything in their path with fire and stone. Kai and Kendrix had ploughed through more Putties, living stone which fought with reckless abandon and felt no pain before hurling themselves at a creature that was truly the stuff of nightmares with its' monstrous, gaping maw, flailing bladed limbs and its' diseased, rotting flesh; even now Ragnar suppressed a shudder at thought of the way the thing lunged and slashed as the Pink and Blue Galaxy Rangers weaved around its' assault before focusing himself on the matter at hand and breaking the skull of a Putty open with the blade of his axe before burying his sword in its' chest as it continued to thrash and flail.

Then a beam of sickly yellow light ripped through the air close enough to him that the fur cloak he wore burned and smouldered as the beam pierced through it before leaving a deep, bloody and blackened wound carved across the chest of one of his honour guard, the warrior frantically trying to unfasten armour that now glowed and smoked as it burned him; more of his tribe quickly pulling their injured comrade out of the line of fire as another beam of light ripped into the ground beside him.

Ragnar turned and caught sight of the attackers, one of the vehicles used by the people of Terra Venture had been thrown onto its' side and behind it were a pair of Dark Empire soldiers; not their living stone constructs but instead a pair of creatures with cyan skin and the eyes and mouths of an insect which the Jarl could only describe as demons of the foulest kind wearing armour like nothing he had ever seen before and carrying weapons that bared only a passing resemblance to the 'laser-blasters' wielded by the Alliance's own warriors. The leader of the Frost Fang Tribe could accept that he knew nothing of these weapons but one thing remained certain in his mind.

Archery was a cowards' way to win a war.

"TO ME!" his roar split the air and as he charged those members of his honour guard who still drew breath and had the strength to stand rushed after him, weapons in hand and war-cries spilling from them as they surged towards their enemy. Beams of light burned through the air around the Jarl yet none managed to strike him and within moments he had drawn close enough to lunge at the creatures who shot at his people from behind cover. He hurled his axe into the underside of the vehicle that they had crouched behind with enough force to send it sliding back several inches in a cacophony of screeching metal, leaving the aliens stunned and reeling as they were knocked back by the blow; the first two recover made to aim over the chassis of the car.

Only for Ragnar's sword to burst through their mandibles and out of the back of their skull as the mountain of a man leapt onto the car.

The second alien turned and ran, yet was caught and cut down by the Frost Fang Tribe as they surged around the vehicle and gave chase; showing that as dangerous as the enemy may be they were still fierce warriors and would face down whatever beasts opposed them. Ragnar himself let out a wordless yell at the victory and wiped his felled enemies' oily blue blood from his blade before holding his sword aloft.

Just as more Putties came rushing into view from further down the street, drawn by the sound of gunfire and combat

"CHARGE!" Ragnar bellowed, hurling himself from the upturned car and carrying himself ahead of his people with a single powerful leap and bursting into motion; his axe forgotten behind him as he hurtled towards these new adversaries. The Putties came at them undeterred and the Jarl realised that whatever these stone men were they had no hearts or souls and were truly immune to a display of might that would have broken the spirit and formations of a lesser enemy before the Frost Fang even reached them.

Then he was brought skidding to a halt as brightly coloured lights set the air before him ablaze once again.

This time however the streak of yellow was of a more vibrant shade and joined by a flash of deep red and as the lights subsided Jarl Ragnar, along with the rest of his warriors was treated to the sight of a pair of Power Ranger crashing into the Putties. These Power Rangers were of a different kind to those who called Terra Venture their home, their suits featuring a stylised lightning bolt design and right arms which were pristine white in colour and whilst the Red Ranger's helmet was made to evoke some avian predator the Yellow Ranger's was clearly made in the image of the Ursa-Titan which stalked the Frost River Tribe's own lands.

The pair fought seamlessly, the Red Ranger delivering a spinning heel kick to the chest of the first Putty they reached and flinging its' crumbling body backwards before flinging herself into an acrobatic kick that carried her out of the Yellow Ranger's path just as the two of the taller of the two women stampeded into the automatons, several bodies being shattered beneath her fists before she manifested a single bladed, battleaxe whose blade glowed golden yellow and reducing at least ten Putties to nothing but dust and fragments with a single wide, arcing swing of the weapon with force that rippled the air around her. A moment later the Red Ranger had leapt onto the head of the axe and vaulted into the rapidly thinning horde, manifesting a long, curved sword with a crimson blade in her hands as she fell on Putties and cleaved through them with ease.

Faster than Ragnar or his warriors could believe possible the Putties were gone and the Power Rangers had turned to face them, their weapons dissolving into showers of incandescent light before the yellow Ranger reached up to her helmet and removed it.

"Father" Aslaug breathed out, relief radiating from her as she took in the sight of the bloodied but unbeaten man, neither she nor Ragnar paying any heed to the murmurs that passed through the warriors

"We heard that Mirinoi had been attacked"

"And the stories that reach Terra Venture are true….you are a slayer of monsters" Ragnar beamed with pride at his daughter, stepping close enough to place his hands on her shoulders before giving a pointed glance at the Red Ranger; who after a matching glance from Aslaug seemed to sense that keeping her face covered in the presence of the Jarl was unbecoming. Removing the helmet she revealed herself to a young woman of roughly the same age as Aslaug herself, with deep brown eyes, light brown skin with slightly round cheeks dusted with freckles and curly dark hair whose tips had been dyed the same red as her armour.

Before she could be introduced the sound of shifting rubble came from behind them and the Red Ranger had sprung into action in an instant, the lone Putty which had survived the destruction despite missing its' entire right arm had burst up from the debris and lumbered towards Aslaug, swinging a stony fist at the back of her unprotected head only for the Red Ranger to place herself between the two and drive her knee into the things' chest with crushing force.

Ragnar paused for a moment, taking stock of the speed and ferocity this girl had acted with and the way that she remained almost pressed against his daughter's back as she watched the destroyed Putties with the eyes of a hawk for any more signs of movement and finally the looks that the two of them gave one another before he found himself wearing a smile, despite the battle still raging in the city around them as he locked eyes with his daughter and gave her a single knowing look and she held his gaze before giving a single nod in response.

"Introductions then" the Jarl rumbled though once again he was denied, this time the distraction came in the form of four more Power Rangers wearing armour that resembled Aslaug's own, coloured in black, green, blue and pink with the latter sporting a tail much to Ragnar's surprise.

"Kai and Kendrix need help!" one of them called out and both Aslaug and her partner donned their helmets once again; the Red Ranger turned to Ragnar and beneath her helmet he could tell that she wore a smile as she spoke

"My name's Mercy and these are the Aegis Rangers; we'll back as soon as we slay another monster"

* * *

The Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum resembled the blasted and volcanic surface of the world of Wyvern from which its' Captain hailed; its various stations and control panels were set into a floor layered with uneven slabs of scorched and blackened rock, the spaces between each craggy surface glowing with a fiery orange that cast looming shadows across the bridge as it lit the space from below; the motif continued to the walls though it became more ornate as it did so, with the slabs and fragments of rock forming ornate mosaics depicting the unification and conquest of Wyvern by the first Acheron Hybrid to be born on the planet whilst around them were banners and macabre trophies taken from fallen enemies in the form of skull and pillaged weapons and armour mounted and displayed with pride. Each of the consoles was encased in a layer of some black, glass-like substance native to Wyvern intended to protect the delicate machinery within from the baking heat that the bridge was kept at and operated by a draconic and armoured figure, warriors of Wyvern with scales that ranged in colour from the greens and purples of noxious smog to blazing incandescent yellows and fiery reds; each warrior was attended by a small group of juvenile warriors of the same species whose beak like maws were yet to harden and whose wings were too large for their bodies, hanging about them like robes as they attended the warriors like serfs and squires.

Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name and Captain of the Draco-Ocidendum surveyed his domain from a throne built on a raised platform in the centre of the bridge crafted from bones, ivory and skins; making it as imposing as it was comfortable whilst behind him and arranged in a semicircle were the youngest members of his crew, children of both his own species and various others who served aboard his warship formed into a choir to recite the traditional Wyvern battle-hymns and give the proceedings their due sense of gravitas.

"What news from the surface?" Carnifex demanded without raising his voice

"The Alliance has more soldiers at their disposal than anticipated sire" one of his bridge crew lamented "Combined with their war machines they're gaining the upper hand"

"Putties can be replaced" the Captain answered simply, the reason for the homogeneous make-up his bridge crew becoming painfully apparent; those warriors who had been sent to Terra Venture and were presumably being cut down in droves were not of Wyvern and simply did not matter to the draconian hybrid, they were lesser creatures and simple riff-raff who existed to be used as tool no less than the Putties did and the fact they could not be so easily replaced was of no consequence.

"And what of the leader of the attack?" he enquired with feigned disinterest, as savage and repugnant as the six-armed monstrosity that had led the attack was they were still an Acheron Hybrid, even if they had been birthed on a world with no sapient life and their intelligence had been sapped by the inclusion of genetic material from simple beasts.

"Engaging the Power Rangers sire" one of his warriors answered, piquing Carnifex's interest as the battle was displayed on the ships' viewscreen; a fellow hybrid scoring a decisive victory against a foe as hated as the Power Rangers would inspire feelings of sinking fear and loathing in many Captains of the Dark Empire's fleet as might prove to be the beginnings of a challenge to their own position, giving the upstart enough renown to climb the ranks.

Carnifex watched eagerly and with rapt attention, relishing the possibility of a worthy challenger after so many years of stagnancy.

The Pink and Blue Galaxy Rangers came rolling to a stop after being hurled back by the hybrid whose name Carnifex was uncertain of, if the bestial thing even had one at all and before they could fully recover the thing let out a murderous howl, viscous mucus flying in all directions whilst its' claws tore into the ground as it prepared to charge, yet before it could gather any momentum it was flung back itself by a burst of emerald green light which preceded six more Power Rangers surging onto the battlefield and rallying around their still recovering predecessors

"So, these are the Aegis Rangers?" Carnifex murmured, eyes narrowing as he regarded them carefully; any force that could halt the advance of Lord Zedd himself was not to be underestimated.

"Shall I prepare you for teleportation sire?" this question came from a younger voice, that of one of his own squires whom Carnifex brushed aside with a wave of his mechanical left arm.

"Not yet" he chuckled darkly "Your eagerness is commendable hatchling, but your impropriety is not….This is merely a skirmish to entertain the rabble; we are after all still waiting for our most esteemed guests and it would be rude to start in earnest without them"

* * *

"Eight Rangers, six arms….I like these odds Jawful" Mercy beamed as she braced herself, the Aegis and Galaxy Rangers following suit behind her whilst the monster merely screamed and howled in response, seemingly capable of little more than simple bloodlust and base instinct

"Careful" Kendrix warned "It's not intelligent but I wouldn't exactly call it stupid….and I'm no expert but I don't think that it's entirely natural" Mercy nodded in understanding, taking the comment to mean that the monster before them was an Acheron hybrid rather than simply a highly capable warrior of its' species or even the kind of entirely aberrant horror that the Dark Empire occasionally fielded and adjusted her estimations of the things abilities accordingly, knowing that hybrids were without a doubt the most dangerous fighters that the enemy had at their disposal.

"How do you want to do this?" Kai asked cautiously, Quasar Sabre at the ready as he kept an eye on the monster which continued to trail spittle and mucus as it eyed the Rangers in turn and lurched around them in search of an opening.

"Quickly" the Red Ranger answered simply, considering a moment longer before adding "You two help Kay hold it, we'll form the Power Blaster….just be sure to get clear at the last minute"

"On it" with their plan decided Kendrix and Kai rushed out after the Green Aegis Ranger whose glowing gladius manifested in their palm and the three of them threw themselves at the creature Mercy had named 'Jawful' just as it lunged at them with its' many blades poised and ready; the lowest of its' three pairs of limbs came arcing inwards in a hacking motion aimed at Kendrix's knees which she responded to by leaping onto the blades before back-flipping away just as the monsters' gaping maw shot forwards and closed with a sickeningly wet sucking sound. Kai reached the monster a moment later only to be batted aside as it tucked all of its' limbs close to its' self and rapidly unfurled them with enough force to send a strong wind howling through the open plaza in which the fight was taking place; finally Kay made to close the distance which Jawful responded to by opening their monstrous, yawning mouth wide again and vomiting forth a tide of steaming bile and viscera which forced the Green Ranger to a halt, their blade and hands glowing with ethereal light as the vile substance was evaporated on contact.

Seeing that their quarry was distracted with the Green Aegis Ranger who sank their blade into the ground and proved themselves to be a truly immovable object Kendrix and Kai shared a glance before rushing into the fray once again and leaping into the air, delivering twin flying kick with perfect synchronisation and following up with equally coordinated swipes of their Quasar sabres to send Jawful staggering back, howling in rage and pain. Kay was on the attack a moment later, using the crossed blades of the Galaxy Ranger's weapons as a springboard to vault into the air and deliver a slashing attack, charged with the Power itself which hurled the monster to the ground, ripping away chunks of its' putrid flesh and filling the air with the stench of burning, rotting meat.

"Hold it now!" Mercy called out as the Aegis Rangers readied their combined weapon and the trio nodded, preparing to subdue the beast as it rose to its' feet again.

It retaliated with vengeful fury.

The tips of Jawful's bladed limbs began to glow with a poisonous greenish yellow light before the monster thrust each of its' six arms forwards and unleashed a maelstrom of blasts, projecting pulsating bolts of some arcane energy at both groups of Rangers and sending all eight of its' attackers crashing to the ground with their weapons vanishing in showers of light and their armour scorched and smoking as the attack ripped through their midst.

"Overpower it!" Mercy called out as she dragged herself to her feet and prepared to charge again; both Kai and Kendrix were once again the first to reach the monster as its' barrage of attacks subsided yet Jawful seemed to be fuelled with fresh hatred and fervour and its' jerking, unstable movements had become, if not more agile then at least faster and far more precise; the Blue Galaxy Ranger's charging attack was neatly sidestepped and countered with a low sweep of a bladed limb that tore the ground from beneath him that sent him reeling and when Kendrix joined the fray she was quickly outmatched, seizing a claw aimed at the visor of her helmet with both hands only for several more to slash at her armour and leave her crashing backwards with jets of fuchsia sparks issuing from the gouges in her armour.

The onslaught continued but was once again weathered as Mercy and Aslaug collided with the hybrid, the Red Ranger's spinning heel kick stunning the burned and bloody monster long enough for Aslaug to land an earth shattering haymaker which left something within Jawful's lumpen mound of a skull clearly broken and misshapen only for the beast to stab at them with its' six arms focused into a single point before lashing out and tossing them both aside. Tempestus, Kay and Panthera charged as one and Jawful rushed out them, howling in defiance once again as it rampaged through them, batting Rangers aside and scoring deep gouges in their armour with ease.

Rensa saw the beast turn its' attention towards him and braced himself, the thing thought like a berserk animal with little regard to strategy or any goal other than destroying whatever was in its' path; the Black Ranger and his people had hunted many such beasts for their meat on his home-world though this one would undoubtedly be far more challenging and he remained cautious as the two circled each other slowly, Jawful seeming to sense some primal, predatory aura that the last Ranger standing gave off. The monster quickly overcame its' hesitation however and charged, crossing much of the distance between them in a single bounding pace and putting Rensa firmly on the defensive.

Then it was sent hurtling backwards as a flash of crimson light struck its' face with crushing force as a figure leapt between them.

"It's good to see you again Rensa"

"Andros!" the Black Ranger's voice was breathy with simple disbelief, he had known that the Astro Rangers were following the Dark Empire ship that had attacked Terra Venture but he had been unprepared for this reunion; the shock of seeing his mentor and the closest thing he had to a father again delayed the inevitable tempest of emptions that would doubtlessly come as the Red Astro Ranger turned to face him, the glow that engulfed his right fist slowly dissipating; Rensa cast his eyes around the battlefield and saw that Jawful was struggling to its' feet as Zhane, Karone and even Elgar quickly pulled the Aegis and Galaxy Rangers from the ground and as he turned back to Andros Rensa couldn't help but give a savage smile; eleven Rangers and a space pirate against one monster was hardly a battle at all.

And then the Black Ranger watched what felt like the end of the world.

It happened quicker than he could react to, the teleportation was a flash of crimson light and an unearthly wail directly behind Andros and before Rensa could push him aside or even let out a yell the attack came;

Carnifex of Wyvern had joined the fray and lunged forwards before the faint whoosh of air caused by his entrance had faded. Rensa saw Andros's body stiffen and sag a moment before his Morphed state failed and a dark stain began to spread across his grey fatigues.

"A fitting end for the leader of a band of vagabonds and instigators" the monstrous reptilian cyborg spoke softly and with a thoughtful air yet Rensa barely heard him at all, every fibre of his being was instead focused on Andros's body as it slid along the blade of Carnifex's double edged and serrated broadsword which had burst through his chest, finally hitting the ground with a dull thud where it remained lifeless and unmoving.

Rensa looked Carnifex in the face and abandoned all reason and restraint.

**Author's Notes:**

So, two out of four chapters in this arc done and I before I say anything else….I need you all to put the pitchforks down.  
Also, a little note; the name of Aslaug's tribe is the Frost Fang but halfway through this chapter I caught myself writing the Frost Claw and had to go back and correct it, I'm gonna back through the story to see if I've been making that mistake for a while and just not noticed but did any of you see me doing that and just not mention it?  
I've been having ideas for Kamen Rider OCs after watching Zero-One, now I can promise it's gonna be a while before those plans become anything solid because a) I wanna see how Zero-One ends and b) time exists despite what current events have done to our perception thereof.  
Also, I feel like there's something else I need to mention here but I have no idea what it is.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?  
Bet you didn't see Jarl Ragnar again, he hasn't shown up since chapter 01 but since he did you knew that Kai and Kendrix were gonna see some action.  
"_Every time"_ so in the months the Rangers have been active you can assume that the Frost Fang have became less isolationist.  
Okay about Kai's dialogue, I can't remember enough about his character to write him from memory and let's be honest a lot of characters are one-note in canon anyway, that being said he's also military and I know soldiers, I'm related to a few, there's a certain sense of humour that's common in the forces that can't be used in a kids' show.  
Star People is what the Frost Fang call anyone not born on Mirinoi; Star-born is what Panthera is, a term for someone born on a spaceship whose citizenship/home-world is a matter can be called into question.  
Kendrix speaks space Viking now, enjoy that image.  
That ship dropped out of warp way lower than Dark Empire ships normally do, hence the effect it had.  
Jarl Ragnar of the Frost Fang Tribe does not cower and hide when a fight starts….but also, he's just a guy; getting hit in the face by a Putty is like getting hit with a brick.  
That moment where it hits him_ "Oh shit, this is what my daughter deals with now"  
_We didn't see them last chapter, so have Aslaug and Tempestus being buddies.  
Tempestus isn't joking, we saw him handle the Plesion his Zord is based on in chapter one.  
Look I don't know where the idea of the Aquitian who speaks in 80s/90s slang and the space Viking trying to skateboard came from, but I do that I found it amusing….especially when you add _"Free Ride"_ by Dan Hartman to the background.  
Firstly, Billy introducing Cestria; imagine….secondly, this is the other end of Mari and Mercy's conversation last chapter.  
Panthera is an ex smuggler, she's been around the galaxy and in more spaceships than anyone else in that room including Billy so when she says_ "You don't drop from light-speed to sub-light unless you're trying to get all the attention"_ you believe her.  
Jawful's design feels as sloppy as its' name but look, they're a monster of the week and we all know it….it was originally gonna more resemble the Production series EVA from Evangelion but moved away from that design after a few Google searches.  
Kay hasn't called Mercy_ 'Cousin' _for a while.  
And now Aslaug has got that extra motivation.  
Space Viking just got shown that there's a big, mean, scary galaxy out there and Trakeena is far from the nastiest thing in it.  
The only aliens that the Frost Fang have met are people from Earth, so naturally bipedal bug-men with lasers are 'demons' to them….wonder how they're gonna take all the Aegis Ranger's other than Mercy 'cos none of 'em look strictly human.  
"_Archery was a cowards' way to win a war" _as a 40k player, fuck gun-line armies.  
Of course it was the Mercy & Aslaug tag-team.  
"_Aslaug the monster slayer"_ has a nice ring to it.  
Yep Ragnar took one look at Aslaug and Mercy and knew everything he needed to.  
I didn't give you a description of the bridge of Carnifex's ship last chapter, so here it is….like the other Command Bridges I show its' designed to give some insight into the character the vessel belongs to and the culture that made them….this guy literally has a choir of dragon-people babies behind him so that he has suitably epic music for space battles and his crew aren't just technicians, they're all Knights with their own squires and serfs attending to them.  
Carnifex is that old-school warrior culture that the Dark Empire had; he's not gonna back-stab a potential rival like Paradoxa would, he wants to fight them face to face with an audience.  
You knew he was waiting for the Astro Rangers to show up, leading them along was the whole reason he came to Mirinoi.  
Jawful is a hybrid, but not a smart one.  
"_You hold it, we'll shoot it" _isn't exactly the worst plan.  
Pressurised vomit stream and magic-Gatling-claws….this thing can definitely hold its' own, even if it is barely sentient.  
Once again I'm having to break fights up into more manageable chunks because that many Rangers fighting something with that many arms is gonna get stupid if everyone rushes in at once.  
I just liked the idea of the monster looking at Rensa and one apex predator recognising another.  
There's what we were waiting for, Andros showing up with the punch that's totally not a Rider Kick.  
Did you really think that I was gonna make a point of showcasing a new Dark Empire General, put the most Rangers in one place we've seen at any point during this story in an arc titled "A Vulgar Display of Violence" and nobody was going to get shuffled of this mortal coil? Oh you sweet summer child.

Thank you to Super ShadowHenshin and Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
I mean Tommy was already bleeding and heavily injured before her even got to Zedd….also, what on Earth makes you think it was a one on one fight? In my head the last few to make the final push after Tommy had given the fall back order were Tommy and Ninjor who were the last to go, along with a couple of others who Zedd cleaned out in the first few hits.  
Trust me a lot of thought goes into how the Zords are going to fit together, because I want my Zord formations to actually look functional and not just_ "Look we bolted stuff on" (Cough like every Ultrazord yet)_.  
I'm glad people liked the Astro Ultrazord and all of its' Gundam vibes.  
It's interesting that the space battle gave you Star Wars vibes because they way they were using teleportation to out-flank the Empire was actually inspired by the Spore Drive in Star Trek Discovery.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	38. No Good - Attack The Radical

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 37 – No Good _(Attack the Radical)_**

Andros was dead and as his body lay unmoving on the ground, a pool of blood steadily expanding beneath him Rensa quickly began to see the world through a deep red haze as his entire being was reduced and refined into pure, insensate rage.

Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name was a consummate warrior and had been for longer than many creatures entire lifespans; facing down both monstrous wildlife and massive armies rallied against him both on his own volcanic home world and in the service of Lord Zedd and his Dark Empire, often without weapons or armour and yet despite it all the draconian Acheron hybrid was unable to fight the feeling of his blood running cold at the sound of the primal scream of grief and unspeakable hatred that issued from his adversary.

Then the Black Ranger charged.

Asphalt cracked and a shallow trench was carved into the ground as Rensa collided with him with enough force to fling him backwards until Carnifex drove his still bloodstained sword into the ground and used both to bring himself to a halt and drag himself to his feet.

"You fight like an untrained ruffian" Carnifex asserted coldly only for Raffia to launch himself into another screaming and berserk stream of frenzied attacks; leaping into the air and somersaulting as he delivered an axe kick to the broadest part of Carnifex's elongated snout and skull, sending him staggering forwards as the Black Ranger landed behind him and hurled himself backwards, driving his elbow into the hybrids' spine and tearing a grunt of pain from him before manifesting his daggers in twin coronas of midnight black.

The clang of blades reverberated through the open plaza, rising above even the sound of the other battle that raged on close by.

Carnifex gave the closest thing to a sneer that his armoured, axe like snout would allow as he stared into the opaque and reflective surface of the Black Ranger's visor and felt the young mans' baleful glare from behind it as though it were a physical thing; he had whirled around and held his ornately monstrous blade out horizontally to block a pair of stabbing attacks intended to pierce through his shoulder blades and likely his heart as well. With a wordless snort of derision and an almost effortless flick of the wrist he swung his sword out in a wide arc aimed at the Black Ranger's neck only for Rensa to once again showcase his agility by back-flipping over the blade and kicking it aside, leaving Carnifex staggering and trying to regain his balance as he landed in a crouch, muscles coiled before surging upwards with his daggers at the ready and leaving sparks trailing from in the points where metal surfaces met as the blades scored fine gouges into the armour of Carnifex's snout-like face.

From there the two were simply a blur of motion that no mere human could hope to comprehend as more than streaks of crimson and obsidian whose movements were accompanied by a cacophony of ground-shaking impacts. The reptilian hybrid unleashing a maelstrom of powerful blows that would have ended a lesser opponent with ease or torn through any armoured rampart or bulkhead they were directed at, yet against the Black Ranger he could strike nothing but air whilst Rensa, whose furious war-cries had abated proved that his bloodlust had not been diminished as he flitted around his larger and admittedly far stronger opponent; fighting in the manner that the world of Dread had taught him with one well placed, opportunistic blow after another, kept at bay only by Carnifex's near unrivalled skill.

After several dozen such exchanges of blows of saurian warriors' patience reached its' limits and he simply drove his sword into the ground and Andros's blood, which still stained its' blade sizzled and boiled as a fiery golden glow enveloped both the weapon and the eyes of its' wielder before a dome of brightly glowing light which had the appearance of ephemeral flames burst outwards and flung the Black Ranger back, his morphed state flickering around him as he dragged himself back to his feet with a pained hiss and took several limping steps back towards Carnifex whose chest heaved with exertion even as the blade of his sword remained wreathed in golden fire.

"Enough" the draconian warrior spat "My curiosity and martial pride have both been satisfied. I hoped to meet a warrior on the field of battle, instead I see an unruly whelp given power above their station….it's time to end this farce" Rensa made no effort to reply, the only sound to leave his lips being another crazed and terrifying shriek as he rushed towards his opponent at blinding speeds with murderous intent once again.

Carnifex was ready for him.

His mechanical left wing unfurled, each of the jagged metallic plates stylised to resemble the membranous appendage he had lost spreading wide to reveal an advanced weapon of some kind, three rotating barrels extending out to a little over a foot in length and roaring into life and launching a volley of attacks, burst of white light having a distinctly warped, bass sound to it and causing a booming explosion as it struck the ground; the salvo ripping through Rensa's path and sending the Black Ranger crashing to the ground once again. Rensa felt his daggers shatter and dissolve in his hands and his armour ripple around him; the heat and concussive force of the blasts knocking the air from his lungs and visibly ripping his clothes as his morphed state fluctuated yet he was back on his feet in an instant, aching and burning muscles screaming in process as he forced himself to lurch forward one agonising step at a time with teeth clenched and shoulders sagging with the effort.

Carnifex struck again.

The Black Ranger's near preternatural reflexes were the only thing that spared him from certain death as his opponent crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye yet the attack was still a devastating one; he thrust his flaming sword forwards and Rensa managed to weave to the side and dodge just enough for the blade to tear into the side of his helmet and partially shatter its' surface, ripping away a little less than half of it rather than simply piercing his skull and before he could react Carnifex followed through with a palm strike from his mechanical left hand that sent him crashing to the ground several feet away.

With his helmet broken and his green-tinged, glossy black hair plastered to his deathly pale flesh the Black Ranger looked a sorry sight; the rage in his bottomless black eyes being replaced by fear as Carnifex bore down on him once more.

* * *

"RENSA NEEDS HELP!" Mercy's voice was a near ragged scream as she bolted towards where the Black Ranger fought against the newly arrived threat who had already laid Andros low; only for the ground to explode beneath her feet and her flying through the air as Jawful unleashed bolts of pulsating and sickly greenish yellow light from the tips of its' claws, the full might of the attack being focused on the Red Ranger leaving her armour smoking and blackened as she struggled to stand. Where Jawful had been a frenzied attacker before, now they were a rampaging force of nature that would not be contained or denied

"We need help!" Elgar exclaimed with an irritable huff as he parried a flurry of wild slashes from the monster with his cutlass before being forced to roll aside as it lunged forwards and drove all six of its' talons forwards. Kay came rushing in to deliver a punishing blow to the monsters' head, their fist glowing with emerald light yet it was to no avail as Jawful whipped around to face them and vomited forth a stream of steaming and faintly glowing bile which scorched and corroded their armour on contact.

Mercy's heart hammered in her chest and her mouth was dry, the weight of the decisions she would have to make causing a dull pounding in her skull as she realised that the alien pirate was right and that Rensa would have to hold the line alone; though as she dared to glance in his direction she saw that he was trading blows with his dragon-like opponent at lightning speed and that fact reassured her, if only a little.

"Everyone rush it!" she called out, manifesting her katana as she charged into the fray once more and was joined by the Blue, Yellow, Pink and Green Aegis Rangers, Blue and Pink Galaxy Rangers, Pink and Silver Astro Rangers surrounding the monster as they charged, yet it simply tucked its' claws in close to its' body and rapidly unfurled them again to send a rush of gale force wind that struck the Rangers like a physical blow, halting their advance and sending them crashing to the ground whilst Jawful quickly turned and surged towards those who had made to attack it from behind.

Mercy watched as Panthera used her own curved blades to hold the things' claws at bay whilst Karone weaved between them and levelled her blaster at the distended and oversized jaw that lay flat along its' chest, pained shrieks and the scent of burning, rotting flesh filling the air as she fired until the monster managed to thrash and struggle free of the attack and sent the two Pink Rangers rolling aside. Aslaug was the next to test her might against the monster and she manifested her axe in a flash of golden yellow light as she thundered towards Jawful only for its' powerful limbs to catch her weapon as she swung, the ground cracking beneath them as they each struggled to overpower one another.

Mercy was in motion before ever consciously making the decision.

Time slowed to a crawl as she channelled power into the blade of her katana, its' crimson blade beginning to glow as she closed the distance and from the corner of her eye she saw that she was not alone; Zhane had vaulted from Tempestus's staff and hurled himself into the air, deploying the blade of his unique weapon which now crackled with lightning as he fell towards the monster and prepared to strike.

Aslaug broke free of the grapple and leapt aside with such ease that Mercy was almost forced to wonder if the Yellow Ranger had been simply holding Jawful in place so that she could attack it all along and a moment later she and Zhane struck in almost perfect unison; sending the creature hurtling backwards with lightning crackling over its' ruined body.

Yet still it lived.

The monster staggered to its' feet screaming in rage as blood poured from countless wounds to its' putrid flesh which had been burned and sloughed away to reveal bone and tendons in several places and as it panted and snarled, bracing itself for another attack Mercy seemed to sense that this would be the end one way or another.

"Get ready!" she called out, planting her feet and shifting her weight as the things claws began to glow once again; vaguely aware of the fellow Rangers readying their own weapons around her and in a single instant that seemed to stretch out forever they charged and Jawful unleashed a storm of attacks.

Then something entirely unexpected happened.

The flurry of attacks came to a halt and Jawful let out several choked, retching and pained sounds and the Rangers came skidding to a halt, utterly stunned by the sight of Elgar and the monster locked together; the pirates' sword lodged in the monsters' neck and its' claws tearing into his gut.

"It's not done yet!" the heavily wounded Elgar hissed out through clenched teeth "Finish the job….don't worry about hitting me"

Mercy was simply numb.

"Mercy, Mercy we need to form the Power Blaster!" Aslaug gently took her shoulders and managed to stir the Red Ranger into action, simple practicality and logistics taking charge

"We can't" she answered bluntly "Not without Rensa" she looked over to where the Black Ranger still fought with his own opponent and saw that he was faring badly.

"The Power is the Power cousin, it won't discriminate" Kay said simply, their words slow and thoughtful despite the severity of the situation and Mercy sensed that they were being guided by the Morphing Grid itself as she had been before.

"Help Rensa" they murmured "Kai, Kendrix, Tempestus, Aslaug….we can form a power blaster of sorts" Mercy watched in disbelief as the five of them proceeded to do just that, Kay's gladius taking the place of her own Katana and the Galaxy Ranger's Quasar Sabres replacing Rensa's daggers yet rather than watch this bizarre _'Quasar Dragon Blaster' _be deployed the Red Ranger focused on the matter at hand and sprinted towards Rensa, vaguely aware of Zhane and Karone rushing towards where Andros's body had fallen.

The blast from the makeshift Power Blaster being fired caused Carnifex to cease their advance on the downed Black Ranger and turn towards Mercy

"Interfering in single combat….entirely without honour" he snarled before slashing the air with his flaming sword and sending a spiralling jet of golden flames out and around himself like a blazing whirlwind to form a barrier that halted Mercy just long enough for him to speak into comms that were hidden somewhere on his person.

"Return me to the bridge and fire a mutagenic grenade on that beast….it earned the right to a fitting death if nothing else" hearing that Carnifex intended to leave and end the fight was enough to send Rensa scrabbling to his feet and the Black Ranger leapt at the reptilian hybrid with a howl of rage, his daggers tearing into the ground as his target vanished in a flash of crimson light. Mercy watched him sink to his knees, trembling with grief and anger and gently reached out to comfort him but realised that as callous as it may sound there was something much larger at stake.

"We need Aegis Zord power, now!"

* * *

The Command Centre was deathly silent save for the occasional hushed gasp from those individuals who operated its' various terminals and workstations.

The city of Terra Venture had already become a war zone, tanks and armoured personnel carriers rolling through its' streets and deploying squads of soldiers and elite Silver Guardian commandos into the remaining swarms of Putties and Dark Empire ground troops and now, just as the defenders seemed to have stemmed the tide and halted the enemies advance they found themselves threatened with ruination once again, this time in the form of the Aegis Zords and the now titanic form of Jawful threatening to destroy everything in their path as the Rangers sought to stop the monstrous hybrid whose berserk frenzy seemed to have been exacerbated by its' reanimation.

"Oh my God" Kimberley mouthed, hands covering her mouth and watching on in horrified shock as the monster tucked its' six, clawed limbs into its' body and unleashed its' concussive wind-based attack once again, though at this vastly increased scale it was powerful enough to upend the Plesion Zord entirely and send the serpentine machine crashing through several buildings before coming to a halt in a pile of rubble and debris as Tempestus frantically tried to right it.

The scene was hidden from view for a moment, the various feeds seemingly set ablaze as Mercy brought the Hawk Zord screaming overhead and unleashed a barrage of missiles at the Jawful with Panthera quickly attempting to press the advantage only for the monstrous to unleash a torrent of thick mucus at the Sabre Zord and prompting the Pink Ranger to send her mecha leaping aside, leaving a building to bare the brunt of the attack; its' roof partially collapsing as its' brick exterior began to melt and dissolve on contact with the substance.

"There isn't going to be a city left to defend at this rate" Zebidiah noted tersely from behind Kimberley and Billy, the former Blue Ranger nodding as he opened a channel to Mercy and gave a stern warning

"You need to move this battle away from the city limits, the amount of collateral damage is far too high"

"On it" the Red Ranger growled back, clearly focused on the task of stopping the monster at the exclusion of all else; Mission Control watched and noted that she must have relayed the order to the other Rangers as moments later Aslaug sent the Ursa-Titan Zord crashing into Jawful's legs and tackled it off balance for long enough for Kay to swoop down and have the Dragonzord seize the monster in its' talons and carry it away, the other Rangers following in their own Zords until eventually Jawful managed to free itself, its' claws ripping into the legs and torso of the Dragonzord which slashed a bloody tear into the monsters' spine with its' tail in return as it fell to the ground with an earthshaking impact; still within Terra Venture but mercifully an area of the colony city that was far less densely populated and with far fewer buildings within immediate reach.

"Damn it why don't they form the Megazord?" Kimberley hissed as she watched the Zords launch a fresh attack

"Because the Osore Zord is still in its' hangar here" Billy answered her, the colour draining from his face

"What?" Kimberley demanded before quickly calling out to the crew of the Command Centre as a whole "Locate the Black Ranger!" The image within the vast viewing globe that filled the centre of the room shifted, transitioning back to the plaza in which the initial against Jawful and Carnifex of Wyvern had taken place.

What they saw was simply heartbreaking.

Kai and Kendrix had obviously rushed into the city to help wherever they could whilst Zhane and Karone had de-morphed and were hanging back several places away from where Rensa had knelt over Andros's body, sobbing as he gently reached down and closed the fallen Astro Ranger's eyes before leaning down to press their foreheads together briefly

"In any other circumstances I would tell you to let him mourn in peace….but he's needed in battle" Zebidiah lamented sadly, Acheron had once been a culture of proud warriors and conquerors before his second born had bastardised their way of life and both of the former Power Rangers found themselves both believing and agreeing with the former Lord Zedd.

"Rensa" Kimberley's voice was soft as she opened a channel to the Black Ranger, her relief that his heavily damaged helmet still had working comms quickly vanishing as she went unanswered

"Rensa" she repeated more forcefully this time, hoping to get some reaction from the teen only to watch on the viewing globe as he simply removed the remains of his helmet and discarded it altogether.

"What is he doing!" Billy demanded

"Not everyone's like you Billy….not everyone can throw themselves into their work to deal with things" Kimberley answered sadly, remembering the way her old friend had barely eaten or slept unless forced to in the months following Tommy's final message; she gestured to Rensa again and let out a slow shaky breath

"He's given up"

* * *

Tears streamed down both Karone and Zhane's faces, the Silver Ranger and former guerilla clinging to the once self styled Empress of evil as they took in the sight of Rensa clutching Andros's lifeless body

"We have to help him" Karone cried

"There's nothing we can do!" Zhane sobbed, voice cracking and dropping to a hoarse and choked whisper with is next words "He's gone"

"No….we have to help him" she pointed to Rensa and Zhane stiffened, whilst the Black Aegis Ranger may have been a teen and little more than a boy by the standards of most worlds within the Alliance both he and Karone knew better; they both saw a veteran of the most gruesome and horrific kind of conflict, the kind no child should have had to endure and more importantly they saw someone who had been far beyond their breaking point and was acting on pure instinct and emotion alone.

Neither of them were sure how Rensa would react to their presence, yet Karone slipped free of Zhane's grasp and decided that she had to act regardless.

She took tentative steps towards where her brother had fallen and saw that the boy he had raised on the prison world that he had been found on was a grief stricken mess, pallid cheeks stained with tears that fell from midnight black eyes and face contorted, displaying unnaturally sharp teeth as he let out a haunting, wailing sound that set the hairs on the back of Karone's neck on end. Eventually she was beside him and crouched low, reaching into her own bland grey fatigues to retrieve a small trinket from KO-Thirty Five and clasp Andros's fingers around it in the closest approximation to their peoples' last rites that she could manage before the thundering impact of the Zords colliding with Jawful's monolithic form in the distance reminded her of what he needed to be done.

"They need you" she said simply, her voice thick with her own tears but gentle nonetheless "Your friends"

"I can't" Rensa shook his head simply, his armour flickering around him with his words but ultimately holding firm. Another impact sent tremors through the ground and Karone reached and gently grasped his shoulder, realising that rather than a blood-crazed berserker she was dealing an utterly broken child and was cursed with the damnable task of compelling him to fight again.

"We'll take him….he'll" Karone struggled with her next words "Whatever happens here, to this city; he won't be buried under it, he'll be where he belongs….But where you belong is out there, with your team"

"I can't protect them" Rensa whimpered "I couldn't protect Andros, I couldn't avenge him….I can't help"

"Yes you can" Zhane answered bluntly as he sank to one knee on the Black Ranger's opposite side, visibly distraught at the sight of his brother in arms "The fight isn't over yet, not as long as we're still here. Andros believed in you and so do your friends; they're waiting for you right now….We can make the Dark Empire pay, but right now we have to save Terra Venture"

"I….I don't-"

"You're still a Ranger" Karone assured him, gesturing to his armour "You're a Power Ranger at heart and Andros's saw it, if he was wrong you wouldn't still be wearing that armour" as she spoke the obsidian suit flickered and fluctuated once more before finally refocusing as Rensa's eyes took on a steely and determined look.

"I'll do it" with that he did something neither Karone or Zhane were prepared for; he reached down and sunk his sharp teeth into Andros's body, smearing the now cold blood that leaked from the wounds over his face.

The closest thing to funeral rites that Dread had to offer.

Without another word the Black Ranger retrieved his helmet and donned it once more, as he did so something strange happened; the damage to the helmet and the various burns and scuffs to the surface of his armour were unmade, leaving the black surface pristine once again as the raw power of the Morphing Grid was channelled through him in greater amounts that ever before, from there his suit seemed to become pure manifest darkness that bled into its' surroundings and drained the light from them whilst being enveloped in a faint glow as if the Black Ranger were a living event horizon.

"I need Aegis Zord power" his words were toneless and detached and barely a second later he felt the familiar rush and acceleration of his consciousness as the Osore Zord was deployed to Mirinoi and he was teleported into its' cockpit.

From there he was the hunter that prowled the wastelands of Dread, the nightmare in the periphery and his mecha bounded across the battlefield to leap onto the back of the now giant monster, claws and fangs tearing into putrid flesh and tearing into bone and tendons before leaping away and stalking around to where his fellow Aegis Rangers had formed a barrier, placing themselves between Jawful and the path into the more populated areas of the city.

"Rensa!" Mercy breathed out, relief in her voice as it filled the cockpit of the Osore Zord "It's good to-"

"We need to form the Megazord" he interjected bluntly

"Agreed" she answered "Okay guys we need Star-Dragon Megazord Power!"

'_Star-Dragon Formation has been initiated' _the synthetic feminine voice filled the cockpits of each of the six Aegis Zords and the sky darkened as the Dragonzord swooped low overhead; its' vast body being disassembled and forming additional armour, monstrous clawed gauntlets and wide wings for the Megazord whilst its' segmented tail was reshaped to form a gigantic lance.

'_Aegis Megazord: Star-Dragon Formation activated'_ the synthetic voice declared as the six Rangers materialised within the cockpit and despite his dull and emotionless tone and the stoic demeanour he was seemingly trying to convey the moment the Aegis Ranger's minds were connected through the matrix of the Megazords' controls each of his friends could feel Rensa's grief and rage radiating from him in palpable waves.

"Are you-"

"No, but this will help" he snarled, his usual soft and gentle voice replaced by something savage as he took control of the Megazord and sent it rushing forwards; Jawful inhaled and prepared to spew another jet of its' disgusting, corrosive bile yet was brought to an unceremonious halt by the Mega Cannon firing and blasting it backwards, a feat which the other Rangers noted should have required each of them to act in tandem as they all seemed to notice the excess power bleeding off of the Black Ranger for the first time

"Rensa, you're-" Tempestus made to give some warning only for Rensa to cut across him

"End this" Jawful's claws tore into the ground and it let out a piercing shriek as it struggled back to its' feet

"He's right" Mercy nodded, though not without clear reservations "Let's finish this off" this time all six Aegis Rangers took control of the Star-Dragon with unified purpose and sent the towering machine surging forwards and impaled the monster on its' lance before the components of the giant weapon which had been glowing green shifted to a brilliant white, surrounded by each of the Ranger's colours before a single shock-wave ripped through Jawful's body and destroyed the monster completely.

Victory had never felt so hollow for the Rangers.

* * *

The darkness that seemed to engulf everything was quickly replaced by blurriness and a cold numbness that was becoming unwelcomely familiar of late as a body that had been grown and stored in a stasis tube collapsed to the floor with a painful thud.

Elgar fought the urge to vomit and considered that to be a small victory as the senses of his latest body were painfully overstimulated, having never been truly used before. The pirate turned guerilla fighter laid prone shivering and naked on the cold metallic floor of the hidden chamber within his private lodgings at Port Corsair and waited for the inevitable syncing of his previous bodies final memories with his new consciousness.

They came soon enough and left him retching and convulsing before finally dragging himself to his feet again and staggering forwards on weak, trembling limbs as he shambled out of the hidden cloning room and into the lodgings proper, finding them to be exactly and gaudy and lavish as he remembered them.

"Oh creature comforts, how I've missed you" he chuckled grimly as he donned a silk robe and a pair of fluffy slippers before sinking into a delightfully comfortable chair and simply relaxed for a moment before beginning to take stock of what needed to be done.

He still had clone bodies floating lifelessly in their stasis tubes in the chamber that he had just left and after some consideration decided that he wouldn't need to invest in the creation of more clones just yet; likewise he had no need to need to commission another ship, work on a newer, faster and better equipped version of the Megalodon would have been started the moment he left the asteroid that this den of thieves and murderers was built upon following his last rebirth but as things stood his current vessel was still in orbit above Mirinoi

"Well….a present to myself for another time then" Elgar shrugged as he dismissed the idea of visiting Port Corsairs' shipyards in order to see just what the latest Megalodon had to offer; though he quickly decided that he would certainly be offering his patronage to one of the ports many arms dealers, after stabbing Jawful in the mouth he had no intention of using the same sword again, even if it was certain to be poisonous with the amount of slime that had doubtlessly seeped into the pores of the metal.

His musings were brought to a halt by the sound of another dull thud from the chamber in which the clones were kept.

"And here we go" he breathed out, rising from his chair and searching for a bottle of vintage liquor from a planet that had once been on the very cusp of Dark Empire space but had since been scourged from existence as Lord Zedd's forces advance, a tragedy in the pirates' opinion. Breaking the seal he poured two glasses and returned to his chair and made himself comfortable again, silently wondering if the identity of his guest meant that the two of them might have to fight their way off of the port and what that would mean for his outstanding accounts and investments here, and also if it was worth ordering room service before he departed; the steaks here were simply divine and he had been subsisting on replicated rations for far too long now.

Then the groaning and retching in the next room subsided and within a matter of moments his guest had staggered into the lodgings.

"Sit down, make yourself comfortable….whatever is happening on Mirinoi will have ended by the time we get there one way or another. Hungry?" Elgar glanced up and flashed his guest a devilish smirk, he had expected him to be angry of course but the look of incandescent rage on his face was simply a treat

"I'm not apologising, I did what I thought was for the best and that's all there is to it" he said simply "Besides, in this line of work it's always better to ask for forgiveness than for permission, am I right?"

Andros merely stared at him in silence.

**Authors Notes:**

Okay so three quarters of the way through this volume, next week is the finale/wrap up.  
This one feels shorter and a little uneventful, mainly because the whole chapter actually takes place in the space of probably less than twenty minutes….sorry about that I guess.  
Also, I know it seems like bringing Andros back cuts a lot of narrative tension out of the story but I promise that I know what I'm doing and it won't be used as an ex Machina, we'll get more into the mechanics of it in the summary.  
Now I know I said that this is the mid-way point of the second arc and the story as a whole, but it's gonna be Arc 10; so the next arc where things get really spicy.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?:  
Just setting that horrible tone from the get go.  
Also….Carnifex aint no bitch, he's done some shit.  
It really was a matter of skill being put against killer instinct…..Or for 40k fans, imagine the battle between Lion El Johnson and Konrad Curze but with the roles switched.  
Yeah, he can do magic tricks; he's a hybrid and Paradoxa can do them as well so it's only fair.  
We all knew that there was gonna be a gun hidden under that robot wing.  
A broken helmet is Ranger shorthand for _"Shit just got serious"_ and I love playing with the expectations that people have.  
So obviously the rest of the Rangers fight with Jawful was happening at the same time as Rensa Vs Carnifex.  
Karone and Panthera, ex Empress of Evil and ex smuggler….Pink Rangers that fight dirty.  
So Mercy and Aslaug back each other up so often they've started throwing themselves into the enemy just to hold them in place long enough for the other one to show up.  
I suppose heroic sacrifice is a bit less profound when you know you've got clone bodies stashed away and you'll be back at it in five minutes, but still give Elgar some credit.  
Kay didn't _"Commune with the Morphing Grid"_ or anything like that, it was just one of those moments where the Power lets a Ranger instinctively know what to do.  
Okay the Quasar Dragon Blaster will almost certainly never be seen again but it was too cool of an idea not to use, it was heavily inspired by the Chrono Ranger in Power Rangers Unworthy who carries several Rangers weapons, including a makeshift Power Blaster made from the Axe, Bow and a Quasar Sabre, also the fact that the Galaxy Rangers can canonically combine their powers with other teams, they powered up one of the Lightspeed Megazords with the Lights of Orion.  
In my head the fire tornado thing that Carnifex used as a barrier looked cool as hell.  
Of course he pulled a tactical retreat.  
That collateral….Oof.  
You knew it was bad the second you heard the Osore Zord wasn't deployed.  
Everything about Rensa being a broken mess….Sorry.  
Also, Billy definitely went workaholic for a while after Tommy and everyone else died.  
Okay this is a headcanon I'm basing on nothing other than the fact I like it but; a Ranger's Morpher is like a Blue Lantern Corps ring, if a Ranger ever loses their will to fight then they will be forcefully de-morphed and won't be able to morph again until they get their spirit back….that being said, Kimberley was wrong, Rensa had never given up, not quite.  
Biting into Andros's body and wearing his blood as warpaint was just to serve as a reminder of how alien Rensa really is.  
So Rensa's Morph was different….he was channelling more power than ever and still had excess power bleeding off of him, that's interesting isn't it; I wonder what that could possibly be a set up for.  
Yeah they went straight to Star-Dragon, why wouldn't they.  
Rensa managed to force one of the Megazords' main weapons to work on his own through sheer willpower, something that normally takes a concerted effort.  
So they won….but everyone is getting therapy after this.  
The clone rebirth is based on the Matrix, the whole_ "Why do my eyes hurt" "You've never used them"_ scene.  
Yes the space pirate has fluffy slippers, fight me.  
Okay I'm sure you had to have known what was coming when you heard _"Another thud"_.  
A planet wiped out and entire culture destroyed or subsumed into the Dark Empire, a shame I suppose….Can't buy liquor from there any more, now that's a tragedy.  
It's a pirate den and he brought a Power Ranger there, having to fight their way out is a distinct possibility.  
So Elgar mentioned cloning at the start of this arc and he was clearly trying to bring Andros, Karone and Zhane around to the idea because he'd_ ALREADY _done it, a clone with up to date memories needs a memory sync and a hypothetical clone without up to date memories still needs a clone body to be made _(Which for sentient species is almost certainly a taboo across the galaxy)_ and a sample of DNA….Not every Ranger has their DNA on file either.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	39. Rise

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 38 – Rise**

The blasted and dust covered ground of Unus cracked and trembled underfoot as Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name strode across its' surface with a retinue in tow.

The Draco-Ocidendum had dropped its' the cloaking field which rendered it invisible as it traversed the boundary created by Lord Zedd's wards, the tyrants' arcane magic hiding the Dark Empire's base on the Triforian moon from view and promptly landed, rejoining those vessels within Carnifex's fleet that had survived the voyage into Alliance space and with an unmistakable sense of pomp and circumstance about the entire affair which had only been exacerbated once the draconian hybrid himself had marched into view, flanked by a cohort of the Knights of Wyvern bearing banners displaying the heraldry of their various houses and gargantuan weapons who chanted ancient battle hymns or else beat drums and sounded low, echoing horns as they strode closer. The display brought the entire base to a standstill, overseers being so distracted by the sight that they failed to notice that their press-ganged workers had ceased whilst various Dark Empire warriors and other individuals of note scurried aside, Paradoxa noted Gibil amongst their number as she saw the ash-furred imp divert his attention from his latest intended _'project'_

She found herself grinding her teeth in anger at that display as she stood at Lord Zedd's right hand.

"My Lord" Carnifex proclaimed as they sunk to one knee, sinking their ornate sword into the ground and bowing their head deep and low, his honour guard quickly following suit behind him with none daring to glance upwards until Lord Zedd took a single stride forwards, a rumbling snarl escaping from behind the grill of his faceplate

"Mirinoi is not within my grasp, I trust you have good reason to return here waving banners as though you were victorious?"

"If it pleases my Lord?" with a barely noticeable gesture Lord Zedd nodded and Carnifex rose to his feet before speaking again, though his warriors remained bowed "The Red Astro Ranger, Andros of KO-Thirty Five arch-instigator and father to a legion of bastards within your Empire has been laid low; he died on my sword my Lord"

"Andros" Lord Zedd's voice trembled with hatred and dark energies crackled around him "One of the most hated of my enemies….You've done well Carnifex" the armoured tyrant considered Andros to be solely responsible for what had become of his father, he had been the one to slay Zordon and create the wave that had changed or simply destroyed so many that the old Eltarian sage had deemed evil; though Lord Zedd would never speak such thoughts allowed, he was the supreme leader of the Acheron people and a manifestation of their might who could show no weakness or sentimentality.

The momentary silence was broken as Paradoxa spoke up, her smooth and silky voice mocking as she addressed Carnifex.

"One Ranger?" she demanded with a snort "That's your great victory? Each of us has killed Rangers lizard, the difference being when I cut down the Gold Ranger on Triforia it was merely an afterthought in a more important mission"

"Ah yes Triforia, the pacifists" Carnifex snorted with open scorn, the last word uttered as though it were a curse whilst he left Paradoxa momentarily blustering with his rebuke.

"But I'm reassured by the fact you are such a seemingly capable warrior Lady Paradoxa" he continued, his oddly cultured voiced growing ever more mocking "Yokai was no Acheron, a savage to be sure but I knew of him by reputation, he and his people we assuredly capable warriors and unmistakably loyal….You on the other hand are unknown to me"

"You dare?" Paradoxa spat, the mandibles protruding from her cheeks closing as her crown slipped downwards; the three sections of chitinous hide forming a battle mask which rapidly grew compound eyes as she drew her weapons, incensed by the aspersions due in no small part to the truth of them

"If your pride is wounded then you should defend it better, insect" Carnifex noted, glancing to Lord Zedd who stepped backwards with an amused chuckle as he wordlessly condoned the bout; the saurian hybrids' honour guard rose to their feet and spread out to form a circle around the pair, crossing their weapons as they created an impromptu arena.

"Remember that feeling of glory you came here with, cherish it….it will be a long time until you feel it again" Paradoxa sneered as the pair circled one another, her atrophied vestigial limbs emerging from her abdomen to deliver her double ended halberd, its' wide, double edged blades extending until they were as wide as her torso.

Carnifex merely lunged forwards without a word, flaming sword thrusting at his opponents' face.

From there the two were simply forces of destruction, a twirl of Paradoxa's halberd knocked Carnifex's sword downwards and swiftly twirled and swung the opposite end of the weapon at his skull, only for the draconic monster to weave around the blow and step back a single pace before blocking her follow up strike. From there the tables began to turn as Carnifex span away from the clash of weapons and brought his mechanical left fist crashing into Paradoxa's armoured skull and sent her staggering back before letting out a roar as he stabbed his flaming sword downwards. The insectoid leapt back and rolled aside and span her halberd around herself, the blades becoming wreathed in clouds of pulsating green and purple light which she launched forwards with a cry; hoping to cut down members of Carnifex's honour in guard in the hope that it might distract him only to be dismayed when a sphere of golden flames burst forth from the draconian Hybrid to act as a shield.

Carnifex was on her on an instant, his sword thrust into the ground and his wings, both flesh and mechanical spreading wide behind him as he hurtled forwards; Paradoxa held her halberd out horizontally and thrust it forwards as a shield only for her opponent to simply grasp her hands and begin to squeeze; a series of sickening cracks filling the air as the immense pressure was increased and Paradoxa, despite the resilience of her Acheron physiology felt her long and slender, many-jointed fingers begin to break.

"Enough" Lord Zedd's voice ended the fight in an instant "Despite her failures Paradoxa is still of use to me Carnifex"

"As you wish my Lord" Carnifex released Paradoxa and turned away, retrieving his sword and disregarding his beaten opponent without a further thought. Paradoxa for her part seethed and raged in silence as she realised that her fears had come to pass and that she was being usurped, this defeat marking the beginning of the end of her rise to power and prominence within Lord Zedd's Dark Empire.

She glowered behind her mask as she decided that the forging of her own Empire and taking of the Acheron throne would have to commence sooner than expected.

* * *

Mission Control had expected Rensa to be much as he had been on the battlefield upon his return to Promethea One, a screaming, rage-filled berserker grieving and thrashing at the world around him and though she wouldn't admit it out loud Kimberley would have almost preferred that to what they had been confronted with upon the Ranger's return.

He was a distant and vacant shell of himself.

The Black Ranger had been almost entirely unresponsive during his post-battle medical exam, to such an extent that Cestria who had performed the exam was worried that Carnifex had landed a blow to his head which had caused some lasting damage; eventually however test results proved that the wounds Rensa had suffered were not of the physical variety. From there each of Mission Control had been in agreement that the Black Ranger would be exempted from the rigmarole of a debriefing although psychiatric evaluations would be carried out at the earliest possible convenience and the fact that Rensa would be given counselling and therapy of some sort was a foregone conclusion.

Once it was certain that there was no risk of him drifting into a comatose state or possibly worse if he attempted to sleep Rensa had been escorted back to the Ranger's residence at the top of the student dormitories, though try as he might sleep would simply not come. He had spent hours moving listlessly from the large sofa in the shared living area to his bed, willing his mind to stop its' constant barrage and focus on anything other than replaying the moment Andros had fallen, his Morphed state failing but to no avail. Once he had given up on rest of any kind he had considered speaking to someone though had quickly decided against it, there was no-one to speak to, he couldn't bear to look Zhane or Karone in the eye and instead had found himself continuing to pace without any goal in mind until he had caught sight of his reflection in the television screen and almost flown into a rage at the sight of himself, Andros's blood still smearing his face. After a shower so hot it has seared his ghostly pale skin where he forcefully scrubbed every trace of blood and dirt away Rensa fled the apartments in search of somewhere where the silence would seem less oppressive.

He had found himself on the roof.

It was now the dead of night on Promethea One, hours having passed since the Rangers had left for Terra Venture and the colony ships' own artificial day and night cycle imposing its' darkness over the city. Rensa perched on a safety rail that ran around the outer wall of the roof and peered out at the sea of lights whilst a dull buzz of chatter filled the air, coming from all directions at once whilst being decidedly in the distance until the sound of a police cars' siren rose above it all.

A low primal snarl escaped from the back of Rensa's throat at the sound.

He had been the kind of hero that the Alliance wanted, a shining example of goodness that other could look to and for what; Andros was gone, the Dark Empire forces within the Alliance were more powerful than ever and even here on Promethea One crime and evil persisted, his own efforts to bring those responsible to justice having made seemingly little difference.

Perhaps he had been too lenient.

With that savage thought in his mind the Black Ranger rose to his feet, balancing on the railing and listened closely as he pinpointed exactly where the sirens were coming from and where they were heading, his knowledge of the city and instincts borne of years hunting the monstrous creatures of his home-world giving him an idea of where his quarry would run to. He regarded his Morpher for a moment and then dismissed the idea, deciding that he would deal with his problem his own way.

Then a voice behind him seemed to freeze time and drive every thought from his mind with a single word.

"Rensa?" the teen launched himself back onto the roof and stalked warily around the newcomer, bleak and unforgiving rationale screaming that this simply couldn't be even as tears welled up in his obsidian coloured eyes.

"How?" he eventually croaked out before Andros, more slender than he had been and lacking years of hard earned muscle and several old scars, with his hair falling about his shoulders, a litany of small cuts and bruises littering his body and clad in a scarlet frock coat which reached below his knees, decorated with ostentatious golden buttons and trim but still, unmistakably Andros took a single step forward with his arms spread wide and all of Rensa's doubts vanished; the Black Ranger collapsing sobbing into the arms of the closest thing to a father he'd ever known.

"It's okay, it's me….it's me….at least I think I am" hearing the sudden uncertainty creeping into Andros's voice Rensa pulled back and looked at him closely in simple disbelief

"How?" he repeated

"Elgar, that magnificent bastard" Andros answered simply, taking a moment to pull Rensa into another hug before explaining further

"He didn't listen….I told him that I never wanted to be cloned and he didn't listen. Somehow he managed to get DNA samples of Karone, Zhane and I to someone on an Empire world who could take them to a pirate base he used to operate out of and insert memory syncs into all of us….I died, I remember dying but then I woke up; Elgar had the clone bodies set so that they wouldn't activate without his command, he got himself killed on Mirinoi so I could come back sooner"

"So….you can never die?" Rensa asked, hope, relief and other feelings which he simply had no words for flooding through him until Andros shook his head gently

"It's not so simple" he sighed "Elgar brought a Power Ranger to a pirate base….they fought us for a while but chose not to try and kill us and they let us contact Zhane and Karone, that's how I got here so soon but he can never go back there. Elgar burned all of his bridges for the Alliance, for me and now he's going to have to stay in protective custody on Earth for a while; there won't be any more clones" the two stayed silent and Rensa slowly realised that Andros wasn't looking at him, his eyes remaining downcast and a sudden realisation came to the Black Ranger

"There's something else isn't there?" Andros nodded but remained silent for a moment, needing to compose himself before answering

"On KO-Thirty Five we abolished cloning over a century ago, we never used it even when we needed troops for our resistance….when you die you die and your soul can never come back. Kendrix is a special case and Elgar was lobotomised for so long he can't tell the difference but….I can't morph; I'm not a Power Ranger any more" he pulled back one of the sleeves of his coat and gestured to the Astro Morpher that adorned it, Rensa knowing through some intrinsic sense that it was inert

"So what happens now?" Rensa asked, voice trembling at the idea of Andros being so completely powerless until an idea occurred to him "Will you stay here?"

"I can't" the now former ranger lamented "Elgar is going to be on Earth….something about working with a man named Piggy? He gave the Megalodon to Karone, she, Zhane and Cullis are going to had back into Empire space and continue our guerilla campaign there. I'm going to KO-Thirty Five, I'll be training recruits for Lightspeed and the Alliance there and seeing if there's anyone there who could take over from me….But there's something I want you to have" he pulled back his other sleeve and carefully removed a gauntlet that adorned his opposite wrist, a smooth and streamlined thing of black and worn gunmetal with a white strap which he fastened over Rensa's right wrist.

"What is it?"

"Zhane and Karone showed me footage of what happened when you fought Carnifex….I think you're close to being able to use this and you'll know what to do when you are" Andros said simply, not answering the question but leaving Rensa with an almost profound sense of accomplishment for reasons he couldn't quite articulate.

"I have to speak with Mission Control, I told them I was coming to see you first and that was final….do you want to come with me?" Andros asked and Rensa absently wiped his eyes of the tears that had continued to fall before nodding silently and following close behind him, determined to not let Andros out of his sight and with his earlier rage-filled resolution to combat evil more thoroughly and directly forgotten, at least for the moment.

* * *

Whilst Rensa has been given a respite from his debriefing following a medical exam and whilst none of his fellow Rangers would begrudge him that small mercy, especially not when it had been given for such unthinkable reasons the fact remained that his fellow Rangers had been required to recount their experiences for posterity, even as their aching bodies screamed for rest and their minds raced with the sights, sounds and smells of the horrors they had once again endured.

Once the ordeal of an official debriefing had been completed the Rangers had each come to the unspoken agreement that Rensa was to be given the space to grieve privately, though they had made it clear that each of them would be more the willing to talk with or simply keep the Black Ranger company if he wished them to; he given made no responses to their messages and following being allowed to leave and the Rangers had taken this to meant that he wished to be alone.

Following this the Aegis Rangers had gone their separate ways, with Tempestus making his way to his parents home on Promethea One stating a need to meditate and centre himself whilst Panthera and Kay had wandered the darkened streets of the city in silence but undeniably glad of one another's company.

The Pink Ranger had led the way as though she had a destination in mind and privately she had originally intended to make her way to the seediest dive bar with the loudest music she could find and simply drink until she was numb, some remnants of sensible behaviour stopped her however and she sought out a less self-destructive form of release until she and Kay found themselves wandering close to the cities' central park, the same one that Aslaug Mercy and Aslaug had used for dates. Seeing the trees had enough for the teal-skinned alien, whilst she had never visited her home-world of Felix she still carried her peoples' instincts with her and was struck with a sudden and overwhelming need to climb and currently she sprawled out in a cat-like manner on a branch whilst Kay sat slumped at the base of the same tree, their unnatural black and pink eyes downcast and an overall air of worry and discomfort radiating from them.

"What're you thinking about?" Panthera asked as she dangled herself over the branch, legs wrapped around it whilst she hung, upside-down close to Kay's face.

"Death" the Green Ranger answered simply

"Well that's one way to start a party" she drawled with a roll of her eyes

"What happens to us when we die?" Kay asked quietly which Panthera simply shrugged at

"That's one of those questions that wars get fought over….I was raised on ships people who believe a dozen different things so-"

"I don't mean religion" Kay interrupted gently "I mean our bodies, what would Lightspeed do with them?"

"Oh" Panthera paused, it was a question she had never considered despite knowing that it could become relevant during any mission the Aegis Rangers were deployed on; instead simply pushing the matter to the back of her mind for the sake of her well-being "Different cultures do different things with their dead, I've heard Aslaug say that her people burn the bodies and in the Smuggler Guild we have our dead recycled….we don't have room for a lot of bodies on our ships….Are you okay?"

"Yeah" Kay nodded slowly, an obvious lie "I'm just wondering because I don't have a culture or a people to give my body to" the Green Ranger's admission hung in the air for a moment, the truth of it stunning Paradoxa for a moment before they continued

"I'm a traitor to the Dark Empire so if I die and they get my body they'll hang it up on display in Lord Zedd's palace….and I'm not human, not really; I'm the only human Acheron hybrid in the galaxy and I know there are plenty of scientists in Lightspeed who want to experiment on me some more. I've never really thought about it until today but….I don't want either of those" the brief, heavy silence was broken by a dull thud as Panthera flipped down from the branch she had continued to dangle from and crouched in front of Kay, reaching out and gently cupping their cheeks.

"Not gonna happen" she assured them gently, resting her forehead against theirs "Mainly 'cos you're not dying in battle; I haven't saved your ass as many times as I have for no reason"

"Just my ass?" Kay finally looked up and flashed their usual mischievous smile and a wink which Panthera responded to with a playful shove of their shoulder despite the colour rising in her cheeks at the comment. A moment later she sat beside the Green Ranger with her tail flicking out lazily to wrap around their waist as she laid her head on their shoulder and leaned into them, the two of them sharing a peaceful if exhausted silence.

Only for it to be broken by an urgent voice.

"Kay! Panthera!" leaping to their feet and bracing themselves for an attack the two soon relaxed, if only a fraction at the sight of Marigold Utahima who looked panicked and dishevelled with the overall appearance of having dressed very quickly

"What's the problem?" Panthera's voice took on a dangerous edge as she prepared for the worst.

"I was just studying with the TV on in the background but then the news came on and the attack on Terra Venture was all over the news, they said a Ranger was killed but they didn't say who it was and I've been looking for Mercy everywhere-" the words came pouring out of the young woman like machine-gun fire as she tried to articulate her fears until Panthera raised a hand and silenced her.

"Mercy is fine….we lost a Red Ranger today but it wasn't her"

"Oh" Mari "That's….well it's not good, not at all but-"

"We know what you mean" Panthera nodded "At least it's nobody you know, it's sad but at least it isn't personal" she considered warning her that Andros had been someone dear to Rensa and that she should handle any and all interactions with the Black Ranger with caution for a while but found herself simply too tired to entertain the idea of that discussion. Marigold shifted her weight uncomfortably, not entirely sure that she liked the Pink Ranger's wording and feeling as though there was an unspoken accusation there but swiftly moved passed it

"Where is Mercy?" she asked "She wasn't answering her phone and I can't even get onto the floor you all live on so I've been out here checking places she hangs out-"

"She's with Aslaug" Panthera answered "Aslaug is from Mirinoi, her people were there when the attack started….I think they've taken a day or twos' leave to go back there"

"Oh okay" Mari said simply, the three of them standing in a somewhat awkward silence for a moment before noting that the two Rangers were alone in the park at such a late hour and Panthera's tail was still wrapped around Kay's waist

"Anyway I've got class in the morning so…." she trailed off, gesturing as she realised that she might have been interrupting something private and promptly retreated away. Kay turned to Panthera with a small smile and asked

"So are you really planning on sleeping here tonight?"

"Depends, how good of a pillow do you make?" before they could answer she had playfully tackled them to the ground and begun making herself comfortable nuzzling into their chest; a sensation which both of them quickly decided they very much enjoyed.

* * *

Mercy and Aslaug had indeed requested leave to return to Mirinoi for several days, which Kimberley had granted them without hesitation and the two had teleported from Promethea Prime to Terra Venture just in time to rejoin the emissaries of Frost Fang Tribe as they prepared to leave for the northern polar regions of Mirinoi. Jarl Ragnar, Aslaug's father and leader of her people had accepted the offer from the colony of a flight to their homelands for himself and his remaining honour guard, though if it was due to a simple desire to return the bodies of those who had fallen to their home as soon as possible or that fighting alongside the colonists would mark the beginning of a sense of kinship between the two peoples was currently anyone's guess.

Mercy had been unable to escape the feeling of immense awkwardness during the journey as Aslaug proudly and openly declared who the girl she had brought with her was to both her father and several hulking warriors clad in furs and leathers over their armour who carried oversized swords and axes as they regarded her, leaving the Red Ranger with the unmistakable feeling of being sized up and with far less bravado to combat it than she might have had were she Morphed.

On her arrival to the Frost Fangs' walled off settlement the differences between the cultures that had raised her and her girlfriend were displayed starkly as Mercy was welcomed as a glorious hero along with what she supposed were now her fellow warriors. Jarl Ragnar gathered his people and explained that his honour guard and the star people of Terra Venture had fought alongside an army of monsters and demons who could kill their foes with coloured light and that the strength of their new alliance had overcome their foes who had fled Mirinoi after their leader had returned to his ship like a coward rather than fight alongside his own warriors. The people of the Frost Fang had rejoiced at the return of Aslaug, as brief as it was and hailed their princess as some conquering warrior princess and slayer of monsters.

Whilst it had been the dead of night of Promethea One when the pair had left the sun was setting on the settlement when they arrived and by the time night had fallen a large funeral pyre had been created and Mercy had been left stunned by the fact that Aslaug's people marked the passage of their people in a way she was entirely unused to; an unabashed celebration with feasting, mead and dancing as the sagas of those who had fallen were recounted to the tribes' children. The warriors that had accompanied her explained to the Red Ranger that to fall in battle and die a hero, protecting ones' people was the ultimate honour to the Frost Fang which was a sentiment that Mercy found herself unable to dispute. Beyond this she had been summoned to appear before Jarl Ragnar and many of the elders of the tribe for what could only be described as an informal inquisition, her relationship with Aslaug and the lives of each of the Aegis Rangers laid bare for them to examine, along with countless questions from the various members of the tribe ranging from curious children wanting to know if the red dye of her hair was in fact its' real colour and what people from other worlds were like to scarred and tattooed warriors, struggling to find the words as they asked how exactly a blaster worked or what a Zord was and how one could be tamed.

Eventually it all been too much, the questions, the stench of the funeral pyres and the celebration of death; in Mercy's mind people had died including a Power Ranger and it would take months if not years to rebuild and replace what could be saved and there was little cause for happiness. She had found herself taking shelter from the noise in one of the buildings of stone and wood that formed the settlement; decidedly not a dwelling Mercy noted that it might have been a woodshed or something similar until all thoughts were driven from her mind by the door opening to reveal Aslaug.

She was breathtaking.

The tall and muscular woman cut an imposing figure in her grey Lightspeed fatigues or the leather jacket she had taken to wearing but here, amongst her own people she was something else entirely; her arms were bare though the pelt of some monstrous creature had been laid over her shoulders as a cloak, several new necklaces of fangs and claws as well as precious beads and stones hung around her neck whilst her black tribal markings had been added to with yellow warpaint covering her face and arms, thought the most notable addition to her outfit was a crown which sported a pair of gnarled and twisted horns from some enormous ox-like beast.

"I thought you didn't like being called Princess?" Mercy noted with a soft smile as she took in the sight of her

"I don't, but I still am one" Aslaug chuckled, firelight shining in her eyes whilst the dancing and chanting forms of her people cast ever-moving shadows across her face until she removed the crown and stepped into the small, unlit building and closed the door behind her; making herself comfortable beside Mercy as the two of them remained silent in the gloom for a moment.

"I came looking for you; I missed you" Aslaug admitted "But you seem….unhappy, what's wrong?"

"I just needed a break from the noise and all the questions for a few minutes" Mercy answered before deciding that there was no sense in talking around important subjects and Aslaug deserved better than half-truths "And I'll be honest….I just don't feel like partying, not after Andros"

"I understand" Aslaug admitted as she took Mercy's hand "When I first came to Earth I had no real idea of what a Power Ranger was, your peoples' war was simply an adventure to me. Mirinoi was frozen in the past and Power Rangers were the ones to free us but all the battles they fought in, nobody on Mirinoi saw them….To fall in battle is to die a hero and Andros is being honoured alongside our own warriors; but my people don't understand what was lost today not really. If I'm honest I hope they never have to learn, because if they do then it means that I failed as a Power Ranger….and there will be nothing heroic in that"

Mercy turned and buried her face in Aslaug's neck and shoulder and flung her arms around the taller girl, pulling her close and holding her tight as though she might lose her if she didn't. Aslaug leaned down and kissed the top of Mercy's head gently and spoke again, a smile tugging at her lips as she tried to lighten the mood

"My people mean nothing by their questions, you're a hero and a slayer of monsters….and if any of them do take issue with you as an outlander, I'll duel them myself" the offhand drew a small giggle from Mercy despite herself and she slowly pulled back, staring intently at Aslaug and realising that there was something that she wanted to say, needed to in fact as today had proven that she could have the opportunity to do so snatched from her forever at a moments' notice

"I love you"

"I love you-" Aslaug was cut off as Mercy pulled her into a kiss that started slow and tender but steadily grew more intense until Aslaug simply picked the smaller girl up and carried her across the small room and pinned her against the wall, hands gripping the Red Ranger's thighs and biting her lip and Mercy's legs locked behind her.

"I love you" the two of them panted the words out in unison as they eventually broke apart, kissing each other several more times as Mercy returned to her feet.

"Stay here for a while?" Mercy murmured into Aslaug before pulling away for a moment as she felt another text message be added to stream of incoming messages that she had thus-far ignored. She expected anything of vital importance to be delivered through her communicator and as such was totally unprepared for the image she saw on the screen of her smartphone which had been cracked at some point during the day even through her armour.

"It can't be" Aslaug breathed out as she looked to see what it was that had made Mercy gasp in disbelief

"It shouldn't be, but it is" her face morphed into a bright smile "Andros is still alive, or alive again"

"I've seen things that shouldn't be possible since leaving Mirinoi but this is witchcraft" Aslaug murmured "This is an omen for something Mercy….but right now I'm just happy that he's alive"

"Wanna go back to your party?" Mercy asked, suddenly filled with life and energy as looked again at the photo and then into Aslaug's icy blue ice which slowly took on a hungry look as she stepped closer and pulled the Red Ranger into another slow, deep kiss and pinned her against the wall once more; hands roaming over each others' bodies and seeking out each others' skin as Aslaug almost purred in Mercy's ear.

"No"

* * *

It was the early hours of the morning as Kimberley strode through the joint Promethea and Project Lightspeed base that the Aegis Rangers now operated from and she now called home; the former Pink Ranger had heard birds beginning to chirp outside as she moved from one building of the base to another and knew that were she still in Mariner Bay the sun would be slowly rising over the horizon whilst here the transition between night and day was nearly immediate.

Billy's laboratory was occupied, with lights from within suggesting that her old friend was hard at work; exactly as she had expected.

"Bribing me with food again?" the former Blue Ranger murmured with a lopsided grin as he briefly glanced up from whatever, likely hitherto unimaginable work of science currently held his attention

"Just coffee" Kimberley answered as she crossed the laboratory carefully, keeping an eye out for any errant wires as she placed a steaming mug next to him "Since you've clearly got no intention of sleeping tonight"

"I tried, I couldn't" Billy admitted, raising his glasses for a moment as he rubbed his red and bleary eyes "Tempestus is spending the night, he didn't even try to put on a brave face; today scared him. Cestria called Corcus, he's a lot of things but he knows the toll war takes on people so the three of them are meditating over it….I've never really been able to"

"Can't clear your mind?"

"Exactly" Billy admitted with a sigh as he considered the matter, something he noted was one of the way in which he would always be truly separate from the Aquitians he had spent most of his life amongst.

"This isn't for the seventh Ranger project" Kimberley noted as she scanned the various graphs and images that decorated the screen Billy was working at, whilst far from the level of mechanical and engineering genius of her long time friend she could tell immediately that this was nothing to do with his and Zebidiah's ongoing attempts to refine and calcify the mysterious Light of Good into a physical object that would serve as a conduit to the Morphing Gird and power a new Morpher.

"No it isn't" Billy confirmed "I couldn't focus on that, this is just a side project of Justin's that he wanted me to look over before he went any further with….I needed something to distract me from the whole Andros situation"

"That he died or that he came back?" Kimberley asked delicately, knowing Billy as she did she could guess what his reaction to such a flagrant defiance of the laws of nature would be

"Both" the former Blue Ranger sighed "I'm not heartless Kim, I'm not some lunatic quack….Andros was a friend and a Ranger, I'm glad he's back but there's a reason the Alliance doesn't clone, several reasons in fact, very good ones. So now I have to sit here and distract myself until I remember those reasons and don't think about how many of our old friends I could bring back, or whether they'd actually be the people we know because I am a scientist and I don't know how to define things like souls" his words grew steadily more emotional until eventually he buried his face in his hands and let out a lone, shuddering sob.

"Let it out" Kimberley patted his shoulder gently "Not everything's a problem to be solved, some thing just are what they are Billy"

"I know, but fix and build is what I do" he chuckled weakly "And I will be getting back to work on the seventh Ranger project tomorrow….So if you're serious about what we talked about earlier then choose your candidate; I'd recommend Marigold Utahima, she's already on the base and knows the other Rangers-"

"That's actually what I'm here to talk about" Kimberley interjected, privately grateful that Billy had glossed over their earlier argument

"We both know the real reason I said no to you and I think it's the reason that I struggled with the Titanium Morpher….I'm scared, I've been scared ever since Empire ships showed up in Alliance space. These are the people that killed Tommy, Jason, Aurico and all the others and I was scared that I could be the next dead Ranger. But the Aegis Rangers have watched two Rangers die now and I'm supposed to be a leader for them….we're sending teenagers, kids out there and expecting them to fight for us knowing that they might not come home one day….Zordon might not have been able to fight himself but I am, and if I'm not willing to keep those kids safe then Zordon was wrong about me and I should never have been a Ranger at all" her back straightened out and she squared her shoulders, a fire that had been absent behind her deep brown eyes seemed to reignite as Billy looked up at his old friend, a smile slowly creeping across his face.

"I need to hear you say it Kim"

"I'll do it" she stated bluntly "I'll be a Power Ranger again"

**Authors Notes:**

And that's the end of the ninth arc of the story.  
This was the mid-point of the second act….so we're actually around the mid-point of the entire story here.  
All I'm gonna say is, get ready for things to start getting crazy as we move forwards.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?:  
That base on Triforia's moon is still hidden….that's gonna have to change at some point.  
Yeah Carnifex rolled up with a full procession behind him like that just to flex.  
We haven't seen Gibil do anything for a while and I felt like reminding people that he kidnaps people from the Dark Empire's ranks to use as _"Projects"_ also, spoilers but we'll see more of him next chapter.  
Naturally Paradoxa was pissed the second he rolled up.  
Lord Zedd's attitude was fun to write…..Also yeah, Andros had a special place on his shit list.  
"_Arch-instigator and father __to__ a legion of bastards"_ that's an insult and a half.  
"_Ah yes Triforia, the pacifists" _face it, Carnifex is quotable.  
"_If your pride is wounded then you should defend it better, insect"_ I mean what else I am supposed to do here but point to each of Carnifex's lines….I don't even think about them too much when I'm writing; the character speaks for himself.  
You didn't really think that Lord Zedd's new general and Paradoxa were gonna meet face to face without throwing down did you?….just remember that Paradoxa doesn't pick fights she isn't certain she can win, she started the antagonising hoping for a fight because she Carnifex would still be tired from the battle on Mirinoi; she misjudged that.  
And of course she's now even more convinced to go rogue.  
Yeah Rensa is gonna need some therapy after this.  
Seriously kids, don't sleep if you think you've got a concussion; there's a good chance you won't wake up.  
Honestly writing Rensa's mental state was difficult for me.  
Back on the roof like he was at the start of the arc, where before he was questioning where he fit in the Alliance and if he really had a place in human society now he's leaning towards going straight vigilante; which is kinda fitting as parts of his design and the design of Dread were based on Konrad "Night Haunter" Curze and the world of Nostramo from Warhammer 40k.  
Of course Andros and Rensa were gonna meet face to face in this chapter.  
Nope, no more cloning Rangers; if you die you die and that's that because there's consequences.  
So Elgar is gonna be working in Piggy's bar in protective custody….enjoy that mental image.  
Andros isn't a Ranger any more; but we all know what his other gauntlet does and we know that_ a)_ Rensa was so angry last chapter he began channelling excess Power and _b) _he's still angry and is getting steadily more so….This is gonna be fun.  
Drinking is not a coping mechanism kids.  
Panthera started out as my idea of combining the _"Anime Cat-girl"_, _"Orc GF"_ and _"Big tit goth GF"_ tropes, so of course she has cat instincts like_ 'Gotta climb that tree for no reason'_, it's why she played with a yo-yo in early chapters.  
It's macabre but Kay's not exactly wrong, those are the two most likely outcomes if they die.  
And there's the pink and green dorks flirting again.  
Terra Venture is Earth's first colony, it was attacked and a Power Ranger died; that is breaking news on every world, space station and colony ship populated by humans.  
_"At least it's nobody you know, it's sad but at least it isn't personal"_ it wasn't an accusation but it does kinda sound like one.  
If you're screaming_ "Just kiss"_ at the screen any time Kay and Panthera interact I want you to know that you're perfectly valid.  
And yeah, Aslaug got some compassionate leave; the Rangers usually get a couple days to recover after a mission and her Dad was at Terra Venture so they let her and Mercy go back to Mirinoi….I was actually gonna have her give Klo to Jarl Ragnar in this chapter and say that he belongs there but it didn't feel like it fit the chapter.  
If Rensa is similar to Konrad Curze from 40k then Aslaug and her people are similar to Leman Russ and the people of Fenris; right down to Aslaug initially joining he Rangers for the adventure.  
Aslaug's people do everything full-on and you can't blame Mercy for being just a little overwhelmed with it, especially considering everything else she was processing.  
Aslaug in full princess attire.  
Aslaug's insight was interesting to write; she's basically taking on the role of being some protector demi-god to her people, because that's how they're going to see her.  
And there's Mercy and Aslaug's struggling with the idea of the L word from the start of the arc dealt with….Also it wasn't on screen but let's not kid ourselves here; Mercy spent the rest of the night getting absolutely railed.  
Billy is on my current sleep schedule.  
I feel like not being able to meditate because he physically cannot stop thinking is Billy in a nutshell.  
Justin working on something; wouldn't it be interesting if that was foreshadowing for something.  
Billy's having an Ian Malcolm _"You so quick to see if you could you never stopped to think about if you should"_ type moment.  
Marigold Utahima….there was a name that Billy interrupted Kimberley before she could say, this was it; _"Got a scholarship" _with Lightspeed after being a cadet indeed.  
Kimberley's speech was bad-ass and you know it.  
So I dropped the plot-twist of Mari being a Ranger candidate at the same time as Kim got ready to get back in the saddle….this is gonna be interesting.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
I'm glad you like the fight scenes, it's always hard to figure out how to handle fights with that many people involved.  
The Quasar Dragon Blaster was foreshadowing for the fact that different Ranger teams can merge their weapons/equipment; which is especially interesting considering what Andros gave to Rensa this chapter.  
Andros lives but there's consequences, because if I let him just carry on after dying then nothing has weight any more.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	40. After The Gold Rush (Arc 10)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 39 – After The Gold Rush**

It had been several weeks since the Dark Empire's attack on Mirinoi; several weeks of waiting with baited breath for a hammer blow that had never come.

Captain Kimberley Hart, along with her colleagues within Mission Control, Promethea One and Lightspeed as a whole had been of the opinion that with over twenty new ships at his disposal and the massive number of warriors and weapons contained with them at his disposal Lord Zedd would unleash a devastating attack on something of strategic importance to the Alliance yet instead, until roughly six hours ago the only activity to speak of had been seeming lightning raids and scouting missions which were intercepted and combated entirely in space, with no attempts to make planet-fall being made.

Six hours ago however the Dark Empire had attacked the colony world of Leslie, settled by the first colony ship to be manufactured by someone other than Promethea; a colony which had attempted to secede from Earth and the Alliance, leading to a brief, if bloody conflict to ensure that unity was maintained in the face of the oncoming threat of the Dark Empire. The Rangers had been deployed and a shrieking feline monstrosity that Mercy had jokingly dubbed _'Careless Whisker'_ had been destroyed before its' violent rampage could cause any lasting damage to the colony; though Kimberley feared that the political damage had already been done and that vocal separatists on the colony would use the attack as proof that the Alliance either could or simply would not protect them and that they would be better off forging their own destiny.

Currently however, Kimberley had other, more pressing concerns that required her attention.

She strode through the now familiar corridors of the joint Lightspeed and Promethea base that led to Billy's lab.

In the weeks following the attack on Terra Venture twin surprises had come first in Triforia sending an envoy, stating that whilst they remained committed to non-violence they would send their most capable mages to help in the efforts to stop the Dark Empire; courtesy of Lord Morsus the ally of the late Trey of Triforia. The second surprise had been far less grandiose and was simply that Billy had taken several of these mages as lab-partners; the undisputed genius parting from his usual approach of working alone so that his mind could leap and wander without the constraint of needing to explain his reasoning to others; with this additional help Billy and Zebidiah had seemingly made great progress on what would become Kimberley's new Morpher and Power Coin and frankly she couldn't wait to see it, her fears and concerns being entirely dwarfed by a simple eagerness as she made her way into the laboratory.

"No coffee to bribe me with today?" Billy noted with faint amusement as she entered

"Not unless you want the battery acid that comes out the vending machines" Kim retorted, grinning as she watched his nose wrinkle in unfettered disgust at the thought; casting her eyes around the room she saw that Billy was currently alone, Zebidiah had no stasis tube through which to project his presence here and whilst he likely could still appear as some sort of apparition it would be taxing for him and the Triforian mages were simply nowhere to be found.

"If you're looking for Zebidiah or the Triforians they're currently in his chambers seeing if there's any additional shielding that we should consider working into Earth's defences….which means that they actually have to read through a list of all the twisted magic he personally knows, I do not envy them at all" Billy's expression became an amusing sight that was equal parts pensive and disturbed as he considered the prospect.

"I wasn't" Kimberley admitted, looking far less authoritative and in command than she truly was as she shuffled almost nervously and asked "I was hoping to see the progress on the Morpher" hearing this Billy found himself unable to keep a smile from his face, pleased as always to have someone to share his work with and quickly gestured for her to follow him to a secondary workshop that had been closed off from the rest of the laboratory with pristine white and well lit space being replaced by gloom that was illuminated only by small, blue-tinged strips

"Oh, going for a very specific look here are we?" Kimberley noted with an amused snort as she noted how this area paid undeniable homage to the original Command Centre. Billy merely gestured in silence to a workbench and the former Pink Ranger immediately fell silent.

Her Morpher was laid before her.

It resembled any of the other Aegis Morphers in its' overall appearance, a rectangular design with rounded edges clearly inspired by the Power Morpher that she had worn as a teenager though longer and narrower to accommodate being worn on the wrist; the circular space where a Power Coin would sit lay empty and the jagged track that ran down the centre of the device resembling a lightning bolt of fangs depending on ones' perspective was currently darkened as the Morpher sat inert. One key difference however was its' colour, whilst the initial five Aegis Morphers were polished silver and the Green Ranger's Morpher was a glossy black this Morpher was finished in a bright gold with a white strap.

"The Power Coin still isn't finished yet, but it should be a matter of days" Billy noted "Working with the Triforians was a great help, whilst the Gold Ranger's powers never came from a fragment of the Zeo Crystal they were close enough that it gave us an understanding of how to reverse engineer it" as he spoke he directed Kimberley's attention to a device beside her Morpher, something she could only interpret as some kind of cradle and containment system built around a small and remarkably advanced three-dimensional printer that was, painstakingly slowly forging a synthetic Power Coin. The coin too was different and Kim's eyes widened as she took it in, it was a smooth yet unmistakably crystalline thing, white in colour but with a finish that refracted light in all colours like some precious opal.

"We should tell the Rangers about this when they return" Kimberley stated, her tone making it clear that the decision had already been made and that she was asking for agreement rather than a second opinion.

"They're still off-world?" Billy asked, an eyebrow arching above his glasses

"They are, they've stayed on Leslie to help with the clean up effort….we agreed it might be a good idea, I don't want to use the Rangers for political theatre but it sends the kind of message we want" Kim answered, her former team-mate nodding in understanding. The Dark Empire's monster had been defeated with relative ease and no mutagenic grenade had been fired, meaning that the Zords had not been required although several buildings had been destroyed or heavily damaged in the ensuing battle and that restoring Leslie to its' former glory would take months at the very least.

"A fair point" Billy nodded "We should break the news when they return for debriefing….you think it might help with Rensa?" the question was asked carefully and Kimberley couldn't help but wince; whilst he had been instructed to visit a therapist on a regular basis following Andros's death and rebirth it was uncertain what difference, if any it would make as the Black Ranger's home world was beyond the Alliance's reach and they simply had no real baseline of what was normal for his people to work from meaning that at any attempts to help with his grieving would simply be imposing their own cultural norms. Of more immediate concern was Rensa's steadily increasing violence in his night-time policing of the city; where before police had simply been called to locations to find would be muggers and thieves bound and gagged his more recent exploits had involved broken bones and lacerations and the police of Promethea One had warned Lightspeed that, Power Ranger or not they would only turn a blind eye for so long.

"I honestly don't know" Kimberley admitted "Rensa needs some kind of help but I don't know if we're the right people to give it….I thought we should tell the Rangers because enough secrets have been kept, especially from Mercy"

"Ah" the former Blue Ranger breathed out as he saw her concerns "You're worried how she'll react to you effectively taking over her job as field commander"

"Kinda" Kimberley admitted a soft smile forming on her face as she thought of her old friends "You remember how Jason and Tommy acted around each other at first?"

"How could I forget" Billy chuckled "But this won't be anything like that….You're the original Pink Ranger; Mercy had posters of you in your armour when she was a little girl. You joining her team will be a dream come true for her"

Kimberley found that she had no argument for that and hoped that Billy was right, even as a blush crept across her cheeks at the idea of the posters that she had once tried to ban from the Aquabase.

* * *

Even after so many hours of sifting through the wreckage and debris of her teams' battle against the Dark Empire Mercy remained undecided as to whether Leslie Colony was a dystopian ruin plucked straight from a comic she had once read or if it was simply the most breathtakingly beautiful place in the known galaxy.

The city itself was vast, far larger and far more densely populated than Promethea One or even Mariner Bay and seemed to be comprised of titanic towers and spires reaching up towards the apex of the cities' transparent environmental dome for as far as the eye could see, the exterior of each of them of covered in a blinding array of dazzling advertisements displayed on flashing lights and cheery animations and whilst Mercy knew that within the beating heart and belly of the city she would find crime and poverty like in any other and that those few small settlements that Leslie had founded elsewhere on the world were poorer still, she couldn't help but find the display stunning.

The world beyond the dome was something else entirely.

The ground had been scorched until it was barren for several miles in all direction simply to protect the colonists from the wildlife of the world they had settled, though beyond that Mercy could see that it was everything she'd been led to believe it would be; pastel blue clouds filled a bright pink sky that gradually darkened as the sun set below the mountains that filled the horizon, impossibly large things whose entire structures seemed to twist and spiral as if the worlds' tectonic plates were subject to entirely different rules than those she was familiar with.

Beyond the scorched earth she could see the treeline marking the edge of a forest untouched by human interference or industry, trees whose limbs moved with a will of their own and whose neon-bright flowers formed shapes that defied description playing host to the planets' majestic, yet terrifying mega-fauna including swarming horrors known as locust monkeys or vaguely avian beasts with feathers like armoured plates that were large enough to carry off a car, that the colonists had dubbed Paleo-Raptors.

The largest of Leslie's monstrous however was currently soaring over the trees and letting out a roar that made the air tremble, the Gold Winged Lion of Leslie; a massive beast with vast feathered wings, a mane of snow white and a stinger-tipped tail trailing behind it as it flew.

"I don't know if your people hunt as a rite of passage….but on my world, fighting that would make a teen an adult and a warrior in the eyes of the tribe" Mercy turned to where Aslaug and Marigold Utahima were sifting through the rubble of what had once been a gas station close by, the Yellow Ranger absently fingering the necklace made of fangs that Mercy had never seen her without.

"A teenager tries to fight that and they'll be a corpse in the eyes of the people here" Mari replied in a tone that was far more cold than her usual cheeriness.

Mercy understood perfectly however, this was Mari's home and it had suffered; Leslie's people were hardy and resilient however, with a shared sense of community that had brought those born here that had travelled to other worlds or colonies back to aid in the recovery as soon as they could find a long range teleporter and seeing the older student whom she saw as something between a friend and what she imagined an older sister to be like Mercy had stated unequivocally that the Rangers would be lending their own support. It was slow going however as each of them had de-morphed following a snide comment from one grizzled veteran soldier whose scars almost certainly came from the failed uprising about how easy it must be to hide behind masks and magic armour.

"Hey….you okay?" Mercy asked, resting her shovel over her shoulder and wandering back over to the two of them, keeping an eye out for any disgruntled colonists who might take offence to her weariness. Mari sat on a scorched a twisted piece of what had once been the gas stations' canopy, cast away from the building as a stray shot from a Dark Empire footsoldier had ignited something flammable and explosive.

"I don't….I mean….not really" Marigold finally admitted as she buried her face in her hands

"I know this sounds stupid, we already had our own war here but war isn't supposed to happen here….this is Leslie, we're just explorers who settled in the most uninhabitable place we could find and called it home, not some giant mining or production outpost or one of the Alliance's core worlds; why would the Empire attack here?"

"I don't know" Mercy admitted "But we stopped 'em….we stopped 'em here and we'll stop 'em again the next time as well. We can rebuild" Mari nodded in silence as she tried to see the silver lining, thin as it was that the younger woman offered her before letting out a sigh and swallowing the lump in her throat as she pushed passed her own sadness

"I know, but this is home….I hate seeing it like this" she rose to her feet once again "I just wish I could do more" any further conversation was halted as they heard Tempestus calling out to them, the Aquitian was working nearby alongside and Rensa and Mercy realised with a start that the Black Ranger with his inhuman flexibility and joints that seemed to bend in all directions had wormed himself into a pile of wreckage that had once been another building; subjecting himself to the most dangerous parts of the recovery operation with an utter lack of fear borne of being used to dark, choking environments and simple relentless determination.

It was clear that the two of them had found survivors trapped beneath the rubble.

"You wanna do more, now's your chance!" she exclaimed as she took off towards her team-mates in a full sprint, Aslaug and Mari barely a step behind her "Come on, back to action!"

* * *

Paradoxa's yellow eyes shone with malevolence as she wore an expression of fathomless and insatiable predatory hunger.

It was time.

In the weeks that had followed Carnifex's arrival to the outpost on Unus Paradoxa had been tirelessly plotting and manipulating events around her to prepare for this moment; the Vanguard Fleet had been operating in Alliance space for the longest and as such she had allowed to continue her raiding for supplies with little interference from Lord Zedd himself or her would be partner and the insectoid Acheron hybrid had used that lack of oversight to her advantage, under-reporting the takings from each operation so that she could siphon off fuel, munitions, food and other necessities for herself whilst also sending ships captained by officers she knew would not follow her directly into the path of Alliance fleets, leaving their ships crippled or destroyed and many of their best warriors dead or captured; those whose loyalty Paradoxa found unquestionable however were spared, rotated and reallocated onto the Heliothis so that they could join her when the moment arose.

From her position in her ornate throne aboard her warships' Spartan command bridge she could see the entirety of the base spread out before her on the viewscreen whilst her crew worked as fervently as she had herself, ensuring that weapons, cloaking, shielding and propulsion systems could all be brought online at a moments' notice yet striving to give no warning to those around them.

Letting out an uncommonly shaky breath as the last of her uncertainties gnawed at the back of her mind Paradoxa prepared to contact Gibil, the ash-furred and impish creature was and would likely forever remain something of an unknown quantity yet she had been forced approach her favoured flesh-crafter out of simple necessity as she knew that his skills would be needed for her plan and that she could not replace him. When asked to declare for either Lord Zedd or Paradoxa herself Gibil had surprised her by siding with her without hesitation; stating that he was an artist and something so simple as base treachery against his Captain was akin to finger-painting for him.

The fact remained however that Paradoxa had her doubts and saw that the demented and inscrutable creature could have simply been waiting for the most dramatic moment to end her machinations; yet she had no choice but to simply trust his word and steeled herself as she opened a comm channel to Gibil's lair to give a single order in her usual silky smooth tones.

"It's time"

"As you command Lady Paradoxa" Gibil ended the sentence with a maniacal chuckle and Paradoxa could almost hear his fur brushing against the ground as he stooped into a low bow, yet there were far more important matters to focus on as, a mere second later the imps' loyalties were proven beyond all doubt and her plans were put into action.

Gibil had ensured that the Heliothis was stocked with enough Putties to weather a protracted campaign, as long as it took for Paradoxa to find a suitable supply of mages whose souls could be bound for the creation of another Dread Forge; the imp had also made several small adjustments and modifications to the forge located some distance away. Paradoxa watched the events unfolding from her command bridge as those changes became clear to see, the Dread Forge spitting out Putties at a rate which left each automaton in a near-molten state as it was birthed, hundreds upon hundreds of the things emerging within a matter of seconds and each of them rampaging blindly into anything in their path, ruining equipment and overrunning several crews of chain-ganged workers and their overseers before any resistance could be mounted.

Aboard the Heliothis the situation was bleaker still.

Paradoxa had been unable to manipulate the staffing of each vessel so that her ship was filled entirely with her own dissident faction; instead she had ensured that she simply had enough crew and warriors for the Heliothis to operate smoothly and had instructed Gibil to prepare dozens upon dozens of his horrific creations, each monster being allocated to a specific dissident commander. Now, as entire sections of the Heliothis were sealed off those aboard the vessel still loyal to Lord Zedd attempted to fight, flee or simply screamed in terror as their former allies turned upon them and Gibil's creations rampaged into their midst.

It was a revolution and a grand culling, just as Paradoxa wished to inflict upon the ruling bloodline of the Empire.

"Engage shields and cloaking, prepare for warp jump" she ordered, something akin to glee filling her voice as the thrill of the battle and her plan coming to fruition began to take over.

"Aye lady Paradoxa!" the response came from several stations in unison and moments later the Heliothis lurched as its' hulking, near city-sized and segmented mass began to rise into the air; its' shields flaring into life around it just as several of Lord Zedd's loyalists on the ground seemed to understand her treachery for what it was and open fire, their lasers, missiles and arcane witch-fire never reaching the ships' hull.

It was too late however, the Heliothis rippled out of existence as its' cloaking field was activated and Paradoxa shifted the command bridges' viewscreen to a star-map displaying her target; a world rich in resources that the Alliance had at least partially colonised yet seemed unwilling to properly raze and consume out of some incomprehensible concerns for its' wildlife; Paradoxa would take everything that the planet had to offer, its' wildlife included and offered to Gibil as fresh materials with which to work.

She would need warriors if she intended to take the throne of the Dark Empire for herself after all.

* * *

Night had fallen over Leslie Colony and once again the world seemed eager to prove its' inhabitants' boasts of it being the most beautiful place in the galaxy as the pink sky faded faded to a velvety blackness streaked with the last traces of darkening magenta and the worlds' twin moons came into view, vast and silvery and surrounded by countless stars and distant galaxies rendered visible by the lack of light pollution.

The view, stunning as it might have been was nevertheless ruined by the thick plumes of black smoke that continued to rise into the air, faster than the colonies' air filters could scrub them away.

Panthera turned her attention back towards the ground after taking a moment to steady herself; keen eyes shifting from the dust-covered and bloodstained body currently being loaded onto a stretcher beside her to something golden and gleaming in the debris that it had been pulled from

"Wait" she called out to the paramedics preparing to take the body away, voice suddenly urgent as she dove towards the golden sliver and pulled it free, revealing to be a fine necklace which had been snapped free of its' wearers neck which she gathered up and placed delicately in the deceased woman's hands, gently closing her fingers around it and shutting her eyes so that she looked more peaceful in death as she murmured something in the language spoken aboard one of the many smuggler fleet ships she had lived aboard as a child. Panthera was a smuggler and occasional thief and had been party to many other unsavoury deeds but grave-robbing or anything related to it were taboo to even the most cut-throat of pirates and bandits.

Soon the body was being carried away and Panthera once again turned her eyes skyward, looking away from the devastation that had been caused when a Dark Empire tank opened fire on an office building whose glassy exterior offered little protection for those within until Kay had torn the gravity defying vehicle apart, its' crew fleeing in terror as the Green Ranger's sword ripped through its' armoured hull. A moment later she felt an arm wrap loosely around her waist and made to lash out at the overly familiar gesture before realising that it had come from the Green Ranger in question

"Are you okay?" Kay murmured, their voice as musical and soothing as always and currently they wore an outfit that was distinctly feminine yet did nothing to take away from the aura of strength that they seemed to radiate; Panthera merely leaned into the gesture and rested her head on their shoulder for a moment before answering

"I hate seeing what happens when we're not fast enough" she ground out through clenched teeth

"This might be something Mercy can help you with" Kay's eyes were sad and their tone apologetic "I'm not sure I know what to say"

"You're doing okay so far" Panthera grinned, putting just enough distance between them for to playfully elbow them before looking away from the Green Ranger's black and pink eyes and back at the stars once again; Kay following her gaze and speaking up

"Looking for home?"

"Looking for Bastet Major….Felix's star, it was never really home" Panthera corrected, reminding Kay that she had never seen her people's home-world before adding "I was just wondering if that's where Acinonyx ended up; I wouldn't let the Smuggler Guild tell me where they took her when we got her off of Edenoi"

Kay nodded in understanding, whilst they had not been present or indeed even born when Panthera's sister had been used as a living weapon against the Rangers and as a proof of concept that led to their own creation the Green Ranger had still be informed of the events and could easily see how Panthera's mind had leapt from one perceived failing to another.

"We could look for her?" Kay offered, speaking slowly and tentatively "When we beat Lord Zedd, and we will….we could go to Felix and look for your sister there or find members of the Smuggler Guild….all six of us, or just the two of us"

"You'd do that?" Panthera was surprised but couldn't seem to find a reason for why she should be whilst also being unable to articulate the sudden lump in her throat a swell of emotions in her chest.

"Of course" Kay answered earnestly, as if there was no decision to be made. Panthera turned to face them and made to pull them into a crushing embrace, tail swishing happily behind her until it came to an abrupt halt and her catlike eyes widened a fraction as Kay reached out, seemingly to caress her cheek only to wipe away a thin trickle of blood from a cut she hadn't noticed

"You hurt yourself" they murmured, voice lowering to little more than a whisper as they gently traced another, older wound; along thin scar below her right eye that traced her cheekbone "How did this happen?"

"Something heroic and incredibly bad-ass" Panthera managed to overcome the sudden dryness in her throat and reply with her usual vague aloofness and a joking tone which Kay merely rolled their eyes at, until the two of them both seemed to realise at the same time that they were still tenderly stroking her cheek and broke apart, clearing their throats and trying to dispel the sudden awkwardness.

"I think the others need help" Panthera noted, gesturing to where Mari was working alongside the other Aegis Rangers; her comment both serving as a distraction and also being a simple truth. Tempestus was currently on his knees and looked distinctly heartbroken and defeated, utterly overwhelmed by the destruction around him which Panthera understood as a fellow orphan, moreover whilst her own parents had died in space Tempestus's family had been lost during the destruction of an Aquitian city, leading to devastation much like what currently surrounded them. Kay nodded and agreement and the two of them made their way towards the others, putting the relief effort aside momentarily and both trying to ignore the way their hands brushed against one another and how they both instinctively reached out for each other.

"How's it looking over here?" Panthera asked cautiously, bracing herself for the answer as her fellow Rangers turned towards her.

"We've found a lot of survivors" Marigold answered, absently playing with the flower in her hair as she cast her eyes downwards "But too many people who didn't make it"

"But we're not gonna stop" Mercy chimed in, unrelentingly optimistic and determined as always "There's more people to find and we're gonna find 'em"

"Cousin-" Kay fell silent, whatever platitudes or reassurances they had intended to offer going unsaid as they, along with everyone else for miles around and likely the entire population of the colony found their gaze forced upwards.

The sky had turned black.

This was not the previous velvety gloom, illuminated by the twin moons and countless stars; instead it was a darkness orders of magnitude more severe and all consuming as the sky beyond the dome was blocked from view by something unimaginably large,

Something with the overall shape of a battleaxe, yet warped and corrupted with six blade like wings sprouting from its' monstrous hindquarters and a segmented length that seemed to curl slowly and inexorably around the colony.

"Mari….run" Mercy croaked out as she stood rooted to the spot, awed by the sight of the largest Dark Empire vessel she had ever seen until finally she mastered herself and grasped her Morpher as she turned to her fellow Rangers who stood at the ready beside her, waiting for the order that she readily gave.

"It's Morphin' time!"

* * *

"Status report" Paradoxa ordered silkily as she shifted her weight on her throne, a steadily rising sense of urgency making any true comfort unattainable.

"Pitched battles are ongoing throughout the ship Lady Paradoxa" a member of her bridge crew informed her nervously, bringing a series of images onto the near panoramic viewscreen showing that several of Gibil's creations had been cut down along with hundreds of her own faction, though their losses were paltry in comparison to the bodies of the loyalists which lay in heaps or simply littered the ground throughout several sections of the ship. Paradoxa regarded the footage of the gunfights, charges and heroic last stands taking place throughout her vessel and decided that they were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, her enemies were outnumbered, outclassed and surrounded; her victory was merely a matter of time and with that in mind she turned her attention to more pressing matters, opening a comm channel to Gibil's lair.

"The creation I ordered, is it ready?"

"Ready and nearing your location Lady Paradoxa, it will be arriving any moment completely unharmed, I have my ways yes I do" Gibil's joyous and excitable chattering quickly gave way to deranged chattering and unintelligible mutters that were in turn lost beneath a fit of giggling; Paradoxa disregarded the imp as the entrance to the Command Bridge hissed open and Gibil's creation strode into view.

Paradoxa promised that she would make Gibil her right hand in her Dark Empire for his work.

The thing was tall and powerfully built, Standing at almost seven feet tall even with its' slightly hunched posture and sporting a physique that was well muscled, yet utterly monstrous, largely owing to its' asymmetry. Its' right hand was oddly human, save for its' digits ending in hooked claws and the fact that the monsters' right hand arm and much of its' torso and abdomen were entirely without skin, simply being masses of dense and bulging, pinkish muscle covered by some filmy substance that gave it a glassy sheen. Its' left pectoral and flank were covered in a thick natural armour, a shell of a deep bronze-brown colour with shadowy recesses whose jagged and craggy nature gave it an appearance almost akin to solid rock; the armour extended down to the things' waist and mismatched legs, the right leg ending in an armoured boot whilst the left was a three toed claw, though both sides of its' waist were covered with armoured skirts formed from the twisted and segmented forms of smaller, atrophied limbs. The Monsters' armour also extended to its' back and formed jagged ridges along its' spine and covered its' left arm which was far larger than the right, the armour covering its' muscles making the bicep seem twice as large whilst the forearm and hand were replaced by a horrifically powerful pincer, its' serrated claws resembling a pair of saw-blades sprouting from a blunt and craggy cudgel larger than a mans' chest.

Its' head was no less unsettling peering forwards on a neck sunken between broad shoulders, with a jaw and underside of raw, skinless tissue and a gaping maw from which a pair of twitching mandibles reached, resembling segmented limbs rather than teeth whilst its' skull was encased in armour that could best be said to resemble the shell of a hermit crab, rugged yet streamlined and sported a single pure blue-grey orb of an eye without a pupil in its' centre.

"This will most certainly do" Paradoxa found herself chuckling, the final stage of her plan was upon her. She knew that the Heliothis could and certainly would be tracked by Lord Zedd and his forces, just as surely as she knew that the Alliance would be upon her the moment she dropped her cloaking field; she was counting of both of those eventualities occurring so that her enemies could battle amongst each other whilst she seized her true prize.

The colony itself.

Paradoxa was far from foolish enough to believe that she could wage a civil war against the Dark Empire with a single ship. instead she had sent a raiding party filled with those who would not swear fealty to her to this world mere hours ago to weaken its' defences only for the raiding party to find their cache of mutagenic grenades missing when the time came. Now that the defenders were already reeling she would deliver the killing blow and take control of one of the Alliances' vaunted colony ships, granting her access to its' weapons and armoury, its' resources, its' people as a supply of slaves with which to build her new domain, whatever examples of this worlds' terrifying wildlife she could make off with to be used in Gibil's experiments and most importantly of all the Alliances' far superior teleportation technology with which she would raise the colony ship from the ground and make her escape.

"Ready the Putties any warrior not involved in the culling is to ready themselves for immediate deployment! Today we forge a new, greater Dark Empire!" she boomed out as she rose to her feet, armoured mandibles and crown closing over her face to form her battle-mask as she turned to her crew, Gibil's monster falling into position beside her

"Disengage cloaking fields and prepare to land"

**Authors' Notes:**

Welcome to the tenth arc of the story.  
This arc is called_ "Gold"_ and the chapter titles are just songs with gold in the title, this one being named afte Lang song….I wish I had something more creative than that for you, but oh well.  
This chapter kinda feels a little on the short side, but it accomplished what it needed to and honestly, I'll make up for it because the other chapters this arc are gonna be hefty.  
Also….No spoilers here but, brace yourselves; it's gonna get bumpy.

That being said, let's summarise shall we:  
I feel like Lord Zedd is smart enough not to go straight on the offensive the day his reinforcements arrive, he'd expect the Alliance to be on the alert.  
Leslie, where Marigold Utahima is from and a reference to Leslie from the Dekaranger movie.  
_'Careless Whisker'_ nope, not sorry.  
Ah politics, the worst thing in the galaxy.  
You can thank regular reviewer Blue Legends for the mention of the Triforian mages, it came from a private message where they theorised that the Gold Ranger powers could tie into the creation of a synthetic Zeo crystal, which whilst not where I was going was definitely worth a mention.  
Imagine having to read through a list of all the ways the former Lord Zedd can un-alive you with magic.  
I didn't wanna make the seventh Morpher an entirely different design, Aegis Morphers all look the same but come in different colours; the new coin however is basically made from a synthetic Zeo crystal so that it can channel the Morphing Grid_ (Which comes from an old theory I read once and have kept in the back of my head ever since; being the reason that the Zeo crystal was so heavily defended was because it didn't discriminate like a Power Coin, it would give power to anyone holding it)_.  
So Rensa has been getting rowdier and edgier in his exploits.  
I mean it's a fair point, imagine being Red Ranger for months just to get relieved of command for no reason.  
I'm imagining the city as Tokyo in Ghost in the Shell but with a pastel coloured death-world outside the dome.  
Gold Winged Lion, in an arc called _"Gold" _wherein we're getting a new Ranger…._innocent whistling intensifies_.  
Of course Aslaug wants to wrestle it, but yeah I like the idea of fighting some huge apex predator being a rite of passage for her people, it fits what we've seen of 'em.  
So Kimberley's looking at the Morpher, but Mari was a candidate and she's here….the plot thickens.  
Leslie had an uprising, they don't need to see the Alliance's superheroes waving their powers in their faces.  
"_I wish I could do more"  
_So Rensa is beating the ever loving shit out of people, but he's still the one slinking into the gaps in the rubble of a gas station that might have gas leaks and be about to blow so he can dig people out.  
Oh Paradoxa has been sneaky and clever, because she has never been just a bumbling lackey.  
Gibil basically said _"Bitch please I've got standards"_.  
They unleashed the putties like a zombie horde on their own base, classy.  
"_A__revolution and a __grand culling" _just fits Paradoxa….also yeah, she's literally going to launch an attack with a civil war happening on her own ship, like a boss.  
Yeah sorry, hate to break the illusion but those Dark Empire attacks definitely have a body count….also the thing with Panthera making sure the deceased had their shiny trinkets with them, definitely a space smuggler thing.  
Everything about Panthera and Kay's interactions in this scene was an absolute pleasure to write, what can I say other than point at how cute these two are.  
Tempestus is a delicate soul.  
Mercy does not quit, that's what makes her the Red Ranger; she just keeps on ploughing through her problems…..which if we're honest might make her a little annoying to deal with at times.  
Come on you knew that Paradoxa was thinking about Leslie when I described the planet.  
So Gibil can smuggle things through the ship without running into any of the pitched battles, that'll come in useful later.  
I don't know where the idea for the crab monster came from, I mean I've been watching Kamen Rider Zero: One so maybe that's some of the horseshoe crab influence but this thing just showed up in my head fully formed demanding to be written  
And this is where Paradoxa shows off just how good she is, she could have just took her ship, ripped out whatever transponder Zedd is gonna use to track her and vanished; instead she's gonna let the Alliance and Empire fleets fight each other to a standstill whilst she steals a colony ship that she already softened up, by throwin Zedd's forces at it.  
"_Disengage cloaking fields and prepare to land"_ is one hell of an ending, because we haven't actually seen a Dark Empire ship land before, usually they stay in orbit.

Thank you to Super ShadowHenshin and Blue Legends for their reviews on the last chapter.  
I mean people from KO-Thirty Five don't bleed red, so there's a good chance that they might not have recognised it as blood….But yeah, still pretty grisly.  
Eh, Andros lived on Dread for years with Rensa and his people before rejoining the guerilla army as a whole; he's seen those death-rites before he knew it was gonna happen.  
Oh you think that was unexpected, wait until you see what I've got in store for you in this arc.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	41. Gold Dust Woman

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 40 – Gold Dust Woman **

The Dark Empire had never launched an attack like this before.

Kimberley, Billy and Zebidiah watched events unfolding in wide-eyed and horrified disbelief on the central viewing globe of the Command Centre; with Corcus striding into the restricted area to join them and offer his strategic opinions, yet going completely unnoticed by Mission Control.

When Kimberley and Billy had been Power Rangers facing off against first Rita Repulsa and then Zebidiah himself when he had still been Lord Zedd the Empire had employed a distinct and consistent strategy, a single monster flanked by a retinue of Putties sent to rampage through Angel Grove until the Rangers presented themselves; their battles becoming a performance almost akin to ritualistic honour duels. Thus far Zebidiah's second born son, the latest Lord Zedd and his new Dark Empire had employed a consistent strategy of their own, different as it was ever since the Vanguard Fleet had first arrived in Alliance space; lightning raids and well prepared strike forces, often accompanied by Acheron Hybrids or genetic abominations with targeted attacks on key locations often occurring in tandem with other attacks acting as diversions, thus far the Dark Empire had been masters of the art of striking and fading away into the shadows, as was proven by the fact that even after months the Alliance was no closer to finding the Vanguard Fleets' base of operations.

They had never launched repeated or sustained attacks on a specific target before, yet it was happening now; with a force far larger than anything that Mission Control had anticipated.

Promethea One had received the call for aid from Leslie colony and upon arriving at the Command Centre Mission Control had been confronted with the sight of the Aegis Rangers morphed and facing off against a horrific crablike monster covered in heavy chitinous armour whilst hordes of Putties rushed into the colony, pouring out of the gigantic Dark Empire ship that had landed close by and coiled itself around the protective dome encasing the city and in through several major thoroughfares; the defenders were simply overwhelmed, having already suffered losses in the previous battle and having nowhere near to the numbers the would need to stem the tide of warbling automatons. Yet even this was a ruse, panicked and desperate reports were reaching the Command Centre of small strike teams of Dark Empire footsoldiers being teleported in storm locations they deemed to be important.

"The Rangers are struggling" Corcus noted as the viewing globe showed Mercy be flung through the air as the monster her team fought batted her aside with a dismissive backhand and whilst Kay unleashed one of their signature energy based attacks to slow the things' advance it seemed to do little more than stagger it.

"The Rangers can't stop this entire attack" Billy noted "Not alone"

"Where are our reinforcements?" Zebidiah's voice boomed out from behind them, the sorcerers projection demanding answers from the crew of the Command Centre

"Ships are en route and ground forces will be teleporting in from another base in a matter of minutes sir-"

"They'll all be dead in a matter of minutes at this rate"

Kimberley tuned it all out, the noise around her fading away as her entire focus narrowed down on the situation before her and the clear, simple steps she needed to take to prevent a disaster before finally; with a steely expression she turned to face the rest of Mission Control and spoke clearly and calmly, yet with a tone that would brook no argument.

"Zebidiah you have command, contact Professor Sterling if you need assistance" she had expected the former Lord Zedd to argue, instead the projection merely nodded and Kimberley turned her attention elsewhere "Corcus, you and I are going to teleport to Leslie's surface; I want you to take charge of the local defences and keep them fighting until help arrives, I'll be getting people to safety….Billy I don't care how you do it but I need that Morpher and I need it now" the former Blue Ranger's jaw worked silently as he considered all of the risks of rushing the process of synthesising a Power Coin and then in turn worked out countermeasures for each of them, mind racing and developing ideas in an instant before finally he nodded

"I'm sure I can provide" he assured her before turning and briskly leaving the Command Centre. Corcus and Kimberley turned to face Zebidiah and for a moment a tense silence filled the air, each of them on the verge of speaking but ultimately remaining silent as they struggled to find the words where a simple 'good luck' would not suffice. Eventually Kimberley simply nodded to the crew of the Command Centre and gave the order

"Two to teleport….let's do this" and a moment later twin streaks of light flashed into existence as the former Pink Power Ranger and Black Aquitian Ranger vanished.

* * *

The Rangers latest foe had presented itself almost the moment the Dark Empire's forces had begun storming Leslie Colony for the second time in a single day, the unsettling crustacean horror with its' mismatched and uneven form appearing both armoured and flayed in various places being amongst the first wave of attackers and clearly seeking the Rangers out deliberately in what was an almost welcomingly normal aspect of the attack.

Almost from the moment the battle had started however the situation had proven itself to be far less straightforward or conventional than they might have hoped as, whilst the Rangers had focused their attention solely on the hulking crablike monster that they had deemed to be their primary threat and ignored the masses of Putties that had accompanied it the Dark Empire forces subscribed to no such niceties; the horde of Putties were joined by small groups of footsoldiers whose role seemed to be to corral the warbling automatons and these warriors, armed with ranged weapons took up positions in the ruins and detritus of the previous battle to take pot-shots at the Rangers which in turn caused groups of Putties, perhaps a dozen at a time and of various varieties to break off from the tide of animated stone and aid the monster.

All of this had led to Mercy's current predicament of facing off against the monster alone whilst the other Rangers dealt with the latest putties to intervene and, if possible root out the enemy soldiers sniping at them.

Her muscles burned and ached and the dull throb in her chest where she been struck by the things' monstrous cudgel of a pincer was punctuated by sharp lances of pain with each laboured breath yet still she persisted, katana in hand and the scarlet glow of its' blade illuminating the darkness around her as she braced herself before charging forwards again with a wordless battle-cry.

She sprinted towards the monster, blade trailing behind her it charged forwards to meet her with the two of them striking in the same instant; the monster drove its' humanoid right hand forwards to grasp at the Red Ranger's helmet and hoist her into the air by the skull as Mercy lashed out, fiery red sparks bursting from the point of impact as her katana cut a thin gouge into armour of the things' left shoulder. In response the monster thrust forwards with its' oversized pincer, the serrated and hacksaw-like claws of the appendage aimed at her face yet Mercy was prepared and managed to angle her katana between the claws to halt the attack; the force of the blow flung her backwards and as the monster kept its' grip on her skull she used the sudden momentum to lock her legs around the things' elbow and perform a back-flip in mid-air, flinging the monster to the ground with a crash before looming over it as it regarded her with its' lone, emotionless eye and snapped its' many-jointed mandibles in fury whilst the Red Ranger poised her weapon for a killing blow

"MERCY GET DOWN!"

The frantically screamed warning was not enough and she was saved only by Aslaug colliding with her like a golden yellow comet and flinging her aside a moment before the space she had occupied was engulfed in a beam of light that resulted in an earthshaking explosion that flung the two Rangers through the air with debris and minute fragments of rubble raining down on them.

The Dark Empire forces had started deploying tanks.

"Oh come on!" Mercy exclaimed as she leapt to her feet, Aslaug joining her and taking in the sight of the machine that had fired on them; a crescent shaped thing whose tips pointed forwards with a small cockpit nestled in its' centre and with a large and unwieldy looking turret mounted upon its' back, the entire thing hovering above the ground as it trained its' weapon on them again.

"That….thing is on its' feet again" Aslaug warned, her low and gruff voice coloured by breathlessness as she watched the unnatural beast that Mercy had grappled with drag itself up from the scorched and broken ground

"That tank is getting ready to fire again" Mercy noted nervously as she watched specs of incandescent light flicker into existence around the machines' primary weapon and be drawn into the mouth of the barrel. The two were spared from having to choose which of the two adversaries to engage first as beam of emerald light tore through the tanks' turret and ripped the weapon away in a burst of flames and a flash of purple light, Mercy gave the slightest nod of thanks to Kay before the Green Ranger continued to smash through a disorganised mob of the partially crystalline and highly flammable variety of Putties that the Rangers had come to know as _'Slagheaps' _ before being forced to act as both the monster and the now critically damaged and burning tank rushed towards her and Aslaug.

"I'll halt the tank!" Aslaug offered, flinging herself in front of the Red Ranger and manifesting her axe, leaving Mercy to combat the crablike abomination once again.

The pilot of the tank had other ideas however and as the machine drew close both Rangers heard the alien bellow out a final pledge of allegiance from within the cockpit before detonating something vital within the machine; causing an explosion far greater than the first that flung both Aslaug and Mercy hurtling backward and rolling to stop, their morphed states flickered around them for a moment and with the monster baring down on them before they had any chance to recover.

It never reached them.

Tempestus came streaking towards the monster from seemingly nowhere, redirecting a wild swing of its claw with his staff and using the momentum to drag the thing off balance before it threw its' whole weight behind an attack and the two of them were reduced to grappling in the midst of the battlefield, the Blue Ranger's staff between them to hold the creature at bay. The other Rangers soon made their presence known as Tempestus flung himself backwards, acting on instinct alone as Panthera's twin, curved blades ripped through the air in their combined form; ripping away one of the monsters' segmented mandibles before flying back to the Pink Ranger's hand as she leapt into the air to deliver a crushing knee-strike to its' lone eye before dropping into a low crouch and sweeping at the things' mismatched legs; just as Kay dispatched the last of the Putties and unleashed another beam of light from their glowing palm which struck the unprotected right side of the things' chest and flung it away from Panthera.

An instant later the Ranger's had regrouped, Kay pulling Mercy to her feet as they spoke

"The Putties seem to have broken off, they're acting the way they usually do and targeting anything in the way again"

"The snipers and soldiers giving them orders have been taken care of" Rensa hissed viciously as he slunk into view from behind the other Rangers; Mercy noticed his daggers and forced herself not to think about the ramifications of the various coloured stains that were smeared across their blades and instead addressed her team as a whole.

"Everyone okay?"

"Annoyed and thoroughly done with today" Panthera quipped, Mercy chose not to respond to that comment as the sight of the as-yet unnamed crab-monster lurching to its' feet once more took precedence in her mind. It was clearly injured, with oily blue blood dripping from the stump of its' severed mandible and coating its' chest in a glossy sheen were its' raw, skinless flesh had been struck by Kay's attack and though it was clearly in pain the thing seemed to be suffering no lasting damage, rather from what little she could tell from its' singular milky eye Mercy guessed that they had simply angered it further

"Rensa….can you do the thing?" she found herself asking as an idea occurred to her "That you did on Mirinoi where your armour was glowing" the Black Ranger remained silence, yet shifted his weight and braced himself and focused as hard as he could, concentration and determination rolling off of him in near palpable waves, yet it was to no avail as his armour remained unchanged

"I can't" he admitted, voice returning from its' earlier savage hiss to its' usual quiet and almost demure tones.

"No problem, we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way" Mercy shrugged as she readied her weapon and regarded the monster which was slowly attempting to circle them, its' almost scuttling sideways motion only adding to its' crablike qualities "Rush it!"

The six of them charged and rather than rush out to meet them ad Mercy had expected the nameless horror simply planted its' uneven feet squarely on the ground and held its' outsized pincer in front of its' body, the saw-blade claws splaying wider and wider until a sickening snap sounded from somewhere within the limb before finally the claws snapped shut with a sound far louder than what the motion should have produced; a dull sonic-boom preceding a shock-wave that was unleashed in a single controlled direction, throwing the Rangers to the ground and halting their advance.

"Any other plans cousin?" Kay asked as they leapt to their feet, Mercy privately cursing the fact that spending so much time with Panthera had given them an apparent mastery of sarcasm; her thoughts were quickly turned to the matter at hand however as the sound of the monsters' heavy footfalls announced its' charge

"Yeah! Think fast!" she warned as she leapt to her feet and prepared to meet the attack head on with the other Aegis Rangers following her lead.

* * *

A dozen Putties were torn apart in a single blow.

An arc of golden flames cleaved through the chattering constructs and rather than strike the circular plate in the centre in each of their chests that would have caused each of them to shatter and collapse the golden flames and the blade that they had manifested around tore open the abdomens of each Putty in turn, faster than the eye could seen and simply broke them in half. The Putties remained functional however, the arcane light in their eye sockets flickering but refusing to fail until Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name delivered finishing blows; the first coming in the form of his taloned foot crashing down onto the chest of a stony construct and crushing in entirely.

Casting his eyes around presented him with a sight that inspired nothing but pure and unfettered rage; the Dark Empire's base on Unus was in flames.

The Dread Forge that had begun spawning a rampaging swarm of Putties had been disabled at some point during the course of the battle yet it had come at a cost; not the piles of bodies that had once been rank and file soldiers or menial and enslaved workers of course, those could be replaced and were of no consequence. Paradoxa's treachery had left sizeable damage to large swathes of the base, the mines and quarries that had been established strewn and littered with the twisted and burning remains of mining equipment; vast quantities of ammunition had been expended and their ability to replenish it had been limited whilst tanks and small fighter craft or other, more specialised vehicles had been lost by the score and most abominably of all several ships from both the remnants of the Vanguard Fleet and Carnifex's own forces had been damaged to varying degrees.

Carnifex's attention, along with that of his fellow saurian warriors was suddenly directed towards the centre of their vast and sprawling base as a tide of Putties converged on a single point, a pile of hundreds, if not thousands of writhing and warbling bodies creating a dome of animate stone several meters thick until deep crimson light began to pour from the minute gaps between each of the Putties.

The ground cracked and shattered before Lord Zedd freed himself from the swarm of Putties with a single gesture and primal roar.

Countless Putties were unmade in a single instant with the rest being reduced to a fine, powdery dust hanging in the air by a series of blows from his gargantuan twin-bladed sword as the towering and armoured tyrant waded in their midst once more, the Putties continuing to charge at him thrashing and chattering without fear even as they were crushed and torn asunder; Lord Zedd's sword unleashing arcs of crackling crimson lightning with each slash, breaking the ground open and finally flashing across the basted surface of the Triforian moon and breaching a vast gash into the hull of a nearby warship as he tore through the last of the automatons.

"TO YOUR LORD!" Carnifex bellowed, readying his sword once more as he charged with a battle-cry spilling from his fanged maw and his household of draconian knights a step behind him; a single Putty which had been torn to fragments with three of its' legs and a sizeable portion of its' cranium absent entirely attempted to crawl towards Lord Zedd only for Carnifex to thrust his sword through the centre of its' back and bursting out of the circular plate of its' chest, shattering the automaton instantly; at that moment Carnifex promptly sank to his knees and bowed his head in abject shame

"My Lord" he almost whimpered "If I had known that Paradoxa were capable of such treason, I would have laid her low-"

"Silence" Lord Zedd's low, rumbling voice shook the air around him; the ragged breaths issuing from beneath the grilled mouth-plate of his helm sounding like the snarls of a caged and enraged animal; his words laced with some dark magic that left frost creeping out across the ground from around him whilst the entirety of the base and his subjects fell deathly silent with none daring to so much as breath out of turn for fear that they might become a target of his rage.

"If the ward-stones I placed around around the perimeter were damaged in the battle then our presence here could be discovered by the Alliance before due time" Lord Zedd snarled before glancing upwards at the roiling and impossibly dark sky overhead, a swirling and magically charged dome that seemed to have remained entirely in tact despite the ferocity of the battle.

"I must remain here" he continued, the air shuddering around him as his barely contained rage manifested itself as pulsing arcane energies "I will bolster our defences and see to it that what was lost is reforged and that the Empire's advance isn't halted by such petty treason….Carnifex, you know what you must do"

"I do my lord" the crimson-scaled reptile assured him, beaked and armoured snout twisting into a monstrous smile as he relished being given license to hunt down the opportunistic and backstabbing insect that insulted the Dark Empire itself with her presence.

"TO ME!" he barked out to his knights and the retainers, serfs and lesser warriors that accompanied them as he rose to his feet and with marched towards the Draco-Ocidendum which had been left undamaged by the attack "We will bring back Paradoxa's head and mount it on a pike as a warning to any who would defy Lord Zedd! FOR THE DARK EMPIRE!"

* * *

Beneath her battle-mask Paradoxa couldn't help but give a confident and utterly self-satisfied smirk as she split an armoured personnel carrier neatly in half with a single, lazy twirl of her double-ended halberd; the sheared edges of the vehicle still glowing red hot as the insectoid warlord smashed them aside and continued on her path through Leslie Colony, flanked by heavily armed alien warriors belonging to species that those native to the city had never encountered and a dozen or so putties trailing behind her.

All was going according to plan.

Her initial wave of Putties had been a simple, albeit effective ploy intended to reveal the locations of her most valuable targets. When the city that formed the bulk of the colony had been faced with the threat of being simply drowned beneath a wave of animate stone those sworn to protect it had naturally rallied around which they valued the most; shelters intended for civilians, hospitals, communication systems, sites and individuals of political importance, long range teleportation chambers and space ports from which reinforcements might arrive and most importantly the power supply and master controls for the colony as a whole. Paradoxa had then dispatched tactical squads of her most well trained and well armed warriors to seize control of strategic points of her prize whilst her footsoldiers, construct and otherwise rampaged through its' paltry defences with the aid of armoured support; the insectoid Acheron hybrid herself however had her eyes on the most important target of all. Despite the layout and architecture of this this colony being a vast departure of the schematics that had been given to her by Ivan Komarov before he had outlived his usefulness Paradoxa had discerned the whereabouts of the master controls, which she would be able to use to raise the Colony into space where it would serve as the seat of her power.

All of that was unknown and frankly unimportant to Marigold Utahima.

After being ordered to run by Mercy when the Dark Empire's ship had first appeared in the sky above the colonies' protective dome Mari had sprinted as fast as her legs would carry her deeper into the city, only to find no refuge there as enemy forces had begun to teleport in.

Eventually she had found herself standing on a heavily damaged bridge that had served both pedestrians and the monorail that ran through the city; the bridge had been damaged by what must have been a large calibre weapon or rocket of some kind and Mari supposed that the monorail must have been on a course that would have seen it fall and crash into the ground below as the pilot of a small and nimble aircraft had landed their fighter in the gap in a display of daring and precision, with indentations left where the monorail had passed over it.

Mari watched from the bridge with her heart hammering in her chest and hands trembling as Paradoxa and her retinue marched through the streets below her, drawing steadily closer.

Ducking out of view behind the warped and damaged outer edge of the bridge Mari steeled herself and began working up the nerve to act. She was terrified and certainly in a situation far beyond anything that her years as a Silver Guardian Cadet had prepared her for, especially when considering that she had only attended the classes part time rather than living in barracks like those orphans and wards of the state cared for by Project Lightspeed; she was however defiant and possessed the bravery and resolve that was a prerequisite for anyone hoping to withstand the training Silver Guardians were subjected to, as such she took one last peak around the twisted edge of the damaged remains of the bridge wall before forming a plan and springing into action, despite being entirely unarmed.

She darted forwards, blood rushing in her ears and every nerve and muscle coiled tight as she expected to be fired on and her life to flash before her eyes at any moment yet she made it to her objective; moving quickly and staying low to the ground whilst neither Paradoxa or her retinue looked up as Mari bolted from the bridge into the cockpit of the fighter craft. She had no idea how to pilot it or even activate its' engines, instead she simply jumped and leveraged all of her weight and as much force as she could muster until finally she was rewarded with the sound of creaking metal and a shower of sparks as broken components of the bridge and monorail track shifted and the fighter slipped from the gap it had initially landed to fill.

Falling right into the midst of Paradoxa's retinue as they passed under the bridge.

"SEARCH THAT CRAFT!" the voice that boomed out the order could only have belonged to Paradoxa, the insectoid commander of the Dark Empire forces that Mari had heard about from Mercy, a silky voice, aloof and detached but with a note of utterly galled fury lying beneath.

More importantly however the sound of weapons being readied and footsteps drawing close as the Dark Empires' footsoldiers followed the order, interspersed with the warbling of Putties and Marigold was still unarmed, the pilot of the craft she had appropriated having left no side-arms or grenades behind after abandoning it.

There was nothing for it, the footsteps were coming from her left where Paradoxa and presumably most of her retinue had made it under the bridge unharmed, whilst the way they had come was to her right; giving a silent prayer to any power willing to listen Mari leapt out of the cockpit and as confronted by a green-skinned alien that could best be described as an anthropomorphic lizard with a long whip-like tail trailing behind it and a squat, low-slung blue skinned alien with long limbs and a broad shovel shaped head; both of them clutching weapons and flanked by Putties whilst behind them Paradoxa rested her halberd on the ground and cocked her head in an open amusement, a smirk being conveyed by body language alone whilst her face was hidden by her battle-mask.

"A would be hero" she cooed in a voice that dripped contempt "I do love to watch people like you die; shoot-"

Marigold was in motion before she had finished the word; leaping from the cockpit she hoped that the training she had received in the Silver Guardians as well as lessons in boxing and jujitsu from her parents would be enough. Before she reached the floor she lashed out and delivered a kick to the face of the blue skinned alien, following up the moment she landed with a spinning kick to the inside of its' knee which resulted in a sickening crack and a howl of pain.

Then the Putties lunged at her.

Five of the things were rushing towards her in an instant and with thought she weaved around the wild and telegraphed swing from the first of them, answering with a flurry of precise punches in rapid succession until the central, circular plate of its' torso cracked and shattered; destroying the Putty but tearing open the skin of her knuckles in the process. Another Putty rushed at her and she crouched low, driving her shoulder into its' hip despite the pain it caused her lifting its' legs to throw it the ground before stamping on its' chest hard enough to destroy it entirely.

Then the green-skinned alien joined the fight, swinging the but of their weapon at her cheek hard enough to send her crashing to the floor, but not hard enough to knock the fight out of her and so she retaliated with a low sweep that toppled the alien to the ground where she delivered a punch to the throat and wrestled their weapon free of their grasp before finally taking aim and doing what was, without a doubt the single most dangerous action of her nineteen years of living.

She shot at Paradoxa.

Paradoxa deflected the bolt of sickly yellow coruscating light with a flourish of her halberd but waves of white hot fury radiated from her, enraged that this simple human would dare such a thing. At that point Mari leapt back on to the fallen aircraft and scurried across its' hull, leaping down onto the ground again before sprinting away as fast as humanly possible, breath coming in shallow ragged gasps and lungs burning even as the sound of steel tearing behind informed her that Paradoxa had ripped her way through the small fighter craft and ruins of the bridge to give chase.

Exactly as she had planned.

Mari had no idea what it was that Paradoxa was searching for, only that if she was as important within the Dark Empire as Mercy said and she had come in person then it must be something vital and as such she could not be allowed to obtain it, even if that meant using herself as a distraction. Hearing a dull thrum of energy building behind her skidded around the nearest corner, just as Paradoxa unleashed a bolt of deep violet light from her halberd which ripped through the space that she had occupied a moment earlier, sailing down the street and destroying several parked cars as the student continued to run.

Only to be brought to a half as she collided with someone.

"Mari?" the familiar voice cut through the haze of blind panic she had worked herself into and she looked up as she rose frantically from the ground.

"Captain Hart?" she breathed out, her open confusion fighting for dominance with exhaustion "Captain Hart we've gotta run, Paradoxa is here, she's following me she's gonna come around that corner any-"

"I understand" Kimberley' s voice was determined, fiery and unwavering in a way that Marigold had never heard before and she watched in awe as the veteran Power Ranger shed her personalised Lightspeed Jacket, that bore pterodactyl logos in place of the shield and number that was customary before uncuffing and rolling up the sleeves of the pink button-up shirt she wore beneath it, as if what was to come was nothing more than a simple brawl. Finally she slipped her communicator off of her wrist and pressed it into Marigold's hand.

"Take this and go, it acts as a teleport beacon; get to the shelters and contact Mission Control on Promethea One, they'll start getting people out" Mari nodded and bolted, sprinting away with fresh resolve and Kimberley watched her leave before working out a crick in her neck and dropping into a familiar fighting stance just as Paradoxa rounded the corner.

"And who are you?" the insectoid hybrid demanded with a mocking sneer; Kimberley matched her tone with equal derision.

"I'm a Power Ranger"

* * *

Mercy rolled to a stop amidst a heap of rubble and debris, the fact that she had been thrown through a wall being only the latest evidence of the fact that her team were struggling.

They had been pushed back, the seemingly unstoppable rampage of the crab-monster forcing them to give more and more ground until they had moved from the area at the edge of the city that had been damaged in the previous attack and were now fighting in what would normally be a busy street lined by towering buildings littered with the cheery, neon billboards that made Leslie's skyline distinctive but seemed almost comically out of place in the current circumstances.

"Ow" Mercy grumbled as she pulled herself back to her feet and shook her head to clear away the dizziness the attack had left her with before rushing through the hole in the wall that being thrown through it had created and out into the street where the other Aegis Rangers were still locked in combat with the monster.

Aslaug's axe was buried in the thick chitin of the things' left shoulder, scoring another deep gash in its' craggy armour as she attempted to drag it from its' feet; the monster retaliating by thrashing its' massive pincer until it finally knocked the Yellow Ranger aside only for Tempestus to rush in though the Blue Ranger was batted away in turn after a brief exchange of blows, being lifted from his feet by a crushing blow and sent crashing into an abandoned car with enough force to crumple its' chassis.

Kay and Panthera fought with perfect synchronisation without a word passing between them; the Pink Ranger's combined blades glanced off of the monsters' armoured skull, leaving a noticeable gouge as they ricocheted away a moment before the Green Ranger surged forwards with their gladius extended. The monster stepped back only for Panthera to leap over Kay and pluck her blades from the air as she landed on the Green Ranger's sword, using it as a springboard from which to launch a flying kick which allowed Kay to press their advantage by unleashing a burst of energy from their palm and send the abomination hurtling across the street, tearing up chunks of asphalt as it went only for their attempt to charge again to be halted as the monster spread its' pincer wide before snapping it shut to unleash another concussive burst, flinging them back.

Then Rensa attacked.

The Black Ranger had been hidden from view as he scaled the walls of one of the nearby buildings and as the bloodied and injured yet clearly resilient monster prepared for another lumbering charge into the Rangers he leapt; manifesting his daggers in his hands as he fell, delivering a punishing two-footed kick to the beats' back before driving both of his blades into its' raw and unprotected flesh and leaving a torrent of oily blue blood pouring from deep wounds her tore into its' flank and shoulder. The monster thrashed and reached over its' shoulder in attempt to size the Black Ranger and prise him away and it was at this moment that Mercy sprung into action, surging past the still recovering Kay and Pantera and readying her katana; she reached her target just as Rensa was thrown aside and unleashed a leaping, spinning kick that struck the thing in the centre of it its' chest before thrusting out with her sword; its' blade piercing the point where its' armour gave way to unprotected flesh and burst from its' back.

Yet still it struggled and fought.

"Guys!" Mercy called out as she ripped her blade free and rolled under a vicious swipe of its' pincer and leapt clear of its' reach "It's on the ropes, we should form the power-"

The ground erupted beneath her feet before she could finish.

The explosion would likely have been fatal were she unmorphed, as it was she was merely thrown of balance and left reeling and staggering as she recovered from what it become suddenly clear had been a thrown grenade; the other Rangers gathered around her as the dust settled only to see that the Monster that they fought was now being joined by a team of well armed Dark Empire warriors and a group of Putties that rushed past them in their single-minded urge to join the fray.

"GET DOWN!" an unfamiliar voice boomed out and without pausing to consider the Ranger's acted, throwing themselves aside as a rocket streaked over head and destroyed several Putties with its' blast. From there things only continued to grow more chaotic as thundering, booted footsteps announced the presence of several Silver Guardians who took up firing positions behind whatever abandoned vehicles and doorways they could use as cover before opening fire on the Dark Empire forces, leaving in the Aegis Rangers and the monster they fought in the midst of a pitched battle between the two forces. A lone figure streaked through the street and crashed into the alien soldiers, leaving them collapsing to the floor with grim finality as what could only be identified as a pair of wide-bladed falchion swords in the brief moments that the figure was stationary and could be seen clearly flashed out.

"Blademaster Corcus" Tempestus breathed out as comprehension dawned on him, stunned as he watched the former Black Ranger showcase why he had been given the honorific title.

"Where's Mari, she was with you?" the voice that had initially warned them of the incoming rocket demanded frantically and the Rangers turned face a young Asian man wearing the uniform of a Silver Guardian and whose helmet had been removed to reveal dark hair that was shaggy and spiky. Mercy realised with a start that this was Banban Akaza, Marigold's former boyfriend and best friend and the leader of a recently inducted Silver Guardians special weapon unit nicknamed _'Fire Squad'_

"She's safe" Mercy assured him, hoping that she was right as she had not seen the older girl since the battle had started "We told her to get to a shelter as soon as the Empire ship showed up" Banban nodded

"Okay, we'll deal with the infantry….we're gonna need your help with that thing though" he nodded towards the heavily bleeding crab-monster which seemed to be unsure of whether to attack the newly reinforced Aegis Rangers or the lone Aquitian laying waste to its' own allies. Mercy grinned behind her helmet as, though she would struggle to articulate exactly why she felt as though there had been a decisive shift in the balance of power and the tides had turned in the Ranger's favour; with that in mind she couldn't help but honour tradition and give her teams' adversary a mocking nickname.

"Not a problem, leave_ 'Crab-tin Crunch' _to us"

* * *

The battle aboard the Heliothis raged on and Gibil couldn't help but giggle with demented glee as he watched the carnage unfold.

The ash-furred imp plucked away at clumps of congealed blood and ichor that had congealed in tufts of their coat with one hand whilst popping morsels of a snack that was considered a delicacy on the world it came from into their mouth with the other, a still live critter; writhing things the size of a fingernail with a fibrous body contained in a crunchy shell all whilst he studied the various displays on one of the major consoles within his lair in the deepest bowels of Paradoxa's ship, his easel close at hand with a flesh canvas made of treated skin in place should any sudden bouts of inspiration occur.

The violence was far from as one sided and brief as Gibil had initially feared it might be and far more entertaining overall as Paradoxa's eagerness to begin her conquest of Leslie Colony the moment they had arrived in the planets' system had left her faction of dissidents with far less of their number aboard the Heliothis than they would have liked as soldiers, Putties and heavy armour was deployed.

That was not to say that the imp was entirely happy with the way events were progressing as each of the monsters that he had carefully and artfully forged from raw flesh, dark magic and his own demented ingenuity had long since been cut down; those loyal to Lord Zedd recognising them for the threats that they were and targeting them with extreme prejudice, though each of them had successfully mauled and killed at least a hundred enemies apiece.

What even Gibil had not expected was for several mass insurrections to take place in the lowest reaches of the ship where countless thousands of slaves toiled endlessly; taking up arms in the form of whatever tools or simple blunt objects they could find and overthrowing their masters whilst in a few notable cases the overseers had been quick-thinking and persuasive enough to simply offer freedom in exchange for their lives, leading to several bands of freed chain-gangs marauding through the Heliothis in search of supplies and an exit so that they might simply vanish into the wilderness of the world they had landed on. A more interesting and possibly concerning development was that the various factions fighting for dominance within the now heavily damaged innards of the Heliothis had taken control of various vital sections of the ship with the Command Bridge armouries and the vessels' massive weapons batteries still being under the control of Paradoxa's forces whilst a fierce battle for control of the teleportation chamber had seen it destroyed entirely and a similarly hard-fought battle was still raging as those loyal to Paradoxa and Lord Zedd struggled to claim the environmental controls, a victory that would prove decisive and see each section of the Heliothis reduced to a boiling and irradiated or frozen and lifeless wasteland or simply an airless vacuum. Gibil however found his attention directed towards the medical facilities and let out an irritable huff at the sight of those who had refused to follow Paradoxa into a new age in clear control; not that it would bother him too much in the long run, whoever was victorious overall there would still be countless bodies for him to use as raw materials and the blood spattering the walls and pooling on the floors throughout the Heliothis would provide him with plenty of raw genetic material for experimentation.

Then the sound of a metallic thud snapped his focus away from the various screens.

A further dull, metallic impact sounded and it became apparent that it was the sound of something smashing against the entrance to his lair and he quickly typed commands into the various controls of the console he sat at, bringing up a camera feed from directly outside of the heavily armoured, reinforced and airtight doorway only to be both surprised and galled at what he saw.

A mob of at least a hundred freed slaves and a handful of former oversees who had wisely thrown down their whips and removed any signs of their former station, many of whom carried weapons taken from the bodies of fallen warriors were attempting to gain access to his domain; either hoping to unleash more of his genetic horrors and augmented or mutated individuals into the ship to bolster their own numbers or simply planning to murder him in retribution for some nightmarish acts he had doubtless committed against their fellows. Gibil considered the sight for a moment and realised that he may have to resort to drastic measures.

The thought excited him tremendously.

* * *

Marigold had continued to flee through the city yet had made less headway than she would have liked as she found several streets entirely blocked off by rubble from destroyed buildings and the burning wreckage of vehicles belonging to the Alliance and Dark Empire forces and civilians alike.

Moreover she had encountered various groups of Putties and Dark Empire footsoldiers as she made her way through the streets of the city that had, until recently been her home and had felt compelled to combat them; firing the alien blaster-rifle she had stolen from one of Paradoxa's strike team into the attackers with devastating accuracy until whatever ammunition or power supply it utilised were depleted.

Her efforts to acquire another weapon had been thus-far largely unsuccessful as those Dark Empire troops whose weapons had the power and ammunition for more than a few shots had simply opened fire and forced her to retreat, though she had been successful of disabling several dozen aliens and destroying a few more Putties despite the considerable amount of pain striking their stony exteriors caused; there had also been one harrowing experience where an enemy footsoldier had hurled a grenade at her which she had responded to by simply kicking the explosive back towards the Dark Empire forces whilst it was still in mid-air, her impressive accuracy and inexplicable knack for landing the most impressive trick-shots imaginable leading to devastating results.

Now however Mari was simply exhausted and came to a halt gasping for breath and clutching at a nearby wall for support as her trembling legs threatened to give out from under her.

Her cheek was swollen and was beginning to form what would be a remarkable bruise where she had been struck with the butt of a rifle; her clothes were ripped and dirty and the cuts on her knuckles from striking Putties had grown steadily worse and were now joined by similar cuts on her knees, with blood smeared across her hands and staining her clothes and a litany of smaller cuts and bruises littering her body; she was utterly spent and as she winced in pain upon finally feeling the pain in her knee now that the adrenaline was beginning to leave her she felt certain that even if she could continue she would never make it to the nearest shelter to begin the evacuation by using the teleportation beacon within Captain Kimberley Hart's communicator.

No sooner had the thought come unbidden to her mind than the communicator in question began to beep and chirp. Mari hastily pulled it from the pocket she'd carried it and pressed buttons aimlessly, hoping for the best until a voice greeted her.

"Kim, Kim are you there?"

"This Marigold Utahima, Lightspeed Silver Guardian….well cadet, currently on leave of duty to study at-"

"I know who you are, this is Billy Cranston" the voice interjected "Where's Kim?"

"Fighting Paradoxa, she gave me her communicator and told me to evacuate civilians" Mari couldn't make out exactly what Billy muttered under her breath but from his tone alone she could surmise that it was a slew of curses.

"Kimberley asked me to finish….something for her" Billy had clearly wanted to say something else but had caught himself before continuing "She's put herself in harms' way and given you her communicator meaning I can't teleport it to her location-"

"I know where she is" Mari breathed out, the words leaving her before she'd truly considered them "Teleport it to me, I'll get it to her" Billy was silent for several seconds and Mari was sure she could actually hear the options being weighed and variables being considered in his mind before he finally answered

"Okay, I wish I didn't have to ask you to do this….stay safe. Teleporting now" with that the line went dead, the communication ended a moment before a small teleportation stream manifested; the beam of colourless light focusing on the communicator and forcing Mari to catch the new weight that was suddenly in her hands.

"Holy shit" she croaked out, voice barely above a whisper as she took sight of the rectangular shape with rounded edges and a deep, burnished gold finish with a jagged track running along its' surface to a circular coin made of a shimmering white crystal that refracted any light that struck it in various colours; even without knowing the Aegis Rangers she felt that she could have seen this device and known instinctively that it was a Morpher.

Uncertain as to exactly why she slipped the device over her left wrist and fastened it there for safekeeping rather than pocketing it before quickly turning and bolting back the way she had come, her previous pain and exhaustion forgotten in light of this new mission. She tore through streets as fast as her weary muscles would carry her, retracing her steps as she made her way back to the side-street that she had encountered the former Pink Power Ranger in and expertly avoiding any Dark Empire forces she encountered on the way, beams of light from their weapons searing the air perilously close to her as she ran; her current goal far more important than taking them on and eventually, with her lungs burning and every breath physically painful she reached her destination.

There was no relief to be found.

A handful of Putties and alien footsoldiers lay unconscious, or in the case of the automatons simply shattered entirely on the ground where they had joined their insectoid leader in her efforts to subdue Kimberley and Paradoxa herself stood in the centre of the side-street, the glossy black and iridescent surface of her armoured carapace scuffed in several place; one of her spindly and many-jointed fingers twisted at an unnatural angle where the former Pink Ranger had broken it, likely to escape from a grab and with a noticeable burn mark on her chest where she had been shot with one of her own soldiers weapons yet despite it all the Acheron hybrid was victorious as she reared up to her full height with Kimberley Hart in her grasp, the former Power Ranger's feet dangling limp as Paradoxa tightened her grip around her throat.

"It's always good to have an audience for something so important as the death of a Power Ranger" Paradoxa noted with cruel amusement, revealing that she had noticed Mari's arrival "It's a shame that the Aegis Rangers aren't here to see this, the way the screamed when I killed the Gold Ranger on Triforia was truly memorable" Mari stood rooted the spot by sheer, incomprehensible terror and Kimberley managed to crane her neck towards the girl with her eyes both wide and furious as though she planned to tell her to run for her life and berate her for coming back; then she saw the Morpher adorning Mari's wrist and struggled to make herself heard despite the inhuman hand clutching her throat.

"Use it" she choked out "Use the Morph-" her words were cut off as Paradoxa jerked her hand violently and a sickening snap filled the air; the hybrid released her grasp and Kimberley Hart, former Pink Ranger and protector of Earth fell to the ground dead.

For Marigold the world seemed to freeze, a scream escaped her and tears filled her eyes as she willed Kimberley to get up and carry on the fight whilst knowing that it would never happen until Paradoxa turned her attention towards her and took a single step towards her, retrieving her halberd from where it had fallen. At that moment a strange sense of almost serene clarity washed over Mari and she knew exactly what needed to be done even if she had no idea whether it would work and she braced herself, holding her left arm arm and reaching out with her right to activate the device she wore on her wrist as words she had heard Mercy use spilled from her lips.

"It's Morphing time!"

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, that happened….I did that….Now, if we can all put the pitchforks down and have a reasonable discussion about things.  
We're halfway through the 10th arc of the story and we're now into the back half of Aegis overall so the stakes needed to be raised.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?:  
I wanted to stress the fact that Paradoxa and the Dark Empire she served were both a departure from what Rangers had dealt with before, exactly as Zebidiah warned them that they would be.  
The Dark Empire base on Triforia's moon is gonna become a plot point sooner or later.  
Rangers are great for taking out one, maybe two big threats or a sizeable group of Putties, not an entire army.  
I hope you all knew that things were gonna go down when Kimberley jumped into the fight without her Morpher ready and that it would end really well or really badly.  
Snipers and footsoldiers directing Putties and taking potshots to keep the Rangers under pressure whilst the struggle with the monster of the week; actual tactics because these bad guys are playing to win.  
That leverage and toss that Mercy pulled was straight out of Panthera's play-book.  
Is it really a fight scene if Aslaug and Mercy don't cover each other.  
Yay for hover-tanks.  
Haven't seen the variant Putties in quite a while.  
"_Taken care of"_ Rensa did some fuckery and we'll leave it at that.  
So the Battleizer Andros gave Rensa is no use to him at the moment, he can tap into that excess power he was using last arc.  
I really do love this shock-wave/area of effect attacks don't I?  
You didn't really think Paradoxa's little parting shot would have been fatal to Lord Zedd and his loyalists did you?  
It definitely did some damage though.  
Big entrance from Lord Zedd exactly like you'd expect.  
So Carnifex is heading out after Paradoxa, what if I told you this won't play out exactly the way you'd think?  
Again, Paradoxa is not stupid; Putties can be easily replaced so flooding a target with them to see what the defenders are most eager to protect is a valid strategy.  
Leslie wasn't built by Lightspeed/Promethea so Ivan didn't have accurate plans.  
Okay the fighter craft plugging the monorail is an obvious homage to the '95 Movie that then turned into a little bit of a set piece.  
Mari was a potential Ranger candidate but she was never outright raised by Lightspeed the way Mercy was so despite the fact she's studying with a Lightspeed scholarship she doesn't have training as extensive as Mercy.  
I considered a Dues Ex Bullshit handgun in the cockpit for Mari but decided against it, letting her work for it was more rewarding.  
"_I do love to watch people like you die"_ Paradoxa's dialogue was brutal this chapter.  
So this is the first time we've ever actually seen Mari fight and even thought she's had similar training to Mercy I wanted to differentiate their styles, so boxing and jujitsu it is.  
Also yeah, punching a Putty whilst unmorphed should ruin your knuckles.  
Yes, you read that right, this unmorphed student who went to the cadets after class when she was at school decided to shoot at Paradoxa.  
How many of you panicked the second Kimberley showed up?  
I feel like a scene starting with someone getting launched through a wall isn't a recognised cliché but it should be and yet I will continue to abuse it.  
Obligatory Pink and Green Ranger combo move.  
Rensa is just savage this chapter, also yeah he can climb anything remember.  
Yay for ground soldiers on both sides actually doing something.  
Corcus is, was and will continue to be that mother-fucker.  
Banban Akaza, who had a thing with Mari and also Fire Squad; because I felt Dekaranger references were well earned.  
And once again, I will not apologise for the horrendous puns I write in my stories.  
Yes that basically popcorn made from live bugs Gibil was eating.  
He's also just watching the civil war/insurrections happening all across the ship like it was Game of Thrones or something.  
No teleporter and environmental controls are effectively nullified until further notice.  
Look, Gibil is on the shit-list of everyone who isn't Paradoxa and he only hasn't died in an _'accident' _because he's too useful to kill with impunity.  
Also Gibil doing something drastic should terrify you.  
Yeah, no magical plot armour for anyone who runs into a firing line without Ranger armour on, you get shot you deal with the consequences, so Mari didn't.  
The whole _"Mari does trick-shots"_ came from her having the handguns in Dekaranger and was one of the first character traits/quirks that I wanted to give her along with her singing and being the only person on the team with a relatively normal upbringing…..And now she's penalty kicking grenades into crowds of enemy soldiers.  
No teleport Beacon, no Morpher.  
I think you knew where this was going when Mari put the Morpher on, but were you prepared for what it entailed?  
If it's any consolation Kimberley put one hell of a fight; Paradoxa slapped Mercy around like it was nothing but an unmorphed Kim broke at least some bones.  
"_It's a shame that the Aegis Rangers aren't here to see this, the way the screamed when I killed the Gold Ranger on Triforia was truly memorable"_ Paradoxa, Queen Bitch of Bitch Mountain.  
I'm gonna be completely honest with you all, it was always going to be this way; from the moment I decided I wanted a seventh Ranger Kimberley was going to be the fake-out candidate who died passing the torch and everything I've done to integrate Mari into the team since I introduced her to the story has been leading up to this.  
But on a lighter note, who's ready for a new Ranger?

Thank you to Super ShadowHenshin for their review on the last chapter.  
I think I've read the Finster annual story, I just write Gibil as_ "Warhammer 40k Grim-Dark but played for comedy"_ to contrast with the pure Grim-Dark body horror of what he actually does.  
I mean the civil war is going to be brief let's be honest.  
Yeah I feel like it's a key aspect for any struggle about good triumphing over evil; even if you want to explore the nuances of either side and every possible shade of grey _(In which case read Transformers MTMTE) _but the biggest flaw with evil that keeps it from winning is that it eats itself.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	42. Gold Lion

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 41 – Gold Lion**

The Power was simply incomprehensible.

From the moment Marigold had grasped the Morpher adorning her wrist and made a conscious decision to use it her body, mind and her her very spirit had been almost overwhelmed by a rushing sensation and a feeling of simple, raw strength that swelled until it had reached a crescendo and left the young woman feeling as though there was nothing she could not overcome. This change was accompanied by a blinding flash of golden light that enveloped her and after a moment it subsided, allowing Paradoxa who had shielded her eyes to see her new adversary in all their glory.

Marigold's suit was clearly similar to those worn by the other Aegis Rangers, yet with several unique distinctions. The colourations seemed almost inverted with the majority of her armour being a pristine, glaringly bright white including the boots and left gauntlet that would have been that colour on any other suit whilst the entire left arm and the lightning bolt that spanned from her collarbones to her left hip was a bright, burnished gold and rather than loop back under her arm the gold simply took up almost half of her torso in a jagged, arcing divide. A single golden cape hung from her waist, reaching to below her knees and around her back to resemble to bottom of some greatcoat whilst the detailing that would have been silver on the other Ranger's suits, namely the edge of the lightning bolt design and the bracers around her forearms and the tops of her boots were coloured a vibrant shade of pink. The diamond in the centre of her chest which reached to just below her abdomen was a glossy shade of black embossed with a stylised depiction of what could only be the Winged Lion of her home-world and from here here suit became more different from the others as similarly coloured armour with the same pink trim adorned her collar, shoulders and forearms in small, streamlined and rounded plates that were laid over the white gold. Her the lower half of her helmet was white with its' angled mouth-plate being the same colour whilst the upper half was golden its' sleek and smoothly curved visor clutched in the stylised maw of the Winged Lion whose feline features and bright pink eyes adorned the top of the helmet and whose mane trailed behind her; whilst the mane of the Yellow Ranger's helmet was an abstract and angular thing this was far more ornate, a series of arcing, swooshing golden blade like protrusions laid over one another extending back from the helmet to reach behind her head.

She had become the Gold Aegis Ranger.

"Don't think for a moment that this will help you" Paradoxa sneered before readying her double-ended halberd with a flourish a charging forwards in a blur of motion and the ground cracking beneath her feet with the force of her charge only to be brought to a sudden and unceremonious halt as the Gold Aegis Ranger's hand shot forward and seized the shaft of the hybrids' weapon and left her dazed as her momentum was robbed.

With a single motion Mari then flung Paradoxa back and sent her crashing out of the small side-street and rolling to a stop, starting the battle in earnest.

The Gold Ranger rushed out after the still recovering Paradoxa, appearing as a shining comet as she closed the distance and delivered a punishing kick to the carapace armour of her chest which lifted her into the air and into the path of an oncoming punch which landed between the insectoid warriors' shoulder-blades, the tremendous force of the blow leaving Paradoxa struggling to rise at the bottom of a shallow crater as she impacted against the ground again. The alien was not so easily defeated however and rapidly pulled herself into a crouch and delivered a spinning sweep to Mari's legs and although the Gold Ranger managed to back-flip over the attack it was quickly revealed that Paradoxa had anticipated this as she followed up with a spinning heel kick that sent her opponent sailing through the air.

Mari landed in a crouch, tearing a trench into the pavement as she skidded to a halt and managed to take stock of the situation; realising that as immensely powerful as her new abilities made her feel, not only pushing her body far into the realms of the superhuman but also giving her the heightened reflexes and intuitive knowledge of combat to use them properly, the Power itself bolstering her own skill as a martial artist she was not invincible, Mercy had told her as much before and she had seen the bruises that the Aegis Rangers sported after battles yet she found herself noting with a grimace that she had still not quite been prepared for how much Paradoxa's blows hurt.

The thoughts were pushed from her mind as Paradoxa charged at her.

Mari sprung to her feet and surged forwards to meet her, ducking under a wild slash of Paradoxa's halberd to deliver a fierce jab to her chest and follow up with an uppercut before being forced aside by the inevitable swipe of the weapons' opposite end; there was no respite and quarter however as the two combatants lunged at each other once again and continued trading blows at speeds that rendered them nearly invisible to the human eye.

The Gold Ranger began to lose.

It was an inevitable outcome, for as powerful as her new Morphed state made her feel Marigold was only a single Power Ranger and Paradoxa was an Acheron Hybrid and a General within the Dark Empire whose career was built upon the blood and bodies of those she had slain with several Power Rangers being amongst them and with steady, yet relentless certainty she began to overpower this opponent like she would any other; as the Gold Ranger was forced to lean back to avoid a blow from her halberd Paradoxa deployed the pair of spindly, atrophied limbs that she stored within her abdomen and thrust them, each of clutching a dagger that crackled with electricity into Mari's midsection before following up with an earth-shattering, spinning blow that struck her opponent in the chest, the broad-blades of her halberd glowing with a pulsating green light as she did so.

Mari struggled to breath as she hit the ground and forced herself back to her feet.

"That all you got?" she demanded in pure defiance, paying no mind to her now scorched and damaged armour as Paradoxa let out a sneering laugh before preparing to charge once again; though the moment she began to move a strange sensation came over Marigold wherein time itself seemed to slow to a crawl and events happened in slow motion whilst the Power of the Morphing Grid itself directed the Gold Ranger's actions. Mari's arms were thrust forwards and a pulse of golden light travelled from the diamond armour adorning her chest, along her arms before reaching her hands where it solidified and formed her weapons; a pair of almost comically oversized handguns of white and gold with cylindrical chambers to their rear and elongated barrels roughly the size of her forearms.

Mari fired.

A maelstrom of light ripped through Paradoxa's path as she continued to charge, bolts of shining gold striking the hybrid and flinging her back with a pained cry as the roiling, poisonous light that engulfed her weapon dissipated and as she forced herself to her feet, a wordless snarl of simple, primal hatred escaping her Mari could see the fury in one of her yellow eyes as a sizeable chunk of her battle mask had been torn away.

The two warriors readied their weapons and prepared to do battle once more.

* * *

The battle between the Aegis Rangers and the armoured, monstrous creature that Mercy had dubbed _'Crab-tin Crunch' _continued, with neither side willing to relent in the slightest. Both the Dark Empire infantry and the Alliance special weapons team led by Corcus had moved away, the former Aquitian Black Ranger pressing the advantage and ordering those under his command to pursue the invaders as they retreated; leaving the street empty save for the monster which now stood in a pool of its' own oily blue blood yet remained as belligerent as ever and the Aegis Rangers, all of whom by now sported armour that was burned, cracked or otherwise sundered spread out and prepared for another attack.

"It's still too mobile" Mercy admitted with open annoyance "We won't be able to use the Power Blaster, it'll just avoid it"

"We need to find a way around that sonic attack" Panthera noted, tail swishing agitatedly behind her as she paced and stalked "We can't keep taking hits from it"

"It's effective area isn't unlimited" Tempestus added cautiously

"So surround it, hit and run from all angles so it can't aim at us all" Mercy nodded in understanding

"Groovy" the Blue Ranger beamed from behind their helmet and the six Rangers shared brief glances as they mentally prepared themselves for another charge only for the initiative to be take from them as the wounded monster, which had been swaying and struggling to regain its' breath as blood loss and shredded tissue began to take their toll began its' next lumbering charge towards them and began to rapidly build momentum.

"Okay, spread out!" Mercy barked as she readied her katana and charged headlong into the crustacean horror as it reared its' gargantuan cudgel of a pincer back for a crushing blow which the Red Ranger expertly weaved under as she tore into the things' flank as she slipped past it, tearing another wound into its' craggy hide which it retaliated to by knocking her aside is it whirled around.

Only for Rensa and Tempestus to rush in and attack from opposite sides in perfect tandem, the Blue Ranger dropping into a low sweep as he brought his staff crashing into the monsters' knee with a sickening crack whilst the Black Ranger leapt high into the air and drove his heel into the things' singular eye before tearing gouges into its' streamlined and shell-like cranium as his daggers flashed downwards, sparks of deepest violet showering from the points of impact as the beast toppled backwards yet continued to thrash and flail in a frantic attempt to free itself from the tangle of limbs before finally it managed to writhe free enough to slam its' claw downwards, the serrated hacksaw blades of its' pincers tearing through the ground as the splayed wide; both Tempestus and Rensa tried to retreat but couldn't get clear before the monster fired its' sonic pulse attack downwards, the pincer snapping shut and sending a shock-wave out in all directions flinging the two Rangers from their feet and in doing so proving that the Ranger's plan was in fact unworkable.

Yet the attacks continued to come.

Panthera's blades tore through the air and sent the crab-monster staggering as they ripped into the exposed flesh of its' left side before the Pink Ranger herself caught them and launched a truly vicious assault, magenta sparks jetting from her weapons with each impact as she unleashed a hurricane of slashing attacks; all of which were simply a distraction as behind the beast Kay had braced themselves, rooted firmly to the ground with their hands outstretched and a nexus of emerald light gathering between them until finally they light out a yelled warning.

"MOVE!" the moment the word reached Panthera's ears she delivered a vicious kick to the same knee that Tempestus had struck with his staff, her time as a smuggler and the underhanded but undeniably effective style of fighting it had instilled in her rising to the fore before she leapt aside a fraction of a second before Kay unleashed an energy attack, one of the largest that Panthera seem them employ, the green glow illuminating the darkness of Leslie Colonies' night sky as it tore into the monsters' back and ripped through their abdomen, a salty and distinctly fishy smell filling the air as flesh, bone and oily blue ichor were flash boiled and the abomination sagged forwards and sunk to its' knees.

Yet still, despite the Ranger's best efforts it clung to life; seemingly out of simple spite and with the claws of its' pincer clacking together as they shuddered in a faltering attempt to splay them wide for another attack

"I WILL TAKE THAT CLAW AS A TROPHY!" the fierce declaration came from Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger charged in, axe held overhead in preparation for a mighty swing that promised to cleave through anything in its' path as though it were nothing but air yet the blow never landed; instead the monsters' pincer flashed out and the sound of its' serrated claws scraping and tearing against metal filled the air as it seized Aslaug in its' grasp, claws lodged firmly on either side of her visor which began to crack and fracture whilst the sides of her helmet first tore and then began to warp as monumental amounts of pressure was applied, an ominous creaking beginning to come from the Yellow Ranger's armour.

Then Mercy entered the fray once more.

A wordless scream of simple desperation escaped her as she sprinted forwards so fast as to be nothing more than a crimson blur and beneath her steadily collapsing helmet Aslaug couldn't help but smile

"Mercy!" without waiting for an answer she flung her axe towards the Red Ranger who plucked it from the air in a single handed grip without breaking her stride and barrelled into her target with unrelenting ferocity. Aslaug had been raised amongst the fiercest warriors Mirinoi had to offer, all of whom had slain an apex predator several times their own size in single combat and many of whom were entered the haze of a berserker rage in battle, yet even she was left stunned as Mercy drove her katana into the monsters' singular and through the back of its' skull before pivoting and clutching the Yellow Ranger's axe in both and hands as she swung with all the force she could muster at her opponents' neck; leaving the body of the abomination she had named Crab-tin Crunch collapsing lifelessly to the ground and its' head rolling to a stop several feet a way.

"AND LET'S SEE 'EM REANIMATE THAT!" Mercy almost screamed as both her own and Aslaug's weapons vanished, shattering into countless fragments of coloured lights and the Red Ranger frantically ripped the deceased monsters' claw away from Aslaug's helmet and then, far more gently removed the helmet from her head, Mercy's own helmet following a moment later as the two of clung to each other in silent relief, neither of them needing words to reassure each other or realise how perilous the situation had truly been.

"I don't think they can fire a mutagenic grenade" Tempestus offered as he and the other Aegis Rangers drew close "The colony still has its' environmental dome in place and the ship landed….they won't be able to get a clear shot on their monster….which is groovy" Mercy nodded, heart still hammering in her chest and limbs trembling to such an extent that she didn't trust herself to speak for several moments until finally she and Aslaug broke apart and she donned her helmet and opened a comm channel directly to mission control.

"Mercy here, target-" she fell silent and let out a cry of pain as a sound that could only be described as the distorted and static-filled screaming of a thousand tortured souls filled her comms, whatever had caused it sending flickering images across the visor of her helmet until finally an echoing, guttural snarl spoke and Mercy was startled to realised that it belonged to Zebidiah Lord, though dark magic seemed to permeate the sorcerers' voice and he was closer to the terrifying image of Lord Zedd than she had ever heard him before.

"Ranger's Paradoxa is on the colony!" Mercy found herself clutching at her head in pain as the words seemed to force themselves into her skull

"Okay, send co-ordinates" she managed to grind out, barely aware of her team-mates sudden panic upon seeing her reaction

"You don't understand" the former Acheron warlord continued, the fury in his voice being coloured by something that could only be grief and deep, unspeakable sadness "Billy made a new Morpher, Kimberley was supposed to use it….she took Paradoxa on alone….Mercy, she's gone"

With those final three words everything made sense and as awe-inspiring as the former Lord Zedd's terrible rage was it was nothing compared to the incandescent, white-hot fury that filled the Red Ranger.

* * *

The space beyond the star system that Leslie Colony and the world that the spacefaring city had landed upon was distorted and disturbed by a ship returning to sub-light speeds and transitioning back into normal space. Where normally the transition would have been announced by a flash of light and a warping of local space, accompanied by a release of energy that alerted all nearby sensors of the arrival, especially in the case of a warship whose design seemed to favour the blunt application of force in all aspects the way Dark Empire ships tended to; this particular vessel was cloaked and its' arrival was marked only by the black void of space rippling somewhat in a vague approximation of the ships' space and though though the ship was several dozen kilometres in length this was, in the planetary and galactic scale simply miniscule.

The Draco-Ocidendum was, in an admittedly unusual turn of events not here to declare war on the planet that it approached after all.

Aboard the Command Bridge of his warship Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name waited with steadily growing eagerness as the frantic energy and activity around him, coupled with the ominous and fiery glow cast on his surroundings and the choir of serf children behind him singing customary battle hymns stoked the saurian hybrids' lust for battle to a near insensate frenzy and it was all Carnifex could do to not simply order that he be teleported to their target in person so that he may take the traitors' skull and deliver it to Lord Zedd. He reigned in his emotions however and regarded the gleaming jewel of a world below whose vast, pale blue oceans and largely untouched continents were partially obscured by wispy cloud formations that moved across its' pink sky.

"The traitors' ship has been located on the planets' night-side sire" one of the many Knights of Wyvern that served as Carnifex's bridge crew informed him "Currently on course to intercept"

"Maintain course, but remain cloaked and proceed with caution….Paradoxa is a worm with no honour and I would not see us defeated by her trickery" Carnifex ordered, aware of the fact that even despite his eagerness he would need to handle this matter with care as he had already proven himself to be the more capable of the two hybrids in single combat and he highly doubted that Paradoxa would allow him the luxury of a battle on his own terms. The Draco-Ocidendum prowled through the void of space for a while longer, it's long range sensors reaching out and scanning the surface of the barely colonised world for any abnormalities until one of Carnifex's many underlings called out to him.

"Sire, it would seem that Paradoxa has landed the Heliothis and engaged in a full scale assault upon an Alliance colony!" Carnifex was taken aback, though he took care not to show it and let out a low snarl.

"Brazen, it would seem the coward has a heart after all" he chuckled darkly "Find her….She won't be on her ship; she thinks us fools and left it for us to see as bait" with a chorus of assents and curses aimed at Paradoxa the bridge crew began frantically scouring the sea of garbled and indistinct readings that they could glean as the colonies' own shielding coupled with the sheer volume of energy signatures flaring in and out of existence made anything more precise extremely difficult; one of the draconic knights managed to succeed in their task however and quickly said as much

"Sire" they called out "I've found the traitor….it would seem that she's locked in combat with a Power Ranger"

"The other Power Rangers are elsewhere in the city" another voice added and Carnifex pondered in silence for several moments as his simple bloodlust faded away and was replaced by a twisted sense of amusement at the situation.

"Use her own ships' sensors against her, find her exact location and put me in contact with the traitor" his order was acted swiftly upon and, although concepts such as hacking and intelligence gathering or any form subterfuge in war were largely alien to and scorned by the Knights of Wyvern they had soon managed to discern that Paradoxa was indeed alone within the city, engaging what could only be a Power Ranger and that more importantly the treacherous, insectoid hybrid had expended vast amounts of energy and had taken several injuries; as Carnifex prepared to address her he found a cruel smile forming on his beaked and armoured face as he took a moment to appreciate the symmetry of the situation.

"Paradoxa, traitor to Lord Zedd and his Empire" he growled out, Paradoxa made no effort to reply and simply attempted to close the comm channel that had been opened only to find herself unable to do so; Carnifex could hear the sound of her ongoing struggle against whichever Power Ranger she was facing and took a deep pleasure in just how pained and weary she seemed to be.

"I want you to know that Lord Zedd bid me to come and take your skull as a trophy" he continued "But would it please you to know that I've decided against it?"

"Come to join me in taking the Empire and leading our people into a new age?" Paradoxa sneered, her tone making it obvious that she harboured no such delusions.

"No, I merely wanted you to know that your time as a Commander will end as it began and that you will suffer the same fate you inflicted on Yokai" Carnifex answered "I could intervene, I could teleport you aboard my ship but I won't….The other Power Rangers are close by and I want you to know that I will be watching when they kill you" with that he ended the communication between them and turned to his bridge crew, many of whom wore expressions of open disdain and distrust; with one going so far as the rest their hand on the pommel of their sword in a clear threat in response to the deviation from Lord Zedd's orders, Carnifex took note of that Knight in particular and deemed them worthy of promotion for their loyalty to the Empire.

"Ready a cadre of our finest warriors" quelling their concerns "Paradoxa will die like the filth she is and once her forces are broken and retreat to their ship we will storm the Heliothis and slay them all in one fell swoop"

The Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum erupted into cheers at that.

* * *

Gibil was positively giddy with excitement.

The sound of his unhinged and demented fits of giggling echoed off of the metallic walls of his lair only to be drowned out by a far lager sound, that of screeching metal and the roaring din of several hundred voiced united as one as the slaves and other denizens of the ships' rancid underbelly continued their assault on the reinforced blast-doors that separated them from their quarry. From the various screens that he had been watching the battle aboard the Heliothis unfold on the ashen-furred imp could see that those seeking access to his lair had found better equipment to aid them in their goals, using industrial saws and mining tools including an absurdly power laser cutter to tear through defences that had initially been put in place to keep his own creations in rather than keep attackers out; not that Gibil truly needed to watch the footage from his screens to know any of this a sparks jetted into his lair and the edges of its' entrance began to glow a molten red as the final barriers began to give way.

The time for drastic action had come and Gibil cackled madly, relishing every moment of it.

The first order of business was to unleash each and every one of his abhorrent creations at once, with no care for how complete the monsters were or whether they could be controlled by anything other than their own cannibalistic hunger and insatiable rage. Whilst he had gifted a dozen of his finest creations to Paradoxa to cull those loyal to Lord Zedd that had been a far cry from the sheer bulk of genetic, arcane and cybernetic horror at his disposal and no sooner had the first would be marauder stormed into his lair than the screaming began in earnest as a tide of putrid flesh and monstrously malformed and bizarrely armed appendages shambled, scuttled and bounded towards them.

The fact that none of these beasts were under any semblance of control and were just as dangerous to Gibil as his attackers was of little, if any consequence to the imp who quickly proceeded with his plans by strapping a canister roughly the size of his own torso to his back; the canister was transparent and its' contents were a sludgy brown primordial soup which gave of a faint and unsettling bile green glow as fangs, eyes and patches of flesh rose to the fore only to be swallowed by the roiling mass that was, in effect the distilled essence of countless vile creations.

With this foul concoction firmly secured he nimbly slipped through the carnage and bolted towards the far wall of his lair and ripped open a metallic panel before clambering inside with a final giggle; the crew of the Heliothis had told stories of the merciless and revolting creature that stalked though the unlit corridors of the vessel committing acts of butchery since long before the Heliothis had entered Alliance space though none had been truly certain of how Gibil achieved such acts and preyed on the unsuspecting without being caught, the answer was simply that he had spent years burrowing a network of tunnels through the inner workings of the vessel that led to various important locations throughout it, including the medical facilities from which he often acquired fresh genetic stock in the form of sedated patients and, more importantly his current destination.

The ships' armoury.

The sound of the wholesale slaughter taking place in his lair faded away into silence only to be replaced by furiously barked orders as he neared his goal, the loyalists seemingly having mounted an attack that was being repelled; in Gibil's mind it was all the more reason to hurry and soon he had scurried and crawled through the masses of cables and piping until he reached a metallic panel that he kicked aside and stepped out into armoury

"I've come to help!" he announced with a twisted grin and a low, flourishing bow as he unslung the cylindrical container from his back; those he greeted were so preoccupied and overwhelmed by their attackers that they took this comment at face value and paid the imp little mind, allowing Gibil to make his way to the ships' cache of mutagenic grenades which had been recently added to by plundering what they could from other ships; with insane delight he began priming each of the warheads and then opened the cannister and began to slowly pour the shifting, pulsating and writhing primordial sludge over the warheads whilst producing a small match from within his clothes and striking it

"What are you doing?" one of the soldiers holding the armour demanded in sudden terror as they realised, presumably for the first time who their alleged saviour was. Gibil merely grinned before throwing the match on to mutating mass which had begun to consume the warheads

"Something unexpected"

* * *

Bolts of lights seared through the air and tore into the ground and nearby walls as Mari and Paradoxa continued to face of against one another, the Gold Ranger unleashing a devastating salvo that forced insectoid Acheron hybrid back several paces even as she deflected the attacks with her halberd; it was a momentary pause in her relentless advance however and Paradoxa soon launched herself forwards with her weapon whirling around for vicious swipe and the hooked edges of its' broad blade aimed squarely at her enemies neck. Mari responded by rushing forwards to meet the charge and leaping into the air, using the flat of the blade as a springboard to launch a kick which glanced off of the broken armour of Paradoxa's helmet which the insectoid warlord responded to in turn by whipping around to seize the Gold Ranger's ankle, her fingers were spindly and many jointed and at least one of them had been broken in her battle with Kimberley Hart but her grip was nonetheless strong and she slammed Mari into the ground with a dull thud that knocked the wind from the young woman before looming over her, her fierce yellow eyes filled with primal rage and bloodlust.

"I will make this colony my fortress and I will keep your skull as a trophy Gold Ranger!" she roared before holding her double-ended halberd high overhead and preparing to bring it down in an arcing blow that would carve through Mari's armour and crush her chest entirely yet, once again time seemed to slow down for the Gold Ranger as the Power of the Morphing Grid poured knowledge directly into her subconscious and suddenly Mari found herself knowing exactly what to do.

"Aurum-Burst!" the name of something that part of her mind considered, with childlike glee to be a _'special move' _was declared as Mari fired both of her pistols in tandem and held down on their triggers; a sphere of golden light forming as the twin bolts collided with one another before a supernova of light and destructive power was unleashed and Paradoxa was sent flying backwards. When the Gold Ranger staggered to her pistols vanished into a shower of golden fragments but she saw that Paradoxa's weapon had been utterly destroyed by the blast and her once glossy and iridescent black carapace was smoking, scorched and cracked in more places than she could count with blood trickling from countless wounds.

Yet still she would not relent.

The atrophied and spindly limbs stored within her armoured abdomen unfurled once again and this time they held a new pair of weapons, knives with wide and curved blades and serrated edges which dripped with some syrupy yellow fluid that corroded the ground as it splashed against it. Everything was still for a moment and Marigold's fear and adrenaline fuelled tension seemed to reach previously unknown heights before she simply transcended them entirely and became serenely calm as she watched Paradoxa charge, only for a streak of deep scarlet to burst into view and collide with the hybrid with world-shattering force and tear a howl of agony from her lips. The alien unleashed a blast of deep purple light outwards in a barely coherent sphere which flung her new attacker, whom Mari realised was the Red Ranger backwards and halt the other Aegis Ranger's in their advance yet the damage had been done; Paradoxa's spindly lower right arm had been destroyed entirely with the limb being a mangled stump and no traces of its' missing portion anywhere in sight whilst the left was crumpled and broken, hanging limp and with her weapon slipping from her grasp.

"THIS ENDS NOW PARADOXA!" Mercy bellowed, her voice cracking and becoming a simple scream of grief and hatred as she lunged at the Acheron hybrid once again, fist pulled back for a devastating blow yet, through a supreme effort fuelled by simple desperation Paradoxa managed to lash out with hands that moved invisibly fast and grasp the Red Ranger by the throat, holding her above the ground the way she had Kimberley and in that moment Marigold committed herself and gave herself over to the Power completely, whatever vestiges of doubt and disbelief she had clung to vanishing as she sprinted forwards and delivered a single blow to Paradoxa's face that shattered the remains of her battle-mask entirely and left blood trickling down her pale, mint green face. As she landed in a crumpled heap the rest of the Aegis Rangers gathered around their red and gold team-mates and Mercy gave an order with fearsome determination as Paradoxa struggled to stand

"Form the Power Blaster!" Mari and Kay found themselves standing back as the original five Aegis Rangers readied and combined their weapons before taking aim and firing a blinding beam of coruscating white light and crackled with lightning in the colours of each Ranger whose weapon was a part of the blaster. For her part Paradoxa swayed on her feet and upon realising that her end was both imminent and inevitable made no effort to avoid it, instead offered final words to reaffirm precisely who she was and what she stood for.

"FOR MY DARK EMPIRE!" the beam struck her and it became clear that Paradoxa had carried some form of explosives on her person, perhaps as a fail-safe against being reanimated due to some personal beliefs and her body detonated in fiery blast as the Ranger's attack tore through her.

And then there was only silence.

"Mercy….it's me" Marigold managed to croak out, the rush of adrenaline rapidly fading and leaving with a deep, aching emptiness as the true cost of the battle became clear; she slowly removed her helmet for the Aegis Rangers; whom she realised were now her own team to see and found herself pulled into a crushing hug, at first by Mercy and then by the other Rangers as they joined the embrace; all seven clinging onto each other for support that they dearly needed until Mercy's comm channel was once again opened and filled with Zebidiah Lord's voice.

"Rangers-"

"She's gone" Mercy informed him, her sorrow and exhaustion tinged by a savage snarl "Paradoxa's gone"

"I see that….and know that Kimberley would be proud of you all, she is avenged" the former Lord Zedd murmured, trying to console the team that he would watch over in his once enemies' stead in his own way "But there is another threat"

As if to punctuate his words the ground rumbled, the source of the tremor seeming to come from all sides at once and with a magnitude that sent fearful chills through each of the Rangers.

"Mari….take Captain Hart….take her body and teleport back to base. We'll handle this" Mari nodded and quickly made for the side street in which her battle with Paradoxa had begun, she had no Zord that she was aware of and it seemed certain that the titanic war-machines would be called upon at any moment. Out of the Gold Ranger's earshot Mercy proved this hypothesis correct as she turned to the other Rangers

"We need Aegis Zord power, now!"

* * *

The results of Gibil's actions were horrific in any and all senses of the word and the interior of the Heliothis echoed with the screams of its' crew as they were slain by the thousand.

The combination of the protean, shifting mass of distilled primordial filth and ichor that Gibil had ignited and the entire cache of mutagenic grenades that they had interacted with was simply unspeakable. It had begun as a simple explosion of raw, bloody pink flesh; rich with ropey sinew and pulsating veins that had surged rampantly through the Heliothis and begun to consume everything in its' path. Entire detachments of soldiers were simply consumed, those loyal to Lord Zedd and Paradoxa alike being shredded as the ever changing mass spread through their midst and sprouted rudimentary fangs, talons and spears of solid jagged bone or even poisonous stingers as well as stunted, deformed sensory organs all of which quickly vanished as they were overtaking by yet more formless flesh.

This continued until there was no single living entity remaining, simply entire corridors and decks filled with dense, oozing and monstrous tissue which continued to warp and reform itself as some vile imperative acted upon it; this was not to say that those that had been consumed were truly dead however, rather they had simply been subsumed into the whole; their minds and bodies used as both raw material and template for roiling, shifting and unformed abomination that the Heliothis had become.

Eventually the apotheosis progressed into its' next stage.

Those citizens of Leslie Colony who had not yet retreated to the shelters and those Dark Empire attackers who had called the Heliothis their home alike fell silent and stood frozen, each of them sharing their disgust and simple, base terror as the entire hull of the vast warship began to warp and bulge before finally splitting in over a dozen places with a shrieking cacophony of sundered metal as limbs sprouted from within, each of them pink and fleshy and each of them many-jointed yet differing wildly beyond this as some sported patches of scales and ended in talons whilst others bore thick, matted and fibrous hairs or webbed digits. As the hulking behemoth of a warship lifted itself onto its' newly grown limbs the six wings adorning its' rear that each resembled the blade of some colossal axe were rent backwards, the entire rear of the Heliothis growing into a vast and powerful tail tipped with six terrible claws from the centre of which the ships' propulsion systems blazed. Finally the sleek and aerodynamic prow of the ship, along with its' twin, sleek and angled weapons batteries morphed and mutated into a grotesque and insectoid head with chattering mandibles and sporting compound eyes, which any onlooker who dared draw close enough to see would have been sickened to note resembled the eyes of each member of the ships' former crew.

The Heliothis had come to life and it was this that greeted the Rangers as the Aegis Megazord, in its' Star Dragon formation soared over the apex of Leslie Colonies' protective dome.

"Oh my God" Mercy's words were both spoken allowed and whispered into her fellow Ranger's minds through their shared consciousness with equal amounts fearful disbelief.

"Oh this is most not bodacious" Tempestus breathed out "We need to draw it away from the colony….we can't risk it destroying the environmental dome"

"Or the rest of the colony" Panthera noted though she saw the Blue Ranger's point, to those who called Leslie home the worlds' wildlife was hostile and predatory in the extreme and that the destruction of the dome would mean that even if they were successful in destroying the Heliothis, after two attacks the colonies' defenders would be no match for the native fauna.

"Okay, let's get its' attention!" Mercy ordered, a plan forming in her mind and her fellow Rangers quickly following her lead, the six of them controlling the Megazord in unison and aiming the Mega Cannon directly between the eyes of the Heliothis before unleashing a stream of blazing light that bored through its' armoured hull and into the raw, pulpy flesh that now lay beneath.

An ear splitting shriek filled the air, the things' voice being the tearing of metal amplified a thousandfold.

"I think we have its' attention cousin" Kay noted glibly before having the Megazord streak away from the colony at full speed

"Such a waste" Aslaug noted as the Heliothis gave chase, its' enraged rampaging tearing a wide clearing though pristine wilderness that had remained untouched throughout the entirety of the planets' history

"It's gaining on us" Rensa warned, his quiet voice somewhat concerned and with good reason as the thundering din of the Heliothis rampaging from dense forest as though it were no obstacle at all made it perfectly clear that it had a truly amazing amount of raw power at its' disposal and the situation became only bleaker still as the night sky was illuminated by a fiery orange glow which seemed to come from behind the Megazord yet filled the entire periphery of the Ranger's field of vision on the cockpits' viewscreen.

"Energy spike!" Mercy exclaimed before taking control of the Star Dragon Megazord and pulling it into a steep climb in a frantic attempt to avoid an oncoming attack; she was successful but barely, the Heliothis arched its' tail over head and used what had once been its' propulsion systems to fire a blast of heat and light that simply unmade everything in its' path, reducing a thousand or more trees to burned cinders and scorching the earth beneath them in an instant.

It was not finished however.

"It's still on our tail!" Panthera snapped, taking control of the Megazord and preparing for a more direct approach; as vast as this hulking behemoth was in her mind it was simply another monster, wearing a spaceship as a suit of armour yes but the Pink Ranger knew from first hand experience that a spaceship could be destroyed with one well placed strike.

As the Megazord turned to face the threat the Rangers were treated to the sight of the Heliothis surging towards them, its' vast and segmented body lunging upwards and its' mandibles splayed wide to reveal a gaping chasm when metal had been torn open to make room for some primitive and malformed gullet.

"Hold on to something!" Mercy called out and, with each of them having the same idea the six Rangers had the Megazord drive its' lance downwards, the drill-tipped tail of the Dragonzord rupturing and piercing the soft flesh and tearing a ragged, bloody gash in what the Rangers supposed was the throat of mutated warship, holding them in place whilst sickeningly wet, retching sounds coming from the maw of the beast that had swallowed them.

"We're taking hull damage all over" Tempestus warned, both unsettled and more than a little affronted by this latest development "I….I think it's trying to digest us"

"I wouldn't advise using the Lance in here and losing our footing" Aslaug added cautiously; Mercy pondered for a moment and then made a decision, her grim determination seeping into the minds of the other Rangers through the matrix of their networked minds and giving them cause for concern.

"We're only gonna get one shot at this" she stated bluntly, taking a deep breath to steady herself "But we need to purge the main power supply of all of our Zords, all safeties off" there was a moment of stunned silence before the creaking of metal reminded them just how dire the situation was.

"Let's do it" Kay murmured, Aslaug silently nodding in agreement and the rest of the Ranger following suit a moment after. They worked in silence, the procedure requiring both mental and physical commands from the six of them before it could be activated until finally they were ready and with a single nod from Mercy they braced themselves before unloading all of the power that each of their Zords had at their disposal.

The effect was instant.

Flesh boiled and evaporated around them as the Heliothis shrieked and writhed all whilst the Megazord was engulfed in blinding white light, several portions of each individual Zord glowing as they were heated to dangerous degrees and several of their internal components failed and the cockpit of the Megazord went dark, the Rangers suddenly feeling themselves be pulled free of their mental network as the power failed. They were blind, lost and suddenly they were falling until a monumental impact shook the cockpit and flung the Rangers from their seats, after a moment to ensure that her team-mates were unharmed Mercy realised that there was no way of knowing whether they had been successful whilst they were trapped within the cockpit and tentatively opened a comm channel

"Mission Control….it's Mercy" she gave an audible gulp "What's our situation, the Megazord is dark"

"You did it" the voice that answered could only belong to Billy Cranston, the former Blue Ranger seemed to be on the verge of tears and could be heard actively struggling to keep his composure until Zebidiah Lord interjected

"The Zords will need heavy repairs but you decapitated the monster that the warship had become; Paradoxa is gone and the Dark Empire forces are in full retreat with nowhere to run to, those that aren't captured will no doubt be eaten by the planets' wildlife" Mercy heard all of this, then found herself thinking of Captain Kimberley Hart; former Power Ranger and a mentor and constant feature of the young Red Ranger's life for as long as she could remember and indeed since her birth. Eventually she croaked out an answer, with tears spilling down her freckled cheeks

"Then why doesn't it feel like we won?"

**Authors' Notes:**

Woof….that one was fun, and we've got plenty to unpack here as well.  
That was the climax of this arc, next chapter is the wrap up and then we'll be going into the eleventh arc; although I am considering taking a break because my RWBY story FADE: Legacy is nearing the end of its' penultimate volume and there's a big chapter coming up in a couple weeks.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
So the Gold Ranger suit has some fun twists on the other Aegis Ranger suits and I really wish I was good enough at art to draw it.  
The black collar/forearm/shoulder armour is because I wanted to give it a little extra bulk without it having a full on chest shield like the Green Ranger, also adding black to white and gold gives it the original White Ranger colour palette. I added the pink trim and detailing as a nod to the fact that it was supposed to be Kim wearing the suit.  
And yeah, she's the Winged Lion….I'm sure you saw that coming.  
Yes Mari began to lose because look, Mercy got her ass handed to her when she tried to fight Paradoxa; if one new Ranger can suddenly win every fight on their own it defeats the point of Power Rangers as a team and a franchise, which one of the major problems I have with Tommy as a character/  
The fact that her weapons are handguns is an obvious nod to her pistols in Dekaranger.  
So how many times have I played with the _"Broken helmet is marked for death" _trope now? Only for it to be Paradoxa's broken mask that was a death flag.  
I want you to know that due to a friend getting it stuck in my head, the entire fight with Crab-Tin Crunch was written with Caramelldansen playing in the background, I need that information to be out there.  
I feel like when I'm writing these fights I stress the fact that being in a Power Ranger battle isn't all about flashy kicks and looking cool, it's a gritty, bloody battle of attrition against something that just will not die.  
Kay and Panthera tag-teams are to be expected at this point.  
I think we all knew Mercy was going to go nuts when Aslaug was in danger of having her skull crushed….but that was extreme, bonus points for using another Ranger's weapon though.  
And now the other Ranger's know about Kim and oh boy, Zebidiah is PISSED.  
Carnifex might be more 'primitive' in some ways and have a more direct approach, as well as kinda being closer to what we expect from Power Rangers villains in some ways but he's by no means dumb, he is not gonna rush face first into a fight with Paradoxa when he knows she's sneaky.  
Carnifex and his people are Knights, they don't want to do things like hacking spaceships comms, but they will if they have to.  
"_No, I merely wanted you to know that your time as a Commander will end as it began and that you will suffer the same fate you inflicted on Yokai"_ and this was a deliberate choice I made, Paradoxa dying with someone who could help her if they chose to simply standing by and watching it happen.  
And there's a massive difference between Carnifex and Paradoxa, Carnifex saw one of his own people prepare to take a shot at him because it looked like he was making questionable choices and he condoned it.  
Did you really think breaking into Gibil's lair would end well for the people doing it?  
I hope you had at least some idea of where this was going when he pored the sludge onto the mutagenic grenades.  
His plan was inspired, at least a little bit by the film_ "Evolution" _if you've seen it you know which scenes I'm talking about.  
"_Something unexpected"_ indeed.  
Using blades as a springboard, yep Mari has definitely had some of the same training as Mercy.  
Aww shit, she's got a special move.  
Yeah I was not in the mood to write another fight scene involving way too many limbs, so instead have Mercy removing those limbs with extreme force.  
Mari hit her with that Mike Tyson punch.  
"_FOR MY DARK EMPIRE!" _'cos Paradoxa never stopped being loyal to the genocidal, coloniser, imperialist and totalitarian beliefs of the Dark Empire; she just thought she could do a better job running it.  
Ranger group hug, 'cos they needed it.  
So, new Winged Lion Zord today, but don't worry it's coming.  
Basically the Heliothis was mutated into a giant earwig and I used it to get my body horror on again.  
Yeah, the Megazord got swallowed whole; come on this was never gonna be a standard punch-it-out style Megazord fight was it?  
The venting all the power out idea was based on that one scene from Pacific Rim.  
So yeah, Paradoxa, her ship and her forces are gone; Carnifex is now the only General serving under Lord Zedd….but note that the Heliothis didn't explode.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
I don't think anyone was ready for that.  
The cameos are always fun to sneak in, I might have a couple more scattered around the rest of the story.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	43. Heart Of Gold

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 42 – Heart Of Gold**

The stench of rancid and rapidly decaying flesh filled the air, pierced by the coppery tang of blood from a dozen or more different species yet Carnifex knew better than to assume that just because he and his knights stalked through death and ruination that they were alone or safe, though that information had come far too late and at a cost as part of the fleshy pulp that lined their path had writhed free in some act of horrific osmosis, forming a screaming and frenzied life form with lashing tendrils lined with jagged barbs that had dragged one Carnifex's warriors into the fleshy walls of the Heliothis.

"Be wary" the draconic Acheron hybrid growled out cautiously as he trudged onwards, flaming sword held out in front of him to cut through pulpy flesh and ropey sinew and other, yet more disgusting viscera. Matters of stealth and subterfuge were ones that Carnifex and his Knights of Wyvern found distasteful, regarding them as mere acts of cowardice yet unable to deny that they had their place within Lord Zedd's Empire and as such a team of Carnifex and his most skilled and trusted warriors had been teleported to the worlds' surface, beyond the view of Leslie Colony whilst the Draco-Ocidendum remained cloaked as it lurked above the world in the void of space with its' weapons aimed at the putrid remains of what had once been the Heliothis in case the monstrous vessel were not as dead as it seemed to be.

The people of the Colony were far to distracted by the overwhelming task of trying to sift through the wreckage of their city and search for survivors whilst tackling fires that raged throughout and as such had made no efforts to investigate the remains of Paradoxa's vessel and had been unable to spare more than a token force of guards at the nearest thoroughfare into the city to where it lay, with all of their assets being required elsewhere.

Carnifex had used this opening to his advantage and led his retinue aboard unseen and without incident, taking in the sheer scale of the mutated horror as he attended to the task at hand. The Power Rangers had nearly decapitated the monster that the Heliothis had become entirely yet leaving things to chance was a luxury that they could not afford and so the hybrid had first ventured to what remained on the Command Bridge, finding it filled with what could only be the remains of a vast brain and planting several explosive charges with the intention of ensuring that there was nothing left for the Alliance to glean any information from when they inevitably attempted to study this abomination.

From there Carnifex had turned his attention to a more gratifying task, that of administering retribution for Paradoxa's treason.

It seemed that though they had been consumed by the hateful flesh that had torn through the decks and corridors of the Heliothis many of its' crew had not been killed outright, though their minds and bodies had been broken in unspeakable ways, fused together and partially absorbed and digested, the living spaceship reaching into them and tearing away what it needed to add their genetic material to its' own monstrous from.

Carnifex and his warriors killed any they came across, though in many cases it seemed more like mercy.

The task continued however and Carnifex led his Knights deeper into the bowels of the ship, making his way towards what had once been the armoury, though in truth he had no idea what to expect there; the area would have been one of the most well defended sections of the Heliothis and with an attack underway would likely have been crowded meaning that it was possible that they would encounter someone or something that yet clung to life, however the sheer volume of mutation that ran rampant through the ship suggested that mutagenic grenades had been used and as such it was equally likely that they would find nothing but bloated and rotten, cancerous flesh.

"My liege" one of the Knights of Wyvern murmured, taking Carnifex's attention away from the fleshy walls to either side of him, lined with bodies which may reveal themselves to be half-devoured traitors or crazed abominations at any moment and the persistent dripping of fluids he would rather not consider onto his armour and crimson, scaly hide. With a silent gesture he demanded to know what his minion had detected and the Knight nodded to something unseen in the distance; Carnifex gave a wordless grunt before readying his sword and straining his hearing, at first he thought that the warrior beside him was merely paranoid and flinching from shadows and was prepared to rebuke him accordingly but then he heard it, the sound was distant and oddly muffled yet still completely unmistakeable as it sent an unwelcome chill down the saurian hybrids' spine.

The deranged cackling of the utterly insane.

"With me" Carnifex snarled before surging forwards, caution abandoned as he launched into a full sprint and tore through the warped and sickening corridors, his Knights cutting down any mounds of flesh and sinew that sculpted itself into a coherent beast before it could lunge at him and turning the interior into a claustrophobic, bloody and intense, if brief battle which Carnifex paid no mind to; his attention focused solely on hunting down the source of the laughter that echoed through the Heliothis as he drew closer until eventually he stormed into the armoury and found its' source.

Gibil was alive.

The imp was in a pitiable state, jagged spines of bone had skewered his body and held him aloft and spread eagle whilst thick, ropey masses of raw and pulsating flesh had enveloped his arms and fused to the side of his face, burrowing into his skin and claiming one of his eyes whilst yet more of the vile appendages had slithered into his mouth and were presumably consuming him from within; yet through it all the demented critter continued to giggle to himself.

"What have you wrought, creature?" Carnifex demanded, bile rising in his throat as he stared at the architect of the madness that surrounded him; Gibil's floppy and vaguely canine ears twitched and ash-furred imp glanced up at him with unseeing eyes as he choked out an answer

"The ship was a battlefield, things were not going as expected….so I did something unexpected" Carnifex was stunned into silence as he contemplated Gibil's words and what they meant, a battle aboard the Heliothis meant that the crew had been at war with themselves and that many of them had remained loyal to Lord Zedd

"You mean to say" he breathed out "That this….all of this, was an act of loyalty and self sacrifice?" Carnifex felt almost compelled to bow, Gibil was a lesser life-form and would be utterly beneath his contempt in any other circumstance in addition to being simply despicable and a practitioner of the foulest of arts; yet the Acheron hybrid found himself silently impressed by what he believed to be a final display of courage, honour and steadfast loyalty to the Empire.

He was quickly disabused of the notion.

"Loyalty?" Gibil howled with pained laughter "I did this for the thrill! I sacrificed myself for the art and nothing else, and for no other reason than I could, because there was nobody to stop me and nothing to lose….I did it because this, this is my masterpiece; this will pass into legend-"

"No" Carnifex snarled, cutting across the unhinged diatribe with a voice that radiated cold fury "You will die alone and unremembered, a traitor without glory and whose deeds will be scrubbed from the history of the Empire….However you will have a place in Lord Zedd's presence" at these final words Gibil's blinded eyes widened, a pathetic expression of reverent hope crossing his face which disgusted Carnifex even further before his sword lashed out, cleaving though his neck.

"I did promise to deliver the head of a traitor to him after all" Carnifex snorted as he ripped Gibil's severed head free of the fleshy tendrils that held it aloft before walking away, carrying it like a trophy.

* * *

Everything was cold and numb, the living room of the Ranger's shared apartment felt both too suffocatingly small and claustrophobic, yet somehow as though it weren't real at all as Mercy sat on the sofa with her head buried in her hands trying to grapple with the agonising reality of the situation.

Captain Kimberley Hart was gone.

The blow was crushing for the obvious reasons of course, Kimberley was one of the first Power Rangers chosen by Zordon himself and one of Earths' greatest heroes, along with being a high-ranking member of the Project Lightspeed whose passing would doubtlessly send shock-waves through the galaxy-spanning organisation. For Mercy however it was different the Red Ranger, despite the truth of her origins had spent her entire life believing that she was an orphan and Kimberley had been something of a constant throughout her entire life, ever since she had been a little girl obsessed with Power Rangers from the moment she had learned what they were and who tried to follow Kimberley everywhere and used her as a role model up until Mercy's own career as a Ranger which Kimberley had guided her through.

First she'd been separated from the friends she'd known her entire life, then Zen-Aku had died, the Aquabase had been destroyed and now Kimberley was gone; to Mercy it felt as though her life was being taken away from piece by piece and she couldn't help the choked, strangled sob that escaped her.

"Is there anything I can do?" Aslaug's low and gruff voice was little more than a whisper yet her voice was tender as she reached out to gently wrap an arm around Mercy; in response the smaller girl all but threw herself at her, burying her face into Aslaug's shoulder and clinging onto her as though she feared the towering young woman might vanish at any moment.

"Just stay here, please?" Mercy sniffled, clutching Aslaug closer still as she added "It feels like everyone I care about dies and I can't lose you….not any of you but I-"

"I understand" Aslaug assured her gently as she placed a soft kiss on Mercy's forehead and silently struggled with her own thoughts regarding Kimberley Hart's passing. Whilst Aslaug had lost her mother at a young age and understood how much Kimberley had meant to Mercy and the heartbreaking sense of loss that she was feeling, to the tribal warrior of Mirinoi it seemed almost disrespectful that the only reaction anyone seemed to have to the news was weeping and pain; in Aslaug's mind Kimberley Hart was one of the greatest warriors' in the history of her home-world who had returned to the fray alone and unarmed to keep a tide of monsters at bay, her funeral pyre should have shone brighter than the sun, her deeds were the stuff of legends and should be told to every child in the Alliance when the Saga of Kimberley Hart was sung by so many voices on so many worlds that it shook the stars.

She was distracted from her thoughts by Mercy's voice

"Where are the others?"

"Coping in their own ways" Aslaug answered simply before elaborating "Tempestus went to find Corcus….there are Aquitian rites to honour the dead that he wished to perform and Corcus is of a certain standing amongst their people. Rensa is on the roof, I convinced him not to do anything reckless. Panthera said she needed to wander, she's restless…..It makes sense that she wouldn't want to stay in one place at a time like this I suppose, naturally Kay went with her"

"And Mari?"

"I….truthfully don't know" Aslaug admitted "None of us were debriefed and she returned before us. I can call the others back and-"

"Don't" Mercy shook her head and reached up up gently kiss Aslaug's cheek "I'm sorry….I'm supposed to be the leader and all I do is put my problems onto you-"

"You can't carry the world alone, determined as you are to try" Aslaug leaned down and rested her forehead against Mercy's "That's why you have a team….and I will happily shoulder any burden with you" hearing this Mercy all but melted into the taller girl, a fresh wave of tears spilling from her until finally she managed to regain some control over herself.

"We should probably find Mari….She became a Power Ranger today and she didn't get any warning like we did" she let out a sigh and flopped back on the sofa before adding "But not yet, I just-I can't deal with anything right now"

"And that's okay" Aslaug promised, lacing her fingers through Mercy's as the two of them remained there for an unknown amount of time in a silence that was peaceful if not truly happy. They had received a crushing blow and both of them knew that things would never be the same again but whilst they were together the future seemed at least a little brighter.

* * *

The air thrummed with arcane magic and set the hairs on the back of Billy's neck on end, the chill travelling down his spine becoming a constant companion the longer he remained in this place.

The personal chambers of Zebidiah Lord, once Lord Zedd, supreme ruler of the Dark Empire, conqueror of all that he saw and sworn enemy of the Power Rangers were a uniquely uninviting place for anyone other than the sorcerer himself; the room in which Billy stood was kept dark and a little colder than was comfortable, the sole source of light coming from the base of one of the tubes which Zebidiah's consciousness was projected to from his broken and lifeless body which was currently vacant with only a pale grey and glowing mist filling it as its' occupants' psychic presence was elsewhere.

Billy used the faint light given off by the tube to make out details within the gloom and saw that Zebidiah's dwelling was almost entirely given over to arcane magic and its' study, artefacts from a dozen or more worlds, including weapons, armour, jewellery, paintings and even pottery each of which gave off a distinctly unsettling aura were kept in display cases and tomes older than the earth itself filled several bookshelves and most interestingly of all that the very walls themselves were lined with countless engraved wards and sigils. The former Blue Ranger found himself wondering how each of the wards functioned, seeking a distraction despite his well-known distrust for magic and its' lack of adherence to any common rules or logic; he also found himself wondering just how intolerable the latent magic permeating the Aquabase must have been given how long Zebidiah had stayed there, accumulating artefacts.

Then the sorcerer that had once been Lord Zedd revealed himself.

"I apologise for keeping you" the words began almost before Zebidiah's incorporeal form had appeared within the tube, looking just as he always had since becoming human, bearded and robed as the swirling mists withdrew from around him and several of the ward and sigils around the room glowed an ominous crimson, reacting to his presence and setting Billy's nerves on edge until the chamber became warmer and more brightly lit.

"I understand that you were in no condition to debrief the Rangers….nobody was" Zebidiah continued "But there were still matters to be attended to, which I have handled on your behalf"

"Thank you" Billy managed to croak out, the reality that his oldest friend was gone and he was the last of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers left alive suddenly becoming too great to bare; wiping his eyes the former Blue Ranger forced all of his grief and rage and the sudden, unrelenting feeling of emptiness as far back in his mind and as deep within himself as he could manage, instead handling the situation in the same way he had when he had learned of Tommy's ill-fated mission that had seen so many Power Rangers fall; by focusing on what he could do and what he could control.

"There are still things to be attended to" he noted, his voice clinical and detached "The Gold Ranger will need additional training to bring her up to speed with the other Rangers and work on her unit cohesion with them, she currently has no Zord and the other Ranger's Zords are all in need of major repairs. There's also the fact that Kimberley's position in Mission Control is vacant and-"

"Stop it" Zebidiah demanded sternly yet Billy continued as though he hadn't spoken

"Someone needs to fill that role, Corcus would be the natural choice although I know the two have you have your-"

"I SAID BE SILENT!" crimson lightning flashes across the wards and Zebidiah's voice trembled with rage, becoming closer to the distorted snarling, growl of the former Lord Zedd with each furious syllable "DO YOU HAVE NO SOUL BLUE RANGER? ARE YOU TRULY LITTLE MORE THAN A PUTTY THAT SPEAKS? ARE YOU ONE OF THE MACHINE EMPIRE'S COGS? YOUR FRIEND GAVE HER LIFE TODAY AND I COMMAND YOU TO FEEL _SOMETHING_!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T?" the scream that escaped Billy echoed off of the walls and matched Zebidiah's own anger, which was no small feat in of itself "I build and I fix, that's what I do and right now it is what we all need! Your son, your son who is the reason for all of this could attack again at any time and I refuse to let Kim's sacrifice mean nothing! So yes Zebidiah I will act like a machine if that means that no more Rangers have to die!"

"And who will build and fix you when you finally break under the strain of holding the galaxy together with your own two hands?" Zebidiah demanded, his words held the same steely determination yet the fury had left him "Go….speak with your son and your wife. I will deal with Corcus and any of your peoples' foul bureaucracy. I know more than enough about Zords to assist you in your works and so does Grace but that is for another time" Billy's knuckles whitened as his fists clenched, a rebuke on the tip of his tongue until finally the anger left him; less like a receding tide and more like a bursting boil in the way it reached its' peak and spilled over

"Thank you" he eventually sighed "But I need to keep busy, I can't just sit and-"

"And be alone with your thoughts and memories? They're all that remains of her, cherish them" Zebidiah interjected bluntly "But if you must busy yourself then see to it that Kimberley is remembered the way she deserves to be, I know don't much of human funeral rites; I gave my Rita an Acheron farewell….and if you would permit it, even though I can't physically leave this place I would like to say my goodbyes in my own way; Kimberley Hart was many things, a worthy adversary, a trusted ally and a friend" Billy fought the urge to visibly bristle, the idea of Kimberley being given any kind of Acheron funeral after being killed by one of Lord Zedd's Generals sending a lance of white hot hatred though him until he forced himself to see things from a perspective other than his own

"She'd like….well, at the very least she'd appreciate the sentiment" he finally nodded before his voice cracked and he let out a sorrowful, broken laugh "You know if anyone, even Zordon had told me that this is where the two of us would end up I wouldn't have believed it"

"Nor would I" the former Lord Zedd admitted "But if I learned anything from Kimberley it's this….together we are more"

* * *

It was still dark.

The artificial day and night cycle of Promethea One was intended to roughly match Earth, despite being kept constant all year round and as such operated on an entirely different schedule to that of Leslie Colony which orbited a distant star. Whilst in the, now half-ruined city that they had departed from it was likely early morning by now and the sun would soon be rising in the worlds' pink sky the Ranger's home was still in the midst of its' artificial night with only a dome ceiling comprised of countless darkened panels above the city save for the few places where the gulf of space could be seen, revealing stars, the moon, other colony ships and occasionally even the Earth itself in the distance.

It was this darkness that Panthera had made her way out into without any aim other than to simply be elsewhere; she was after all a product of her upbringing on several spaceships owned and piloted by thieves, smugglers and scoundrels of all kinds and whilst she was aware of the countless coping mechanisms employed by a hundred or more societies for dealing with loss and grief one truism common to every ship she had lived or worked on was that _'You don't stay in the same place after things go wrong'_ and things had definitely gone wrong. For all the sarcastic and abrasive defiance the teal-skinned alien showed to any kind of authority she had never had anything but admiration and respect for Kimberley Hart, no matter how well she had hidden it and knowing that she was gone wasn't a chance to celebrate her life, or a bittersweet moment of reflection like some would surely insist.

It just hurt.

Eventually she had come to a stop on the roof of a shopping centre, the vast building was several stories high and its' parking lot was situated on the roof in an effort to save floor space within the colony; giving Panthera a flat, open space to pace and prowl until finally halting and perching on the wall running around the edge of the roof, staring out at the city until she had felt someone moving behind her

"Hey" she muttered as the scent of the latest flowery perfume Kay had experimented with gave them away

"Hey" Kay replied quietly, downcast as they climbed onto the wall and perched beside her with their eyes downcast.

"So….how long were you following me?"

"I gave you a five minute head start, so long enough to see you pick up that loose change and half eaten burger" Kay answered in their usual bored and aloof but musical voice, no such event had occurred of course but the comment got a small chuckle from Panthera

"I though you might go looking for a spaceship" the Green Ranger continued "Decide that you were done and that you wanted to go see the galaxy again….I thought I'd come with you" Once again Panthera saw the comment for what it was, an offer for her to open herself up and speak without any risk of judgement or condemnation

"Would you blame me if I said I really thought about it?" she asked, her voice suddenly far meeker than she would have liked

"No" Kay sighed, their own voice suddenly filled with a deep sadness "And I wouldn't have blamed you if you went alone" this gave Panthera pause, her tail falling still behind her as she turned and regarded Kay seriously, her golden eyes meeting their inhuman black and pink and seeing pain and shame there.

"What's wrong Kay?" she asked gently, Kay fidgeted nervously for a moment before finally speaking

"Am I a bad person?" the question was simple yet spoke to a world of emotion, the words were quiet, yet raw and trembling and Panthera stunned into silence, allowing Kay to continue

"What happened to Kimberley….we can all agree that's bad; but then why is what I did to Zen-Aku any different? Was it because he was a monster, or was evil once….and in that case, what's the difference between him and me?"

"Oh" was all Panthera managed to say and that alone was enough for her to feel ashamed of herself, if nothing else for how little she had truthfully considered Zen-Aku's death and what it meant; between the destruction of the Lightspeed Aquabase, relocating to Promethea One, Kay joining the Rangers and her own feelings about it there had simply been too much happening at the time for her to truly appreciate the Duke Org's passing. There was a silence between them that threatened to grow into something awkward or tense if Panthera couldn't find the words to articulate what she wanted to convey and so, with long, slow exhale and a faltering start she tried her best

"You're not a bad person….You've done bad things; it's not the same" she paused and struggled to find words before continuing "Zen-Aku mattered, to a lot of people and a lot of them will never forgive you the way Mercy has, that's just something you're gonna have to live with. At the same time you were doing all you'd been taught because it's all you knew how to do, the same way I always have…..But if you wanna know if you're a bad person then I guess there's a question you've gotta ask yourself; do you think if Paradoxa had gotten away she'd be having this conversation with anyone?"

"I….really doubt it" Kay mumbled

"And that's the difference" Panthera nodded "We've all made mistakes, we've all done bad things; the bad people are the ones who don't even want to be better"

"Thanks" Kay met her gaze and gave a soft, weary smile "So….shall we go explore the galaxy?" they chuckled before leaning close and resting their head on Panthera's shoulder; the teal-skinned alien wrapped her tail around the Green Ranger's waist only to feel her breath catch in her throat for a moment as she felt their hand close around hers.

"One day" she finally murmured as she leaned into Kay and the two of them remained there for sometime, both silently wishing that the colony had a real sunrise for them to watch together.

* * *

Marigold's mouth was dry, her head buzzing with a million thoughts which crashed and collided with one another before they could fully form and her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to think logically about the new reality that she found herself in; only to conclude that the sheer mind-numbing terror she felt was the only logical response.

She had returned to Promethea One and found herself in the Command Centre which she would never have dreamed of having the clearance to enter before that moment and carrying the body of a former Power Ranger all whilst the Aegis Rangers fought against what appeared to be an entire spaceship that had become a living thing; a situation made all the more absurd by the fact that she was now a Power Ranger herself, a fact whose gravity hadn't fully registered with her until that moment and from there she had all but fled back to the student dormitories the moment the Ranger's mission was declared a success with her Morphed state failing around her as she struggled not to vomit from sheer, inarticulate panic. Ever since then she had been curled up on her bed in the corner of her room, with her bedroom door locked and steadfastly ignoring her room-mates' concerned questions and text messages from off-world, likely from Banban, her parents and other friends and family on Leslie as she tried to make her head stop spinning and force the world to make sense again.

"What am I supposed to do?" she demanded in a frightened whisper, the question seemingly directed at the golden Morpher adorning her wrist and the pearly white Power Coin set within it. She had dreamed of being a Power Ranger when she was girl of course, what child of the Alliance hadn't; they were teams of heroes who stood for everything that was good, freedom, justice and doing the right thing simply because it was right but they were also courageous, noble and a dozen or more things that Mari felt did not apply to her.

She was dragged from her thoughts by a firm knock on the bedroom door to which she responded with an irritable if shaky shout

"I said-"

"It's me" Mercy's voice cut across her "Well….us" Mari realised that some of the other Aegis were with her and quickly hopped off her bed and made her way to the door on legs that wobbled and seemed generally unwilling to cooperate before unlocking and opening it to reveal Mercy flanked by the emaciated and wraith-like Rensa and, predictably Aslaug's towering form.

"Hey" Mercy's voice was quieter now "Mind if we come in? It seemed a good idea to check on you after….everything" with that Mari stepped aside and allowed the three Rangers into her room and her room-mate seemed to have left, ensuring that they could speak in confidence; Mercy simply made herself comfortable on the edge of the bed whilst Aslaug looked around at the various photographs, posters, textbooks, recently washed clothes and other general clutter, all the while too large and somewhat out of place in the small room; Rensa found space for himself by putting his innate ability to climb and cling to any surface to use and simply scuttled along the walls and ceiling until he was staring down at Mari intently with his pitch black eyes from an odd angle.

"I um, I guess you'll want this back?" Marigold gestured to the Morpher she wore and quickly began unfastening it so that she could hand it over, wincing at just how eager to be rid of it she sounded.

"No" Mercy sounded equal parts aghast and confused by the statement "It's yours now, you're a Power Ranger Mari"

"I can't be" the older girls' voice was strained and fearful "I'm not like you guys, I wasn't trained to be a Ranger since I was a kid, I wasn't born on a Death World, I'm not some genius warrior monk or a space Viking, or bad-ass space pirate or literally made by the Dark Empire to be a weapon….I'm just an army brat who joined the cadets to get a scholarship, I'm just a normal student"

"When Kimberley became a Power Ranger she was in high school, she was a gymnast….one of her team was a yoga instructor" Mercy answered simply, giving a shrug "I don't think that's how this works"

"Besides, you held your own against Paradoxa" Aslaug grunted "She was a capable warrior"

"She kicked the crap out of me when I fought her" Mercy admitted, wincing at the memory "So yeah….you look like a Ranger to me"

"I-" Mari faltered and simply stared in silence at the Morpher in her hands, swallowing thickly as she tried to find the words and eventually settled on painful, simple honesty

"I'm scared" she croaked out "I've seen how beaten up you come back from every mission….I don't want to die-"

"So you want someone else to die for you?" Rensa asked, an unusual coldness to his quiet voice

"No! What? I-"

"The Dark Empire is going to attack again, whether you're ready to be a Power Ranger or not" the Black Ranger stated bluntly from his position on the wall "Are you going to sit here and let one of us die, or civilians die because you were scared?….You ran towards Paradoxa through a war-zone to try and give Kimberley that Morpher, you're no coward Mari" a half-choked sob escaped her as she nodded and finally, with her heart pounding and blood rushing in her ears slipped the Morpher back onto her wrist and fastened

"Okay" she breathed out, turning to Mercy who now wore a bright smile "Okay I'll do it…..but is there like a training course or something?"

"Oh there's training….so much training" Mercy assured here, affecting a haunted stare as she laughed at the comment "Welcome to the Power Rangers Mari" the older girl nodded and let out a slow breath, resigning herself to her fate and accepting that her life would, for better or worse never be the same again and remaining silent before giving a sobering reply.

"I just wish it could be under better circumstances"

* * *

The Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum was a tempest of light and sound as the fearsome warship tore through the blackness of space. The weapons and shields were primed and ready in the unlikely event that they were required and a course had been plotted for their return to the Dark Empire's outpost on Unus; with these menial but necessary tasks completed the bridge crew had begun to celebrate another successful mission, the fiery light shining from between the individual panels of the craggy and mosaic like walls and floor steadily shifting colour as the choir of serfs and retainers that flanked Carnifex's throne sang of victory and conquest; the Knights of Wyvern joining them as they displayed and boasted of the various trophies that they had taken from their mission within the living bowels of the Heliothis and drank tankards of smoking liquids that would have dissolved the innards of a lesser being, occasional scuffles breaking out amongst them being nothing more than a further source of raucous cheering.

Carnifex watched it all from his throne and smiled as he glanced down at his own grisly trophy, Gibil was a foul and abhorrent creature and snuffing out his life had been thoroughly rewarding though privately the draconic Acheron hybrid lamented, he would have liked to have bested Paradoxa in honourable single combat and continue their initial fight to its' final bloody conclusion.

His thoughts were intruded upon by a series of bleeping alerts, the sound causing Carnifex to rise to his feet and take a single stride forwards

"SILENCE!" his usually cultured tones were replaced by a booming roar that reverberated through the Command Bridge causing his warriors and serfs to immediately comply, the hybrid sank onto one knee and gave a low bow which all present swiftly mirrored by the communication was answered and the translucent, flickered and blue-tinged form of Lord Zedd came into view, the hologram towering over all and having only marginally less of an imposing presence that the warlord himself.

"Carnifex, report" his voice was a feral snarl as always, issued from beneath the grill-like mouth plate of his mask whilst his visor blazed with hatred at the mere thought of Paradoxa

"The Heliothis was lost, due to the actions of this….creature" Carnifex rose to his feet once again and reached back to the arm of his throne, hefting Gibil's severed head and holding it aloft for Lord Zedd to see that he would indeed be returning with the head of a traitor, if not the one he expected.

"Paradoxa attacked an Alliance colony world, the Power Rangers intervened" he continued, voice laced with regret "Whilst I did not get to slay the traitor myself I managed to make contact….she knew that your judgement was upon her in her final moments and that her death was assured"

"Good" Lord Zedd rumbled "A little treachery amongst the ranks is a good thing, a whetstone for the mind and soul….it keeps us all sharp; but we can ill afford it now"

"You have plans my Lord?"

"Your fleet was not summoned here to sit idle and worry my enemies with raiding parties" the armoured tyrant sneered "You were merely held in reserve to lull my enemies into a false sense of security"

"I understand my Lord….how may I serve"

"Return to base, the time is not yet right but soon….the blow will come soon and you will be given the honour of delivering the killing strike" with that the hologram flickered and faded before finally vanishing completely. Carnifex stared out at his Command Bridge which remained deathly silent, the crews' previous revelry forgotten entirely as they stared at their leader; Carnifex considered Lord Zedd's words and gave a wide smile before holding Gibil's head aloft

"TO OUR VICTORY!" with those words a deafening chorus of cheers went up and the serfs behind him began to sing again as the celebrations began anew.

The Power Rangers had taken the day, but the Dark Empire was made all the stronger for it.

**Authors' Notes:  
**Okay, so that's the tenth arc of the story finished.  
I have the next arc planned out _(And plans for the arc after that)_ but I won't be posting next week, just due to the workload of other projects.  
I feel like there's something else I should be saying here but I have no idea what it is.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Because of course I started with body horror, why wouldn't I.  
The inside of the Heliothis went full Gears of War/Prototype with the enemy spawns.  
Kill the brain…..and destroy all of the hardware, get rid of any records of where the ship's been so that the Alliance can't find the base.  
No survivors, did you really expect anything else?  
_The deranged cackling of the utterly insane_…..you knew exactly who it was.  
Oof….yeah I went a bit grisly with what happened to Gibil.  
I liked the idea of Carnifex having a shred of hope that, at the end Gibil was more than he'd seemed only to be disappointed when he realised that he was a traitor.  
Well, that's Gibil gone.  
"_It feels like everyone I care about dies"_ Oh we're just cracking the feels open from this point onwards…..Alexa play Johnny Cash.  
Aslaug's feelings on things like death are fun to explore because she comes from such a different culture.  
Zebidiah being a collector of all things magical just makes sense to me.  
Billy's the last one left…..or is he?_ (I have plans for the third act lol.)  
_Billy and Zebidiah snapping at each other like that was something I felt was just needed.  
_Together we are more_….because whatever your thoughts towards the 2017 movie are, that slogan perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Power Rangers and in the times  
we're living in right now it's a mindset that more of us should aspire to.  
Panthera being just as caring as any other Ranger under the bad-ass Orc/Cat-girl/Han Solo exterior.  
And yeah, it seems fitting that her response to death is to outrun it because of her upbringing.  
I really do love writing the banter between Kay and Panthera.  
Some self-reflection from Kay was needed.  
They finally held hands…..like filthy perverts.  
Sometimes fear is the appropriate response.  
I think for the sake of realism at least one Ranger has to have second thoughts about it.  
So Mari basically name-dropped, in order: Mercy, Rensa, Tempestus, Aslaug, Panthera and Kay….because the Aegis Rangers are a team of bad-asses and she really is just a student on a scholarship.  
Mari is right to be concerned about dying, but I feel like as harsh as Rensa was about it he's right….it's basically the _"With great power comes great responsibility" _speech.  
_S__o much training_.  
Carnifex leads a ship full of knights and warriors with some medieval influences….of course they celebrate a victory like that.  
And of course Carnifex low-key wishes he could have killed Paradoxa himself.  
"_A little treachery amongst the ranks is a good thing, a whetstone for the mind and soul….it keeps us all sharp" _do I even need to say anything about that line.  
"_You were merely held in reserve to lull my enemies into a false sense of security"_ because Lord Zedd is not an idiot, at the start of the arc I mentioned that the Alliance was just waiting for a large scale attack to come and it's always better to catch your opponent off guard.  
And yay for ominous sounding comments about plans.

Thank you to Super ShadowHenshin for their review on the last chapter.  
Gotta love flexing those body horror muscles, I wish Power Rangers would explore things like that more but that would come under the whole umbrella of "More mature" that they don't seem interested in exploring, despite a large portion of their fan-base being adults who grew up with the series 20 years ago.  
I'm surprised more fiction doesn't go into it.  
Mari deserved more than what Dekaranger gave her, so I'm making her an actual character and not just someone who got fridged for another characters' arc….although that naturally means I've had to expand and change her beyond what she originally was.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	44. Spearhead (Arc 11)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 43 – Spearhead**

The time had finally come and Mercy could not even begin to pretend that she had been mentally or emotionally prepared. Captain Kimberley Hart, former Pink Power Ranger, world class athlete and member of Project Lightspeed had been dead for almost two weeks and her funeral had been, frankly, a spectacle. Kimberley had been a celebrity on her home world and known, loved and respected on many other planets within the Alliance and as such her funeral had been attended by thousands, lasting for hours as grand and verbose speeches were delivered by men and women who had barely known her, their empty words about duty, bravery and sacrifice revealed to be the empty platitudes that they were once they were contrasted against the speeches given by Kimberley's true friends and family, who remembered a fun-loving, if bitingly sarcastic woman who would do anything to help anyone who needed aid; even if that help came in the form of a stern talking to and advice that might not want to be heard, all accompanied by anecdotes and stories that had shown exactly what kind of person the former Pink Power Ranger truly was.

Once the media and clamouring masses had been satisfied a far more private service and wake took place, strictly for those who had known Kimberley and had been lucky enough to be counted amongst her friends and it was here that Mercy's resolve had truly been tested its' limits

Less than half of the Aegis Rangers were present.

Marigold's absence Mercy could understand and excuse as the Gold Ranger had never worked alongside Kimberley and in truth barely knew her at all, she had made a point to regularly reassure the latest addition to the team that she was wanted and welcome and that nobody viewed her differently for taking a role that was intended for Kimberley.

The others however Mercy had taken some time to forgive, not speaking to Rensa, Panthera or Kay for days until Aslaug managed to convince her to listen to their reasoning and explanations; the Black Ranger simply had no concept of funerals and celebrating the life of the deceased, on Dread those who fell were simply meat and resources and he wished to excuse himself from the proceedings so that he didn't inadvertently cause offence to Kimberley's family, which Mercy found herself respecting and appreciating. Panthera insisted that she would pay her own respects in her own way, the Smuggler Guild having their own customs which took from the various cultures and traditions of dozens of worlds which formed the galaxy-spanning group yet belong to none and formed something wholly unique whilst Kay's situation was far harder for Mercy to navigate; the Green Ranger had become withdrawn in recent days and had finally confided to her that they didn't feel as though they belonged at the funeral or the wake, the Red Ranger had disagreed but had ultimately relented.

Though she would have been glad of any of their company at the moment.

She could see Tempestus in the crowd, the Blue Aegis Ranger was with his parents who had both naturally attended the service, Billy looking every part the proud father he was as he took the opportunity to introduce his son to former Power Rangers and other former colleagues.

Aslaug was there as well, sat beside Mercy at a small corner table in the dimly lit venue and looking admittedly striking in a black suit, her cufflinks and tie a bright golden yellow in a departure from the typical attire at such events; Mercy's own dress and outfit were sparingly accented with deep reds and she was somewhat happy to see that the two of them had not been alone in an idea that had seemed only natural, splashes of colour highlighted those who had once been Power Rangers against the sea of morose black.

Mercy was stunned at how few of them there were.

"Are you okay?" Aslaug asked, her normally low and gruff voice a gentle, if slightly worried whisper

"I just…." the smaller and darker of the two young women tailed off and sighed "There are so many dead Rangers, so many more people who should be here; I always knew that a lot of us were gone but damn….there aren't any full teams left"

"I wouldn't say that's entirely correct" hearing this new voice both Mercy and Aslaug whirled around to see two men, one of whom was a tall and sported a physique that was slender yet athletic, with light brown skin, high cheekbones and dark hair tied back into a bun who wore a suit whose lapel sported the insignia of the Fire Ninja Academy; the other man was Doctor Justin Stewart.

The man beside the former Blue Turbo Ranger was Sensei Kazama, a man who had been instrumental in the success of the second team of Power Rangers to bare the name _'Ninja Storm' _by providing them with the technological and logistical support they had needed, the team had been drawn from several Ninja Academies including his own and had all survived their struggles with the enemies that they had faced whilst Mercy had been a small child, though their powers had been lost in their final battle; he was also Justin's long term and long distance partner which was how the Red and Yellow Aegis Rangers knew him.

"Your team are here?" Aslaug asked with a raised eyebrow to which Kazama nodded in silent confirmation, the towering and powerful girl tried to mask how suddenly eager she seemed, the sheepish expression almost comically out of place on the face of someone who was normally so unapologetically forthright; Mercy couldn't help but laugh softly as she realised the reason for her girlfriends' new enthusiasm and leaned close to gently kiss her lips and whisper

"Go hang out with the Ninjas I'll be right here" Justin seemed to hear this and shared a look with his own partner who was all too happy to lead Aslaug away so that Justin and Mercy could have some privacy; in a previous discussion Kazama had mentioned that students of his academy learned such feats as breathing fire or throwing fireballs from their hands and as stoic and unshakeable as the Yellow Aegis Ranger often acted in front of strangers she had been desperate to know if she could learn this technique ever since.

"So, how're you doing?" Justin asked in soft murmur as he took Aslaug's now empty seat, the weariness of his words and the dark rings under his eyes painting the picture of a man who had not slept comfortably for quite some time.

Mercy paused for a moment before answering, whilst she liked and respected Justin greatly and the two were gradually forming a relationship that could be called familial, if highly unconventional the scientist had also on occasion become a little overbearing and worrisome upon the truth of Mercy's origins being revealed; as though he were trying to fill the role of a father figure

"I'm coping" she finally answered, though she was unable to meet his eyes as she said it

"You sure, you look worn out?" Justin noted "You've been overdoing it with training again haven't you? Are you eating and sleeping properly?"

"Are you?" Mercy shot back, her sudden irritability caused in no small part by the fact that Justin had been entirely accurate in his guesses and that she had been overworking and neglecting herself in an attempt to push through the pain of losing her role model until it had drawn the attention of her friends.

"The Aquabase needs a lot of rebuilding I was pulling back to back all-nighters way before….well, everything" Justin's voice trailed off

"I know there's a bar here and they won't ask you for ID but please don't be tempted to drink until you're numb. I tried it and it doesn't-"

"You know you're not my dad right?" Mercy snapped, hands flying to her mouth as a wave of regret washed over her almost the moment the words left her mouth, followed by a hushed and choked whisper "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, you're right" Justin answered, voice strained as he made an impressive effort to hide just how much the comment had stung before letting out a slow shaky breath and forcing himself to continue "You're right you're not my daughter, but you are still one of my Rangers. I made a commitment to the Aegis Rangers the moment I agreed to be involved and you being stationed somewhere else doesn't change that….a team is only as capable as its' leader so I made you something" with that he reached into his suit jacket and produced something which Mercy stared quizzically at for a moment as he passed it to her,

a hollow red shell-like device made of some kind of metal and with several sensors and gauges set into it all of which were currently taking no readings whilst a small jagged section hung from under the thing shaped like a thin, narrow and stylised lightning bolt; comprehension suddenly dawned on her and Mercy slotted her device over her Morpher, the jagged hook sitting in the track which ran along its' surface and led to her Power Coin whilst the shell left the device on her wrist appearing to be two-tone, half silver and half red

"What does it do?" she asked

"Funny thing actually" Justin snorted "I don't know"

"You don't know?" Mercy demanded, the sudden awkward tension between them disappearing in an instant as the former Turbo Ranger found himself laughing at her outburst

"It's called a Battleizer" he explained "A few Red Rangers have had them, this one's built for you specifically. You'll know how to use it when the time comes and it'll be what you need it to be….I can't tell you any more than that"

"Thanks" Mercy rolled her eyes before realising that this was in fact very similar to the device that Andros, a former Red Ranger had given to Rensa "No really thanks" she was suddenly bashful and more than a little ashamed of her attitude a moment ago, which Justin seemed all to happy to forget as he merely shrugged and grinned.

"No problem" he assured her before casting his eyes around the room "Oh, Angela's here….Professor Rawlings; she's got some great stories about dealing with Rangers, and not just the Lightspeed ones. Wanna meet her?" Mercy was on her feet in an instant, nodding enthusiastically despite herself and casting furtive glances at her newly upgraded Morpher.

* * *

Marigold Utahima was simply exhausted, her eyes burned, her head pounded with a dull, thumping pain and she ached all over all whilst suffering from a cold, clammy sweat. The Gold Ranger was perfectly aware of the fact that she was pushing herself to the exact same extremes that she had taken issue with in Mercy's case and yet refused to allow the naked hypocrisy to distract her from a goal that she deemed to be worth the effort and discomfort. She had been training relentlessly in her efforts to catch up with the other Rangers who all by now had months of experience and boasted physiologies more suited to the strains of being a Power Ranger, even Mercy who Mari was realising was far more than she seemed; to this end she was spending several hours of every single day studying martial arts, working out and pushing her body to the extreme along with countless assault courses and simulation missions above and beyond what the other Rangers were subjected to, the fact that all of this was done whilst continuing to attend university classes and stay on top of her academic work had left her with a persistent headache.

Which was admittedly far less painful than the wild knee strike to the side of the head that left her sprawling.

"Are you okay?" Rensa asked as he landed in a crouch, limbs spread wide in a skulking, skittering sort of fashion. Seeing that the Black Ranger had not attended Kimberley's funeral service for his own reasons Mari had collared the youngest Ranger and asked him to spar with her, both agreeing not to use pads but also not to use undue force; which had been revealed to mean little when Mari was so tired that she couldn't focus enough to block or properly defend herself

"I'm fine" she mumbled, massaging her jaw as a thin trickle of blood dripped from her mouth onto the white tank-top she was wearing with grey yoga pants and wincing, this would be another bruise to explain to her room-mate. A moment later she was on her feet again, bracing herself so as not to sway dizzily before charging in.

Even if she weren't as utterly drained as she was it would likely have been a one-sided affair.

Mari used her charge as a feint and planted herself firmly in front of Rensa before unleashing a flurry of punches, a pair of left jabs followed a right hook, left cross and a haymaker all of which completely failed to land as the emaciated and haunting looking alien teen contorted himself in unnatural ways to avoid the blows before retaliating with a spinning back-kick that caught the older teen square in the gut and left her staggering backwards, struggling to breathe and not vomit; Rensa continued however, some primal bloodlust propelling him as he lunged towards her and leapt into the air, sailing over his doubled over opponent before driving both feet down between her shoulder-blades and rolling into a crouch as Mari's entire body appeared to crumple and collapse and she was left face down on the matted and cushioned floor of the training area.

"Ow" the word was delivered in a pained and frankly pitiable tone of voice "I'm not getting anywhere with this am I? Damn it!" she struck the ground with as her words grew steadily more irate, only for attempts to pull herself to her feet to fail leaving face down on the ground again.

"Sorry" Rensa murmured apologetically "I'll help you to medical….I shouldn't have hit that hard; I struggle to measure the amount of force I need sometimes"

"Like last night?" Mari asked as she rolled painfully onto her back, the accusation clear and undeniable. Rensa's pitch black eyes darted around the training area, looking anywhere at Marigold who apparently knew of the previous evenings' excursions, the Black Ranger had continued prowling the city of Promethea One at night and tackling crime wherever he found it and in a trend that had begun following Andros's death, temporary as that had been, he had been using gradually more heavy-handed methods and on several occasions had struggled with his self control, almost giving in to the bloody red haze that filled his visison.

"What do you know?" he asked, the sheepish and nervous expression he wore entirely at odds with the severity of the situation

"One of the guys in my class grabbed a take-out after he went to a bar last night, someone came in with a knife and tried to tell the staff to open up the register" Rensa huddled in on himself, entirely aware of what Mari was talking about and where this story was going as she continued "And then he says _'That creepy kid you hang around with that climbs walls'_ walked in and broke the guys' arm, then smashed his head against a wall until he was convulsing….my friends see the bruises I have after training and think you're some kind of monster, people are scared of you Rensa, you put someone in the hospital last night"

"And yet the evil people aren't scared enough, or they wouldn't be evil" the answer was barely more than a whisper yet with the way Marigold recoiled away from it Rensa may as well have screamed.

"Is that what being a Power Ranger means to you?" she demanded, utterly aghast "Getting to hurt people-"

"It's about doing what's needed" Rensa growled "And sometimes what's needed is fear….No amount of kind words and ideals will stop people who want to be evil from being evil, that's what fear is for; the fear that they're being hunted every time they hurt someone"

"Some guy holding up the Promethea Pizzeria isn't the Dark Empire you maniac! You can't treat every single problem the same way, all it does is make you look no different to the people we're fighting!" Mari snapped suddenly exasperated as she forced herself to her feet, staggering and clearly struggling

"Are you-"

"I'm fine!" she cut across the younger teens' attempt to change the subject with far more vitriol than she intended before letting out a slow breath and steadying herself mentally as well as physically

"I'm fine" she repeated "But you clearly aren't….I don't know what's going on with you or why the other Rangers have looked the other way for so long, but I'm going to talk with Mission Control about getting you some help. In the meantime I'm going to bed because I haven't slept more three hours a night all week, I've got assignments to write and I refuse to call home and tell them that I failed or dropped out of college I earned a scholarship for, not even to be a Power Ranger" with that she turned and marched away, grabbing her gym bag as she went and leaving Rensa reeling at her accusations.

* * *

Carnifex allowed himself the luxury of reclining comfortably on his throne aboard the Command Bridge of his warship as he waited for the signal for the latest mission given to him by Lord Zedd himself to commence, his perfect contentment undercut only by the anticipation which ran through him like a thrumming electrical current. Behind him the chanting of the choir formed of his serfs, servants and retainers had dropped to a low and haunting chorus as they sang an ancient battle hymn whose sense of urgency suited the occasion whilst in the crimson-scaled and draconian hybrids' hand was a trophy that Lord Zedd had bestowed upon him as a sign of his favour; Carnifex had presented the severed head of Gibil to the ruler of the Dark Empire only to be told that he was free to keep the skull of the traitor for himself as he had been the one to land the killing blow.

The imps' skull made a fine goblet and Carnifex took a long swig of the burning liquid inside it as he surveyed his Command Bridge, illuminated in its' customary fiery glow.

"Report" he demanded, his clipped and cultured tones at odds with his monstrous appearance as always; the scaly, bipedal and armoured dragons that were his warriors snapped briskly to attention at his command with one of them quickly speaking up whilst another began operating the massive viewscreen before them.

"Our assets will be in place in a matter of moments" the news brought a terrifying smile, filled entirely with fangs to Carnifex's face "And the target is below us" at these words the image on the viewscreen shifted from the vast gulf of space littered with stars that stretched out in all directions to the planet that the Draco-Ocidendum had been positioned in high orbit above, Liaria. The world was home to the Liarians, powerful Wizards and mages who outstripped even the Aquitians and Triforians in several branches of magic, rivalling even the hated and extinct Eltarians in their capabilities and whilst they were few in number with little in the way of technology at their disposal they were still a thorn in the side of the Dark Empire that was destined to be removed; since encountering Divatox and subsequently Maligore the Liarian who spoke for the loosely grouped tribes and clans of his species, a being named Lerigot had reached an accord with the Alliance; treating with Kimberley Hart who had been a victim of Divatox and Maligore herself, knowing that the Dark Empire would seek to attack his people at some point and that the force used would be overwhelming he had traded the Alliances' protection for protection of his own, teaching Liarian magic to several humans with arcane abilities which had led to much of the magical shielding the Alliance possessed.

To Carnifex however all of this was secondary, he simply saw a small world with green skies beneath which lay undisturbed forests and wild-lands and he found himself even more eager for the coming battle, such worlds were always enjoyable to put to the torch after all.

Rising from his throne Carnifex opened a holographic communication channel to the Dark Empires' base on Unus and sunk into a bow on one knee in preparation for the call to be answered, his bridge crew stepping away from their posts and following suit just as the incorporeal form of Lord Zedd flickered into view towering over them all and radiating silent menace and waves of crushing indomitable power.

"My Lord" Carnifex began, daring to raise his horned and armoured skull to address the warlord before him "We are ready to begin the scourging of your enemies at your command"

"Your forces are ready to be deployed?"

"With but a word my lord" Carnifex assured him

"And who will be leading these forces, I see no commander beside you?" Lord Zedd's low, rumbling snarl had an amused edge to it as though he expected the hybrids' answer

"I had plan to lead them myself sire-"

"You forget yourself" Lord Zedd interrupted "Your role is to ensure that the plan goes accordingly, you can do that most effectively away from the battlefield…..this mission is not an exercise for your pride and ego Carnifex"

"I understand my Lord" Carnifex deepened his bow upon being rebuked so publicly "Despite the death of the traitor Gibil I have my own flesh-crafters at my disposal, I'm sure that they will be able to provide something suitable-"

"Have them do so and launch the attack the moment they have provided you with a monster" Lord Zedd instructed coldly before the transmission ended without another word. Carnifex rose from the ground and returned to his throne, eyes narrowing as he regarded the planet below him and consoled himself with two simple truths.

He was Lord Zedd's right hand and honoured above all others and even if he was forced to watch from afar, Liaria would burn in fires of his making all the same.

* * *

There had been many times in her life when Grace Sterling had been utterly unprepared for the turns her life had taken; the first of the had naturally been when, at the height of the Vietnam War she found herself recruited by Zordon to launch a team of Power Rangers from around the world to halt an attempt to awaken Rita Repulsa. There had been many other events of course, the formation of her company Promethea had led to the redefining of what was deemed possible on scores of occasions including when her first space colony, Terra Venture had departed into the stars and again when Promethea had been folded into Project Lightspeed as Earth itself became part of the Alliance and she found her scientific knowledge along with that of Earth and humanity as a whole bolstered by that of several other civilisations from other worlds.

One admittedly less world-changing but equally shocking turn had been forming a friendship with Zebidiah Lord, the once and former Lord Zedd whose forces had waged war against the Power Rangers for years.

"All the expertise at your disposal and you can't put a consciousness in a new body" the sorcerer sighed from his projection within one of the many cylinders through which his consciousness were broadcast, this one being situated within a restricted section of the medical facilities within the joint Lightspeed and Promethea base. The image within the tube appearing aloof and detached, even if the way he rolled his eyes did make him seem, to Grace at least to be sulking.

"I could put your consciousness into a body right now" she assured him "The problem would come when you melted that body from the inside out and destroyed it and therefore yourself the second you tried to throw around as much magic as you do….something that would be easier to counter if you were examine some of the artefacts or texts you have in your possession, namely the Acheron ones"

"A wizard should have his secrets, should he not" Zebidiah responded calmly, though with an oddly playful edge to his words

"Feel free to just admit you have no idea how to fix this problem yourself"

"Woman I crafted a Zord with my own two hands, I can combine magic and technology at will"

"With all the talent and finesse of macaroni art" Grace shot back dryly before pausing and casting her eyes surreptitiously from Zebidiah's tube, the first one to be manufactured to what lay beneath it and asking, her voice more serious even if it wavered a little "Does it not scare you, knowing what's going to happen?"

And now they were at the crux of the matter.

As they traded barbs and jests and cast half-joking aspersions at one another's abilities both Grace and Zebidiah were almost conspicuous in the way they avoided discussing the reason that they were working in the restricted section of the medical facilities where Zebidiah's physical body was interred; that reason being that the former Lord Zedd was dying.

The injuries inflicted by his second born son, the current Lord Zedd had catastrophic in the extreme with the vast majority of Zebidiah's spine and most of his internal organs sustaining massive damage or being destroyed outright and whilst he had believed that he might be able to recover himself through arcane means where medical science failed and Cestria's less aggressive forms of magical healing was insufficient it seemed that he had been wrong, instead he was devoting a vast portion of his consciousness to simply keeping his ruined body in a state of stasis that was gradually slipping away whilst he, Grace, Billy and Cestria all worked on crafting a new body for him, likely mechanical in origin that could harness his magic and more importantly his existing mind and overall self. To answer Grace's question he said simply

"I have already lost my body and been remade as something else entirely once….As long as you can promise me that my mind will be preserved I have no worries, I rather like who I've become in this life"

"Yeah it's definitely your best self" Grace agreed with a grin "And it's nice to have like-minded people who I can have a conversation with around….we'll help you, then we'll have to go out for lunch some time"

"Careful Grace" Zebidiah chuckled, again almost playfully "I am a widower and loyal to my Rita….and her wrath might yet reach you from wherever she rests"

"You flatter yourself" the scientist, entrepreneur and undisputed genius snorted, though whatever witty comment she wished to add to her retort was left unsaid as the communicator adorning her wrist, made for her by Billy in case of emergencies began to beep and chirp

"What's the situation?" she demanded

"Zebidiah is needed in the Command Centre, Billy will rendezvous momentarily" Corcus's voice answered the Aquitian likely already present and watching the situation unfold "The Dark Empire have attacked Liaria"

* * *

The sky exploded into showers of brightly coloured light and both Kay and Panthera watched with rapt attention

"We're probably gonna have to move soon" the teal-skinned alien noted with a small smirk and her tail swishing happily behind her. A tradition that had emerged within certain groups, too loosely organised to considered factions or splinter organisations of the Smuggler Guild had come to develop their own variations of traditions of the spacefaring diaspora, one of which involved modifying the propulsion systems of their ships to unleash torrents of brightly coloured light in their wake to mark the passing of one their crew, symbolising the fading of something unique in the galaxy; Panthera did not personally belong to one of these groups but had always found the practice interesting and thought that it was the perfect way to pay her final respects to a Power Ranger. The final decision had been made she had realised that whilst many worlds had light-shows similar to a human firework display Kay had in fact never seen one, seeking to rectify this the Pink Ranger had managed to have some fireworks smuggled aboard Promethea One, reasoning that they didn't have enough power to do any real damage to colony ship intended to protect the Earth itself even if the explosions did reach the inside edge of the environmental dome; not that she expected her line of reasoning to be of any use if they were caught.

"It's beautiful" Kay's voice was a stunned and hushed whisper as they continued to stare out into the artificial darkness of the colonies' imposed night-time; clutching onto the railings of the apartment building that they had launched the fireworks from the roof of.

"Glad you like it….you look cute when you're all breathless like that" Panthera grinned, keeping the expression firmly in place as she privately wondered what the hell she was doing and fought against the heat suddenly rising in her cheeks. Kay's inhuman eyes widened a fraction before they turned and gave Panthera a smirk of their own and the Pink Ranger realised that her comment had just been seen as her usual joking and teasing.

Though exactly how fortunate that was could be debated as Kay decided to tease right back.

"Oh I didn't even notice the light show, I was talking about…." their voice was entirely earnest as they trailed off, making it entirely obvious what, or who they were talking about and Panthera's mouth was dry for a moment until she saw the Green Ranger wink.

"Ass-hole" she hissed.

"What is it with you and my ass?" Kay's tone was one of wondering aloud, which was continued with their next question "So not to question the expert on all things probably illegal, but there's only one way down...how do we get out of here before police get here?" the point was a valid one and the sound of sirens in the distance seemed to underline that fact, it was highly unlikely that either of them would be jailed given their status though Panthera was loathe to use her position as a Power Ranger as a blunt tool with which to beat aside her problems and disliked the idea of getting caught simply on principle.

"I can make that jump" she answered with total self assurance as she sidled close to Kay and draped an arm around their shoulder so that she could direct their gaze to the next building over.

"And me?" Kay asked, grinning as he saw Panthera's answer for the joke it was

"Think fast" she said simply

"Ah so I'm the decoy" they laughed, leaning back with a faux hurt expression and somehow using the motion to snake an arm around Panthera's waist "At least visit me in prison, I've been in a cell it gets boring"

"Oh please I could break out of a human prison in five minutes" she answered, laughing at Kay's display "I'll get you a lock-pick….like that documentary about the escape artist we watched" Kay remembered the documentary in question, he and Panthera having fallen asleep on the sofa together watching anything they could find and keeping one another amused with their running commentaries; Panthera watched a playful yet incredibly nervous grin form on their face and realised that she may have made a mistake

"You remember how that escape artist got the lock-pick?" the human Acheron hybrid asked, voice suddenly much quieter.

"Like this" Panthera murmured, turning to face them and leaning in close so that her chest was pressed firmly against theirs; she had no idea what had compelled her to take this course of action other than the simple fact she wanted to and had done for a while now, time seemed to slow to a crawl and her world faded away into nothingness save for the sound of her heart hammering in her chest and Kay as they leaned down a fraction to meet her lips

And then the sound of her communicator pierced the air

"Well, that's our escape route figured out; problem solved" Panthera exclaimed, far too loudly and far too suddenly as she and Kay broke apart with such speed it was as though they had been electrocuted by one another.

Even as she answered the call the Pink Ranger was surprised she could hear anything over the sound of her own internal screaming.

**Authors' Notes:**

So after a week hiatus I'm back.  
This is Arc 11, titled "The Great Offensive" with all the chapters titles being named after offensive military tactics/manoeuvrers.  
This is the penultimate arc of the second act of this story, meaning that we're nearly two thirds of the way through.  
Also, I finally started watching My Hero Academia after not getting around to it for literal years….I can safely say I want to write some stories in that universe, but it likely won't be until I finish at least on of my current, ongoing projects.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
Nothing like an emotional gut punch to start the day.  
Sorry but a Ranger funeral is definitely gonna be a media circus.  
Thing is, I feel like all of the Rangers who didn't turn up definitely had fair and understandable reasons but at the same time Mercy was definitely allowed to be upset.  
Rangers wear their colours literally everywhere.  
So I never specified the gender of Justin's long distance partner before but one of my regular reviewers was committed to the idea of Justin being gay, so here you go….Sensei Kazama of the Fire Ninja Academy.  
Okay so I'm not planning on actually letting Aslaug learn to breathe fire, but it definitely sounds like the sort of trick she'd want to try and learn.  
Oof, the Mercy and Justin talk was awkward and yeah, he's one of the ex-Rangers whose genetics were used to make her but no, he's not her dad.  
So, Mercy's got a Battleizer now….that's two Rangers that have them, neither have used them yet.  
Of Justin knows Rawlings/Fairweather, he took over her job when she transferred to one of the Colony Ships.  
Marigold is pushing herself way over her limits.  
Yep, it's sort of an open secret who the other Rangers are but they're not really allowed to come out and say it; so Mari is keeping her Morpher hidden and not telling her other friends.  
So Rensa is slowly slipping and losing himself and Mari, the psychology and sociology student is the only one to call him out on it.  
Of course he made a fucking chalice out of Gibil's skull.  
'Assets' now there's a word that sound ominous given the circumstances.  
Have some Turbo Movie references, Liaria and Lerigot….also Lerigot was the one who brought his people into the Alliance, seemingly after Earth joined and they've been supplying magical protection since; so they're a pretty important target.  
Monster incoming and Carnifex has a role away from the battlefield, feeling ominous yet?  
Tony Stark who? Grace Sterling is the original Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.  
Grace and Zedd being buddies just works for me on some level.  
"_With all the __talent and __fines__s__e of macaroni art"_ wanna apply some cold water to that burn?  
So, there's a sense of urgency for us; Zebidiah is on a time….it's not gonna be this volume obviously but he needs to find a body to inhabit.  
"_I am a widower and loyal to my Rita….and her wrath might yet reach you from wherever she rests" _did you ever expect that line from the former Lord Zedd.  
The fireworks scene was actually inspired by Yondu's funeral at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 2.  
Kay has so many things' to experience for the first time.  
"_You look cute when you're all breathless like that" _now that's just straight up bedroom talk.  
Kay has indeed spent time in solitary confinement remember.  
I know there's a story about an escape artist who got out a certain-death scenario by having his wide smuggle him a lock pick in a kiss, was that Houdini? I'm not sure.  
Oh come on, you knew from the moment this scene started that it was going to end in a cock-blocking.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	45. Hammer And Anvil

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 44 – Hammer And Anvil**

Marigold watched as Panthera and Kay teleported into the Command Centre, the streaks of green and pink light manifesting at some indiscernible point above and causing the clothes of those nearest to ripple as air was displaced around the teleportation streams as both teens manifested, quickly adjusting to their new surroundings after becoming so familiar with the feeling of reappearing elsewhere; the entire atmosphere of the Command Centre grew heavy and tense as there was now nothing to keep those present from the matter of hand.

Mari felt entirely out of place

She was certain that her sudden concerns and feeling as though she did not belong came, at least in part from her attire; after leaving Rensa she had returned to her dormitory and managed to sleep for a while before being woken by the chirping of her communicator meaning that the normally well dressed young woman was currently wearing boxer shorts and a baggy t-shirt that had once belonged to her former boyfriend on Leslie Colony with a pair of fluffy slippers on her feet which, combined with her messy hair and bleary eyes gave her a decidedly unkept and unprofessional appearance which she felt made her look as entirely unprepared as she felt, especially compared to her fellow Rangers or the uniformed staff of the Command Centre.

"Now that everyone's here we can begin" the speaker was a dour-faced Aquitian whom Mari knew to be named Blademaster Corcus and beside him stood Billy Cranston; the former Blue Ranger's formal clothing making it clear that he, like Mercy, Aslaug and Tempestus had been summoned from Kimberley Hart's funeral service.

"Display Liaria on the viewing globe" the instruction came from elsewhere and Mari quickly turned around to see that Zebidiah Lord, the former Lord Zedd had manifested his psychic presence in the tube towards the rear of the room near the entrance she had arrived through; the Gold Ranger took the brief pause between the command being given and being implemented to cast her eyes around and fully take in the Command Centre. This was only her second time in Power Ranger's official base of operations and for obvious, if entirely understandable reasons she had been unable to appreciate the marvel of science that she now found herself openly staring at, eyes flitting from each of the dozens of terminals and computer systems each staffed by individuals whose security clearances and level of expertise must be simply staggering and finally to the vast, open spherical space which made up the centre of the Command Centre wherein a full-colour holographic image of a distant region of space was rapidly being formed, focusing on a planet with skies of a rich, deep green spattered with thick masses of clouds of various other shades.

"This is the world of Liaria" Zebidiah began "A world that was brought into the Alliance due, in no small part to Kimberley's negotiations and shared experiences with Lerigot, the Elder Shaman who speaks for the Liarian people….a short while ago Lerigot contacted the Alliance searching for Kimberley, he was unaware of her passing" this news sent an almost visible ripple through the assembled Rangers and members of Mission Control, Mari saw Billy raise his glasses and take a deep breath to calm himself and push his emotions aside whilst Tempestus's head simply hung low and Aslaug placed a hand gently on Mercy's shoulder as the Red Ranger's knuckles audibly cracked and her face became a mask of barely contained fury.

"Painful as her absence is I'm certain that Captain Hart would remind us all of our duty were she here….Liaria calls for aid and we will answer" Corcus noted in a tone that seemed to be trying to be gentle but could only manage blunt indifference; the former Black Ranger of Aquitar was, for the moment at least taking over the late Kimberley Hart's role as tactical advisor owing to his status as a veteran Ranger and experience as a military commander though it was undeniable that his leadership style would be a vast departure from what the Aegis Rangers had come to expect.

"Corcus is right" Billy breathed out, if somewhat shakily "A Dark Empire ship has appeared somewhere in the planets' orbit, we don't have an exact location due to its' cloaking but we believe it to be above the planets' largest homestead based on that being where their ground forces are attacking….The Liarian species are few in number, they don't have cities and whilst their magic has been invaluable to the Alliance they have nothing resembling an army"

"Why didn't the Alliance have forces garrisoned there?" Tempestus enquired

"They refused all offers, imposing our presence on them would be an occupation" Corcus countered, his tone having the air of a rebuke about it which the younger Aquitian clearly noticed

"We don't have time for a discussion" Zebidiah interjected, clearly manipulating the viewing globe himself through some unseen means "There are Putties patrolling the surrounding areas but this is what Lerigot contacted us for"

"Doesn't look as well put together as their usual work" Panthera noted dispassionately

"The Dark Empire use flesh-crafters" Kay noted, the knowledge of Acheron culture having been forced into his subconscious mind as he developed "With Paradoxa's ship destroyed this may be the work of a different….practitioner"

"Oh my God" Mari whispered, hand rushing to her mouth as bile rose in her throat "You mean they're usually worse than this?" it was far from the bravest or most fitting thing for a Power Ranger to have said but it was her natural reaction nonetheless, she had learned from her fellow Rangers all about the various monsters that they had faced and hailing from a death-world with monstrous wildlife she had thought that she would be prepared when she inevitably saw the first monster she would be sent into battle against.

She had been sorely mistaken, nothing could have prepared her for the abomination that she saw.

Its' skin was a sickly and pallid grey with a decidedly unhealthy blue tinge and the beasts' entire body was coated in a sheen of filmy, glistening mucus which dripped to the ground as it moved. Mari could hardly tell where the monsters' torso ended and its' tail began as its' entire body seemed to be a single muscled, coiled and serpentine and with a length easily three times her own height; the things' tail ended in a collection of broad, flat fins that suggested that it had once been more at home in the oceans of whatever world had spawned it. It had limbs though, Marigold could see where its' own legs had been cruelly torn away and new, mechanical legs had been grafted onto its' body to replace them, six in all each with several joints and ended in a shovel like protrusion that sunk into the ground and anchored the beast, their forms brass-coloured and vaguely insectoid whilst its' arms were bulging masses of mutated flesh, the skin splitting to reveal raw flesh and some kind of cabling beneath, each arm having been enhanced until it was larger than the abominations' torso and ending in a webbed, three fingered claw. The monsters' torso was simply unsettling to look at, Marigold could see where bone, organs and other limbs had been removed to be replaced with thick plates of armour and components that pumped thick, viscous liquids through its' horrid form, from its' chest to what she assumed was its' abdomen it sported several pairs of piston driven claws that likely mimicked whatever atrophied limbs had been ripped away and seemed suited to digging and tunnelling; the things' back was a mess of broken and crooked grey chitin carapace plates that had artlessly reinforced with brassy armour and jagged spikes. The Monsters' head was no more terrifying that the rest of its' appearance, a blunt and ugly thing intended to smash through whatever armour its' prey possessed, a mass of grey chitin and ridges with sharp protrusions that Mari at first thought were teeth only to realise that the things mouth was boneless and sunken into its' skull, darting forwards and distending to snap at any Liarians that failed to flee fast enough, its' countless hooked teeth stained with the blood of those it caught; this was no mindless beast however, in its' pupil-less and glowing yellow eyes Marigold could see traces of an intelligence that went far beyond the simply predatory and felt a shiver run up her spine.

"They're always unpleasant to look at but hardly scary once the mystique has been taken away" Kay managed a small smile as they turned to mercy "What shall we call this one Cousin, I'm sure you can-"

"No puns, no nicknames" the insistence shocked those present almost as much as the force behind it, Mercy's habit of giving the monsters that the Aegis Rangers faced names that took away from the threat they posed had become something of a staple of the Command Centre's operations

"No jokes" the Red Ranger continued, face still filled with hatred "We're not playing games, not any more"

"I understand" Rensa nodded, the Red and Black Rangers sharing a look that filled Marigold with deep concern though before she could speak out Billy spoke up

"Mercy's right, this is serious. Your Zords are on stand by….Marigold yours will be ready if you need it as well; get ready to deploy" the news that she had a Zord of her own was something that caught her by surprise though she was quickly forced to focus again as Mercy snapped out an order

"It's Morphing time!"

"Osore!"  
"Sabre-Beast!"  
"Plesion!"  
"Ursa Titan!"  
"Red Tailed Hawk""  
"Dragonzord!"  
"Winged Lion!"

The Command Centre was filled by a corona of light caused by the multiple teleportation streams as, for the first time all seven Aegis Rangers were deployed.

* * *

Kay and Panthera materialised in streams of blazing, coloured light on the surface of Liaria with their armour firmly in place, the pair assuming combat stances as they prepared for an imminent attack that never came, the solitude and quiet which was interrupted only by the sounds of the local wildlife leaving Kay keenly aware of Panthera's back pressed against theirs.

"Looks like we're doing the usual" the Pink Ranger noted quietly, clawed fingers flexing as she spoke "We clear out any Putties we see, help any locals we can and make our way to the others so we can deal with the monster"

"Right" Kay said simply, attempting to bring a map of the local area up on their helmets' display with a thought and being pleasantly surprised when it worked; the Liarians had no satellites orbiting their world and from the way Mission Control had spoken about them they used magic in place of technology yet it seemed that someone, likely emissaries from the Alliance had installed some kind of equipment here; which Kay supposed shouldn't surprise them, the Liarians had to call for help somehow after all.

"This way" they gestured in the direction of the homestead that served as a city that they had been sent to defend and Panthera followed close behind as the two of them made their way along a winding path that had been neatly carved into the dense foliage of the worlds' foliage, meeting no resistance until Panthera's superior hearing detected something that Kay had not and the Pink Ranger leapt into the trees in search of a better vantage point before leaping down and landing beside them in a crouch

"There's a bridge over a river up ahead, it's a long drop and Putties are heading our way"

"We should stop them at the bridge, keep them from splitting up and heading deeper into the forest where we won't be able to find them" Kay reasoned, Panthera nodded and the pair burst into motion and raced along the winding path until they finally came to the bridge that the Pink Ranger had seen. The river that surged violently beneath them had eroded the ground beneath and around it over centuries until a chasm sixty feet or more in height had been formed, impassable save for a single bridge made of wood and rope which both Kay and Panthera suspected may have been held together by magic as much as quality craftsmanship; on the other side of the river the trees and undergrowth had been swept away leaving nothing but smooth open ground which left nowhere to hide for the group of a dozen Putties flailing and warbling as they caught sight of the pair of Rangers.

"This shouldn't be hard" Panthera noted and Kay could almost hear the beaming smile she wore beneath her helmet and found themselves grinning in response as they leapt into action. For her part Panthera found herself coming skidding to a halt and watching in moderate surprise as Kay ignored the bridge entirely, sprinting the very edge of the chasm before leaping and pivoting; emerald green light crackling around their palms until they unleashed it and used the explosive burst of power to hurl themselves through the air and over the sharp drop below in a single bound, landing behind the Putties and using their momentum to kick one of them between the shoulder blades and over the edge.

"Show off" Panthera chuckled before focusing and sprinting across the bridge, honing in on a pair of Putties that rushed out to stop her. She dropped into a slide tackle and smashed the legs out from the first automaton she reached only to spring upright and catch the thing in a headlock as it fell before hurling it over the bridge whilst turning her attention to the second Putty in the same fluid motion; the mindless drone managed to sidestep her opening left-handed backhand only to be left stunned and all but crumpled as she landed a particularly vicious blow to where its' kidneys would have been located if it had any, following up by simply shoving the Putty back and delivering a spinning back kick to the circular plate on its' chest that destroyed the automaton entirely only to realise that any celebration or sense of achievement was entirely unwarranted.

The Putties were destroying the bridge

"A little help Kay!" she called out as burst into motion once again, leaping onto one of the ropes that held the entire bridge in place and dropping down onto all fours as she clung to it and bounded forwards at inhuman speeds. Hearing her request Kay turned his attention away from his current opponent and lunged towards the pair of Putties attempting to destroy the bridge, ploughing through them with unspeakable force; though not before the ropes holding the bridge aloft snapped, the sound seeming to echo through the air far more than it should have done.

"Damn it!" Panthera yelled, any attempts at her usual detached aloofness being thrown aside as she continued to hurtle along the now slack rope before leaping through the air at the last possible moment, she sailed through the air and reached the apex of her jump before beginning to fall with her hand outstretched and her heart hammering in her chest as she realised that she wasn't going to make it, she would miss the edge by mere inches.

Then a hand closed around her wrist and she looked into visor of the Green Ranger, styled to resemble flames being spewed from the Dragonzord's mouth; a single moment seeming to last for an age until, with a burst of strength Kay flung Panthera onto the clearing beyond the now destroyed bridge where she immediately proceeded to attack the remaining Putties.

The Green Ranger had done impressive work thinning down their numbers and the Pink Ranger completed the task by first driving her elbow into the armoured chest of the nearest warbling automaton and then, carrying her momentum into a spin manifested her twin curved blades and combined them before flinging the weapon into the few Putties that remained, watching it tear their stony forms asunder and catching it as it returned to her.

Naturally she attempted to pose and flourish after dispatching the last of her opponents in an effort to reassert her usual somewhat cocky demeanour only to feel heat rising in her cheeks and her breath catch in her throat as a pair of arms wrapped around her waist

"That was far too close" Kay mumbled, seeming to physically shrink with worry despite how impressive their armour made them seem; Panthera found herself leaning into the contact and taking a moment to centre and focus herself before the two of them continued with the task at hand only to find her slowly returning sense of calm rocked by the Green Ranger's next words

"So this might be a really bad time to bring this up" they laughed softly, clearly nervous "But are we gonna talk about you nearly kissing me earlier?" Panthera was immensely grateful for her helmet at that moment and found herself trying not to choke and sputter on thin air before managing a response

"Yeah….bad timing Kay" she gave them a playful swat, striking the back of their helmet before adding "We should probably talk about…..that, but can we go save the day first?"

* * *

The moment Marigold had morphed she had felt the worry and doubt that had plagued her in the Command Centre fade into the background of her mind, washed away by the sudden power that coursed through her body, rejuvenating her despite her earlier tiredness. As she arrived on the surface of Liaria she saw the golden light of her own teleportation stream and was momentarily confused as it seemed to change colour until she realised what was happening; her armour was adjusting to compensate for the slight differences in gravity between the world she fund herself on and what she was accustomed to whilst her visor took the green hues that the planets' atmosphere tinged everything and filtered the image so that it was easier for her eyes to process, Marigold found herself smiling as the sky took on the pale pink colour of Leslie that she was used to rather than the default sky blue of Earth she had expected.

She had barely a moment to take in her surroundings before she was beset by enemies.

The Gold Ranger had arrived in what she found herself equating to the outskirts of a village, though the edge of the Liarian homestead was unlike any settlement she had seen before which she supposed was unsurprising considering how hostile the world she called home was. The Liarians had not simply destroyed the forest to make room for their homes, instead they had built huts both at the bases of vast trees and within branches that stretched high into the air with bridges and walkways spanning the gaps between them made of entirely natural materials whilst paths had been cleared on the ground; it would have been a truly beautiful and idyllic place were it not for the screams of terrified civilians clearly audible in the distance which were in turn lost between the warbling and chattering of Putties as the automatons began leaping down towards Mari from above and smashing their way out of huts and dwellings that they had wandered into as they tore through the settlement with their single minded urge to destroy.

"Okay, let's do this" Mari muttered under her breath before rushing towards the nearest Putty, well aware of others piling in to surround her; the Putty she had singled out threw a wild and uncoordinated punch which the Gold Ranger promptly avoided, countering by catching the automatons' wrist and kicking at its' ankle as she pivoted at the waist, flinging it to the ground and bringing her knee crashing down onto its' chest to destroy it entirely. Another Putty was on her in an instant, flailing in berserk fury until she surged upwards and caught its' leg as it attempted to kick her and forcing it backwards and off balance; it's stony body hit the ground with a crash before the Gold Ranger delivered a punishing blow to the weak point in its' chest and quickly followed up with a series of wide arcing kicks to force the remaining Putties back and create space to move.

There were easily more than a dozen Putties left and Marigold realised that despite how tempting it might be, simply manifesting her weapons and gunning down the tide of animated and unfeeling stone was not a practical solutions; Putties had no bone, organs, flesh or other tissue to damage and simply shooting a hole through the circular plate in each of their chests would not be enough to ensure their destruction; it seemed that she was going to have to fight her way through the mass of automatons and so she grit her teeth and prepared to charge again, singling one of their number out to receive a flying knee to the chest.

Only to be halted when several Putties leapt onto her back the moment she began to move

"Oh come on!" she exclaimed in anger and desperation as she reached over her shoulder and flung the first Putty she reached into a nearby tree with crushing force, the Putties ahead of her had begun to swarm her now and blows rained down on her though her armour massively reduced the damage of each impact. Mari continued to fight, shattering Putties with each blow as the Power itself guided her movements yet she was simply overwhelmed by numbers she could not hope to counter on her own.

Then two Putties that had latched onto her arms and held firm simply exploded.

"Huh?" Marigold had no time to offer anything more profound before she caught sight of a pair daggers that could be said to more resemble hunting knives or even small machetes embedded in the falling shrapnel that had been Putties a moment ago, an instant later an obsidian blur came tearing into view and she realised that Rensa had hurled himself bodily and full force from one of the bridges between the trees into the mass of Putties and simply used himself a wrecking ball to smash through their ranks. The Black Ranger leapt to his feet and drove an open palm into the chest of a Putty that had escaped his destructive entrance to shatter it, turning towards Mari so that even beneath their visors it felt as though their eyes locked

"There's a time and a place unleashing yourself….these are not people for you to reform" Rensa's usually soft and gentle voice had an air to it that the Gold Ranger had not heard before, mocking and sneering with the unmistakeable feeling of a challenge about it yet before she could retort he was in motion again, sprinting towards here and vaulting over her back as she attempted to stand upright again; delivering a flying kick to one putty and a spinning axe kick to another before pouncing on several more like an untamed beast in a display of ruthless brutality that stunned Mari for a moment

Until she realised that he was right, the Dark Empire employed Putties specifically because they were not thinking or feeling beings and with that disturbingly reassuring thought in mind she sprung into action, a flurry of punches landing on the chests of the Putties that attempted to pile on Rensa and in that moment the Black and Gold Aegis Rangers, despite their personal issues became a team and proceeded to devastate the Dark Empire's footsoldiers with ease, until eventually only three remained, warbling and thrashing even as Mari and Rensa advanced on them.

Neither the Rangers or the Putties had any warning before Tempestus burst into view.

The Blue Aegis Ranger emerged from the trees to the side of the Putties with his staff at the ready, sweeping the legs of the first and swinging his weapon into the chest of the second to destroy it before using a movement that Mari felt was more befitting of a pool cue proceeded to jab at the weak point of the final Putty; the automaton whose legs had been swept from under them struggled to rise only for Tempestus to destroy it with a flourish of his weapon before turning his attention to his comrades

"The Liarians are fleeing the homestead, Lerigot is leading them through the treetops and he has a teleport beacon….Putties can't climb and from what we saw of the monster I don't expect it to" he cocked his head and Mari just knew he was wearing a broad smile "So the situation is groovy"

"I wouldn't go that far" Mari murmured, thinking of the screaming she had heard and hoping that it had come from people Tempestus had gone on to save "Come on, if the people are evacuating we should focus on finding the monster"

"A bodacious idea" the Blue Ranger nodded, Rensa shrugged in silence and offered no objections so the three of them began moving deeper into the homestead.

* * *

Zebidiah Lord was deeply concerned and the brow of his psychic projection furrowed as he watched the various images displayed on the viewing globe which made up much of the Command Centre.

"Status report?" he demanded, his voice distorting until it was reminiscent of the guttural snarling of his former self; demanding and intense enough that both Billy and Corcus turned and shot the tube that the sorcerers' mental presence resided in concerned glances.

"The Rangers are progressing as expected, the enemies minions are being overwhelmed" Corcus answered somewhat stiffly.

"Lerigot is leading his people to safety and is carrying a teleportation beacon" Billy added with a sense of relief "A colony ship and an escort of warships is being prepared, within a matter of minutes we'll be able to evacuate the homestead entirely whilst the Rangers deal with the monster-

"Silence!" Zebidiah all but roared, a wave of freezing air and palpable dread issued from his tube, freezing the ground beneath it and rolling over the Command Centre causing the crew to shiver and tremble where the exclamation had left them stood rooted to the spot in shock. The former Lord Zedd glanced between the former Black Ranger of Aquitar and the former Blue Power Ranger whose intellect he had always respected even as they waged war against one another and found himself irked by their inability to see what was plainly obvious to him; with a low and rumbling snarl that caused the air pressure within the Command Centre to shift and beads of sweat to form on the flesh of those around him as the atmosphere became oppressive he spoke again.

"Something is wrong here" Billy and Corcus gave each other meaningful looks upon hearing this, having an entire conversation in a matter of seconds without exchanging a single world until Billy spoke up

"How so?"

"I'm not sure" Zebidiah admitted tersely before gesturing to the various images on the viewing globe and adding "Look at this and tell me what you see, what is the overall theme that presents itself to you?"

"We have no time for these games, Acheron witch" Corcus snapped irritably, Billy raised a hand to silence him however and pondered; frowning as he turned his mind to the question that had been posed for several moments which seemed to drag on for far too long until he gave his answer.

"Widespread destruction, there's no real target" Corcus merely hissed something about mindless savagery whilst Zebidiah nodded, pleased that at least one of the pair had eventually seen what had left him perturbed.

"Exactly" he breathed out "Mindless violence against a population centre that was almost certainly calculated to draw out the Rangers….my second-born is attempting to ape the Acheron way of war that I practised but I have told you time and time again that he is entirely without honour, something is wrong" both Billy and Corcus were silent upon hearing this, neither of them able to dispute the logic on Zebidiah's claims, the former Blue Ranger considered for a moment before offering a suggestion.

"Perhaps this is an attempt to separate Liaria from the Alliance to make both parties weaker overall" he wore an expression that conveyed how sickened he was as he added "Kill Lerigot and wipe out his entire homestead and unite Liaria under an Acheron Hybrid that he inserts into another settlement?"

"It's a possibility" Zebidiah acknowledged, admitting to himself that Billy had made an impressive deduction and that such an approach was entirely within the scope of what was plausible for the current Lord Zedd but still he found himself unable to shake the feeling that something was amiss, Billy's suggestion lacked the all out brutality favoured by the regime his second-born had imposed upon the Dark Empire; the Liarians were not a race of warriors and Zebidiah could not imagine them being conquered by such indirect means when an open and apocalyptic display of force would serve his goals just as well.

"The true purpose of this attack remains to be seen" Zebidiah finally ground out "We should remain vigilant and be prepared for anything" neither Billy or Corcus could argue with that at least.

* * *

Mercy and Aslaug had teleported into a wide open clearing in what seemed to be the centre of the Liarian homestead, perfectly circular and daubed with glyphs and runes that neither of the two Rangers could hope to understand the space was surrounded by huts that were larger and more impressive than those found elsewhere in the homestead, set into trees that seemed to be the oldest and largest in the forest giving the whole clearing, almost a quarter of a mile in diameter the feeling of being equal parts town square and a place for ancient rites and rituals to be performed which had initially given Aslaug a vague sense of homeliness that she had not expected.

Currently however, the circular clearing was littered with the debris and remains of a score of Putties that she had laid waste to.

The Yellow Aegis Ranger turned her attention to the final five remaining mindless footsoldiers that had gathered in a loose cluster ahead of her and without hesitation she charged towards them, letting out a fierce war-cry as she went; unaffected by this display the Putties rushed out to meet her only for the first to meet its' end as Aslaug skidded to a halt and proceeded to kick it square in the chest with devastating results. A second Putty lunged at her from the left and Aslaug stepped into its' guard to knock away its' flailing overhand strike with her left arm before smashing its' jaw to dust with her right hand and finally destroying it by smashing her elbow into its' chest. Three Putties remained and some rare glimmer of intelligence seemed to pass between them as the glanced at one another with eye sockets filled with blood red magical light before charging in unison; Aslaug was more than prepared however and simply manifested her axe in a flash of golden yellow light and let out a wordless roar as she swung in a single wide arc that sent a crackling burst of light from the blade of her weapon that shook the ground and made the air tremble as it bisected the automatons at the chest, destroying the entirely. The Yellow Ranger took no time to enjoy the brief respite though; the Putties she had cut down had been acting as a personal retinue for the Dark Empire's monster and whilst she had been fighting them Mercy had taken on the creature itself, now Aslaug found herself quickly turning towards the Red Ranger; desperate to see how she could help.

Mercy for her part was faring as well as could be expected considering she was facing the leader of this attack on her own and though she was unharmed and undeterred she had made little headway with her opponent having several tricks at their disposal that the Red Ranger had not expected or accounted for.

As evidenced by the many holes that now littered the ground around her.

Mercy widened her stance and twirled her katana, whose fiery red blade glowed slightly with the energy coursing through it as she searched for any of what she had to realise where the tell-tale signs of this monsters' attacks; eyes widening beneath her helmet as one such sign presented itself and swiftly leaping aside and rolling into a crouch before the barely noticeable rumbling she had detected became far more severe and the ground began to bulge before finally the monsters' serpentine form erupted upwards. This was how the fight had progressed thus far, with Mercy being forced onto the defensive and unable to offer more than a token resistance along with her continuous effort to evade and avoid cut unawares as the monster dove and tunnelled beneath her, the only upside she could find to this situation being that the creature did not seem to be particularly well adjusted to the Liarian landscape and would likely struggle to follow the natives into the trees.

Turning her attention to the matter at hand she surged towards the repulsive creature whose slimy and pallid grey form had begun to coil around the solid base formed by its' mechanical and vaguely insectoid legs, muscles tensing as it prepared to burrow under the ground once again, which Mercy decided that she simply would not allow.

She drew close and weaved under the creatures' powerful and bulging arms as it lurched forwards to grab her and held her weapon in reverse grip, dragging the blade across the armour of the monsters' torso created a shower of fiery red sparks and drawing a shrieking wail of pain from her opponent as one of the cybernetic, piston driven appendages fitted to its' chest fell away. Retaliating with equal force and ferocity the monster uncoiled its' tail from around itself at lightning speed and Mercy had no time to react before she was knocked from her feet and into the air before being smashed into the ground with a follow up blow that knocked the wind from her and left the ground beneath her cracked as she impacted against it.

"I am Mitsukurina, hand chosen by Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name to lay this planet low" the monster declared, speaking for the first time and introducing herself with a surprisingly feminine voice "And you will die for daring to strike me Power Ranger"

with than venomous and hate-filled proclamation Mitsukurina launched another attack, though this time she slunk low to the ground rather than digging under it with her mechanical legs and burrowing limbs allowing her to power forwards at great speed; leaving Mercy stuck in place as the monsters' vast and serpentine body writhed around her and gave indication as to where the attack would come from.

Eventually the Red Ranger simply leapt directly upwards which her adversary had seemingly been prepared for as a webbed and three clawed hand wrapped itself around Mercy's midsection and threw her towards the ground where she skidded to a halt, using the blade of her katana to stop herself. Mitsukurina prepared for another attack and to Mercy it felt as though time had slowed to a crawl, the space between each of her own heartbeats lasting an eternity as she braced herself, only for her eyes to widen and a grin to form on her face as she glanced at her own left forearm where her Morpher was attached and suddenly remembered her Battleizer.

Mercy's armour began to glow a deep crimson as she focused the entirety of her being on unlocking this new power at her disposal, only to be rewarded with an error reading flashing across her visor and her exclamation of surprise to be cut short by Mitsukurina colliding with her, the monsters' ridged and bony armoured skull striking her square in the chest and sending her flying backwards; hitting the ground and bouncing several times before rolling to a stop.

"Are you okay?" Aslaug demanded as she hastily pulled Mercy to her feet, the Red Ranger was simply too stunned to respond for several seconds with her world only snapping back into focus as the monster she fought let out a piercing shriek and prepared to slither towards them at blinding speed; thankfully being halted by a beam of emerald green light followed by a flurry of burst of golden light.

"We got here as quickly as we could!" Marigold exclaimed breathlessly as she skidded into place at Mercy's side, opposite Aslaug and with the rest of the Aegis Rangers falling into position around them.

"Even with all of you, it won't be enough!" Mitsukurina declared coldly and Mercy, still stunned by her failure to activate her Battleizer found herself unable to avoid wondering if the monster might be right.

* * *

Aboard the Draco-Ocidendum the choir of juvenile serfs who would one day grow to become warriors and artificers of the Dark Empire reached a fever pitch as they sung ancient battle hymns from the world of Wyvern, giving proper urgency and gravitas to the scene that dominated the viewscreen which made up the entire front wall of the warships' Command Bridge; many of the crew, each of them Knights of Wyvern watching the battle unfold on the forested world below to such an extent that they almost lapsed in their own duties before remembering that they were under the scrutiny of Carnifex, ruler of Wyvern and right hand of Lord Zedd himself.

For his part Carnifex himself simply took another slow sip of the burning liquid that filled the goblet he had made from Gibil's skull and took in the entirety of the scene before him, both the battle and the reaction it caused in those warriors who were worthy to serve him so closely.

Whilst the draconian Acheron hybrid truly believed that the warriors of Wyvern were the finest the Dark Empire had to offer, a belief reflected in the make up of his bridge crew and that all other races were of little more value that Putties and existed to serve or be bested and conquered Carnifex could not help but admit that the being who currently fought against all seven Power Rangers was certainly capable. Mitsukurina was a devotee of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer who served aboard the Draco-Ocidendum and though she did not wear the blood red robes of the religious sect she embodied their views, offering herself to the ships' flesh-crafters so that they might reforge her body into a more fitting instrument of Lord Zedd's will; the offer was an act of dedication and simply surviving the procedures inflicted upon her was a feat of strength and endurance, both which Carnifex felt earned her the right to lead an attack and every moment the fight continued he was further convinced that his choice had been the right one, his knights would not be punished for being enraptured by the display it was only right to want to witness such an impressive battle.

A far more pressing matter made itself known mere moments later.

"My Lord!" one of the Knights of Wyvern called out, their tone urgent but refusing to give into panic "We have large teleportation signatures, the Alliance has come"

"On screen" Carnifex demanded simply and at his behest the image dominating the viewscreen changed to one of vast blackness, littered with stars and with the curve of Liaria barely visible at the bottom of the image. The object of the display coaxed an irritable snarl from Carnifex that was at odds with his usual cultured tones, the Alliance had used their damnably advanced teleportation technology to send aid to Liaria sooner than anticipated; a smaller variety of their famed Colony Ships appeared in the void, rotating at an angle and with vast arcs of lightning trailing over its' domed surface which glowed with heat that was rapidly cooled by the freezing gulf of space as a side-effect of the vast amounts of power involved in teleporting something of such immense size. Flanking the colony were two warships, each smaller than the Draco-Ocidendum and likely lightly armed but the hybrid knew better than to underestimate his enemies, their shipwrights were nothing if not dedicated to their craft.

"A rescue mission" Carnifex noted after regarding the image for a moment "Though the vessels will no doubt search for any Empire vessels in the area" his lipless maw twisted into a cruel smile as he noted the futility of such actions, the cloaking systems of Dark Empire ships were unmatched.

"Shall we proceed to the next phase of the plan?" one of his Knights enquired, obviously just as eager to watch Liaria burn as Carnifex himself yet without the wisdom and restraint of leadership.

"The moment will come soon, rest assured" the hybrid assured the bridge crew with a low chuckle "But not yet, for now we allow our fellow warrior to test her might"

**Authors' Notes:**

Okay so, two chapters into this arc and we've got some interesting stuff to unpack.  
Also that cliffhanger at the end there….It doesn't look as big as some of the cliffhangers I've used, but it's a lead for something you won't see coming.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
I wanted to try and capture just how new to this Mari is, she's actually the oldest of the Rangers but she has, by far the least experience with not just being a Ranger but combat and violence in general.  
Also….someone has to have been teleported into the Command Centre at a bad time and just been in their pyjamas before right?  
I really wanted to twist the knife and make it clear that things are not okay for the team right now regarding Kimberley.  
No Alliance forces and no Liarian military, so it's basically the Rangers against everything that Carnifex throws at them.  
Mitsukurina is part of the scientific name for Goblin Sharks, the monster was based on a grab-bag of traits from Goblin Sharks, Eels, Termites and some prehistoric fish whose name I forget.  
"_No puns, no nicknames" _and at that moment we all knew Mercy had changed.  
Mari's Zord is ready….all seven Zords, you know what that means right?  
I'm sure you knew that the bridge was gonna get destroyed and someone was gonna get saved the moment you saw a bridge.  
Also yes…..Kay basically did a Bakugo manoeuvrer to get across.  
Oh they're going to have to have a "Talk".  
Just a few of the cool features that I imagine a Ranger suit has, the visor automatically adjusts the colour balance for whoever is wearing it.  
Did we ever actually see what Liaria looked like beyond it just being trees?  
Mari did great against Paradoxa, but that was a one on one; she's not used to being swarmed.  
Of course Rensa showed up to save the day, and apparently he's filling bitchy today.  
Groovy….because it's been a while since he did the thing.  
Zebidiah knows some shit is going down because this attack looks too random for there to not be an ulterior motive.  
Billy's idea is definitely sound, the Dark Empire does use hybrids to take over and rule the worlds it controls….but he's wrong in this instance.  
Have Aslaug doing Aslaug things.  
The monster is a tunneller, but also….really poorly adapted for the job; almost like there's something else at work here.  
The Battleizer doesn't work….that's certainly gonna be a plot point.  
Mitsukurina is/was a member as the same cult as Jin-Zhao and her apostle from a couple arcs back; mainly just for the sake of having a more lived in feeling world.  
"Any Empire vessels in the area" not just us or this ship….interesting; also the Draco-Ocidendum didn't immediately go on the attack.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Things like the titbits about the second Ninja Storm team are the kind of details I like to throw in to make the world seem more lived in.  
I'll have to give you some more Zebidiah and Grace then.  
Yeah someone has to have a word with Rensa but nobody really wants to be the one to do it.  
At the moment it's Corcus that has Kim's old job.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	46. Defeat In Detail

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 45 – Defeat In Detail**

Even with the might of all seven Aegis Rangers levelled against her Mitsukurina was a terrifying and formidable opponent, her mutated and mechanically augmented serpentine form weaving through their midst as she delivered crushing and devastating blows to the enemies of the Dark Empire.

One such assault sent the Rangers crashing to the ground as they were flung backwards, the ground erupting beneath them as Mitsukurina burst upwards, her jaw separating and expanding to swallow Mercy whole yet the Red Ranger managed to leap aside at the last possible moment with her katana flashing out to slash at the inside of the monsters' gaping jaws and clash against her countless rows of jagged, bloodstained teeth. In response Mitsukurina plunged her webbed and clawed digits into the ground and used her hulking arms to support herself as she swung her entire body around as though it were simply boneless, the broad fin of her tail batting Aslaug and Tempestus aside and sending Rensa and Panthera leaping to safety before the monster used her many-jointed and mechanical legs to grasp Marigold by the arms and hurl the Gold Ranger away.

Mercy saw this and a sound that could best be described as a guttural and animal snarl of rage escaped her before she lunged into action once again, time seeming to slow to a crawl as Mitsukurina launched herself from the ground and rotated in the air with her long eel-like body wrapping around itself as it span like some monstrous scaly wheel yet Mercy was unable to halt herself or leap aside as she watched the monster began to unfurl herself and lash out. The Red Ranger felt her legs buckle beneath her as Mitsukurina's tail struck the top her head with tremendous force and sent her crashing face first into the ground, the floor cracking beneath her with the impact as her visor shattered and helmet was bent out of shape.

Sensing that her opponent was dazed and unable to defend herself the monster pressed her advantage, her blue-grey, serpentine form diving below the surface of what had once been the town square of the Liarian homestead once again and burrowing another tunnel beneath it. Aslaug watched all of this happen as she struggled to her feet after the blow she had received and promptly bolted across the open ground towards Mercy as she realised with a sense of icy and sinking dread what was about to happen; managing to scoop the Red Ranger into her arms and make it a few paces away from the epicentre of the explosion as Mitsukurina erupted from the ground once again before coiling around herself, her six mechanical legs providing her body with a stable base

"There is no escape Rangers!" she declared, her smug confidence laced with primal fury as she continued her attack; dropping low to the ground and using the multiple piston-like burrowing limbs adorning her armoured chest to slither and scuttle across the ruined ground towards Aslaug and Mercy who struggled to remove her damaged helmet and drag herself to her feet to defend herself.

The monster never reached them.

Instead Mitsukurina let out a shriek of rage as a maelstrom of golden light ripped through the space between herself and her prey as Marigold leapt into the fray with her twin handguns, which the other Rangers had heard her refer to as 'Busters' firing without pause; Mitsukurina snaked and thrashed around in search of a clear path through the barrage of attacks only to be struck by a far larger beam of emerald green light which lifted her from the ground and left her in a crumpled heap with her grey skin blackened and sizzling where she had been struck as the Green Ranger rejoined the battle.

"We need a plan" Tempestus declared, unable to keep a hint of worry from creeping into his voice as he helped Mercy and Aslaug stand as the Aegis Rangers regrouped.

With her helmet removed Mercy's anger was clearly visible as she regarded the monster that had righted itself and continued to slither around her team as if stalking them.

"We can't use the Power Blaster, she's too fast" she noted "And we can't control her movements when she can keep going underground" the air seemed to grow heavy as the situation grew more tense with each passing second, with both the Rangers and their latest foe searching for an opening.

"We won't be able to lure her out into the trees either, even if we could I doubt she'd climb them and come after us" Panthera mused, twirling her twin claw-like blades in agitation as her tail swished behind her.

"We should use her attacks against her, attack as she goes underground" Tempestus offered somewhat cautiously "Collapse the tunnels she's made under us….like a mining accident" the idea was so unexpected, especially from the usually calm and cheery Blue Ranger that it took Mercy a moment to realise and fully believe what was being suggested, in that moment however Mitsukurina grew tired of waiting for the Rangers to make their move and launched her own attack

"She's going underground!" Mari warned, her volley of hastily fired shots doing nothing as the serpentine monster writhed around them before vanishing below the ground

"Any ideas on how we collapse the tunnels?" Mercy demanded

"Brute strength!" Aslaug answered before rushing forwards, her axe vanishing in a flash of bright yellow light so that she could focus all of her power into a single, earth-shattering blow and yet as she dropped to one knee and prepared to strike the ground it split open beneath her as Mitsukurina resurfaced, the monsters' bony and armoured skull smashing into the Yellow Ranger's chest and knocking the wind out of her before she wrapped and coiled her body around Aslaug's arms and chest and opened her gaping maw wide as if to swallow her whole.

"I can't fire without hitting Aslaug!" Kay warned

"I can" Mari assured them confidently taking aim and opening fire with ruthless precision, her shots ripping through the points were crudely grafted armour met mutated and brutalised flesh in a shower of sparks and sizzling viscera whilst the monster thrashed and snapped in rage. Not content to stand idly by Rena bolted towards where Aslaug stood, manifesting his daggers in twin bursts of pitch darkness and slashing into Mitsukurina's coiled form until finally; using her monstrously oversized arms to swat the Black and Yellow Rangers aside she relinquished her crushing grip on Aslaug and retreated with a hiss

"You will all die here, you're only delaying the inevitable!" she assured them before she tore into the ground once again, leaving the Rangers on edge as they regrouped and waited in silent apprehension; watching the ground for any sign of the next attack.

Mercy however was furious.

She had failed to activate her Battleizer, doing so would have ended this battle in moments and yet she had been unprepared and now her friends were paying the price. The devastation around her was, in her mind at least the result of her allowing this attack to go on for as long as it had and now the Dark Empire's monster had almost devoured Aslaug whilst Mercy watched in silent horror; the Red Ranger's fear and panic gave in an instant to incandescent anger, almost literally as her armour began to glow and the damage that had been done to it was instantly repaired, including her helmet reforming as she channelled more of the power of the Morphing Grid than she had done before.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" she moved without thinking, her own anger and the Power itself compelling her and the ground cratering slightly beneath her feet as she sprung forwards; her Battleizer remained inactive yet it seemed utterly unimportant as the Red Ranger held her katana overhead and its' blade shone with a fierce crimson light.

Mitsukurina erupted from the ground and for the two combatants time seemed to slow to a crawl once again as they hurtled towards one another yet this time it was the monster who could do nothing to avoid the oncoming attack and simply let out a frightened, strangled gasp as Mercy's sword cleaved through her armoured skull and carved through her body down to a point somewhere between her ribs and hips, almost bisecting her and leaving the monsters' lifeless body flapping limply as it collapsed to the ground.

Breathing heavily and sagging over her beaten opponent Mercy sunk her blade into the ground and used it to support herself, knowing better than to allow herself any sense of victory or accomplishment yet as this fight was far from over.

"Mercy to Mission Control" she panted out, aware of the other Rangers making their way over to her "I think we're gonna need the Zords any second now"

* * *

"Status report" Lord Zedd's snarling and distorted voice issued from seemingly all angles and every corner of the Command Bridge and its' impatience and open annoyance at the apparent lack of results sent a wave of dread that was almost palpable rippling through the bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum which Carnifex struggled not to be visibly overwhelmed by, even as members of his personal retinue, each proud and experienced warriors trembled and cowered and the plethora of serfs and retainers that served them and formed the choir faltered and fell silent yet despite all of this the transmission was audio only, the tyrant not deigning to grave them with his presence. Carnifex needed a moment to gather his wits before answering, his voice almost managing its' usual clipped and erudite tones.

"My Lord" he began "Events are unfolding exactly as you predicted, the Alliance has come to aid the Liarians and even now the Power Rangers are locked in battle against my warrior"

"What forces has the Alliance sent?" Lord Zedd demanded coldly clearly calculating the various paths these events could take, wary after being held at bay by the Alliance and their Rangers for so long.

"A single Colony Ship and its' escorts my Lord" Carnifex answered, unable to keep his lipless mouth from twisting into a monstrous smile "Our attack focused on the worlds' largest settlement, pitiful as it was and our enemies believe that is the only place that will feel your wrath"

"Then why haven't you proceeded with the second phase of the plan?" Lord Zedd snarled "If the Liarians are evacuated then the Colony Ship will teleport, we will have no means to give chase and the mission will be a failure….which you will most assuredly suffer for" Carnifex audibly gulped and swallowed, needing a moment to master his fear before daring to answer

"I have weapons locked on the propulsion systems of the Colony and its' shields are currently lowered to allow the teleportation….I merely wished to wait for the opportune moment, when the Rangers summoned their Zords" there was a terrifying chill in the air as Lord Zedd contemplated the answer, even unseen his might was overwhelming and the terror that being the subject of his attention inspired only grew more intense until finally he spoke again.

"You were right to take the initiative" the tyrant noted, some of rumbling anger fading from his voice "Destroying the Zords along with the source of the Alliances' magical protections would be a boon….see that you do not fail" with that the communication ended and Carnifex visibly sagged, though the draconian Acheron Hybrid was, unlike his former contemporary Paradoxa, unspeakably loyal the fact remained that the warlord he served assured that loyalty through fear and the threat of oblivion the way he would any other of his generals and the threat was a most effective one.

"Sing you worms!" he snapped to the choir of serfs behind him, the Command Bridge of his warship once again being filled with the sound of haunting battle-hymns from the world of Wyvern a moment later as those who had been cowed and silenced found their voices. Carnifex peered at the scene before him, his bridge crew had quickly overcome the effect Lord Zedd had on them and returned to their assigned duties in silence; all whilst lit by the fiery glow that emanated from the walls and floor which had been styled to resemble the world they hailed from.

"Lord Carnifex!" one of the warriors who formed the bridge crew exclaimed, their voice filled with a mixture of fear and thrilled exhilaration as though they were not sure how their news would be received

"Report"

"Mitsukurina has fallen, the Rangers have defeated her"

"On screen" Carnifex demanded and a moment later was rewarded with the viewscreen that formed much of the front wall of the bridge displaying the scene on the surface of Liaria; the devotee of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer who had offered her own body up to be experimented on and modified in unspeakable ways in the service of the Dark Empire had fought the Rangers in what appeared to be a town square, or ritual circle of some kind and now lay dead and lifeless with blood soaking into the group as it poured from a truly horrific wound that had torn her almost in two. Carnifex was also surprised to note the way the Red Ranger's armour seemed to glow and was reminded of the way the Black Ranger had entered an almost feral rage when they had fought, it seemed that Mitsukurina had pushed the Rangers to their limits and fought to the bitter end; meaning that whilst she would never reach the pedestal that the Knights of Wyvern occupied Carnifex would openly admit she had been a fine warrior and deserved the chance to deliver one final blow the enemies of the Empire.

"Fire mutagenic grenade" the order was given calmly and decisively yet the atmosphere aboard the Command Bridge subtly changed and rippled outwards as the crew realised that their mission was nearing its' conclusion.

In a matter of moments the warhead had been fired, streaking through the planets' atmosphere until it struck Mitsukurina's ruined body and sent the Rangers fleeing as the abominable mixture of twisted science and dark magic took effect.

The monsters' body was reanimated.

Carnifex watched with delight as Mitsukurina grew to a simply titanic size and rose above the trees around her whilst the limited regenerative abilities of her species were forced into overdrive by the mutagenic grenade, transforming the enormous, thrashing corpse into something even more terrifying. The six mechanical legs that had been grafted to her body were for some reason unaffected by the grenade and simply fell away as the monster grew and she instead supported herself on her muscular arms as her sundered torso healed itself, if only partially, leaving thick strands of muscle and sinew holding it's two halves together whilst each half of her neck and head regenerated entirely to leave the reanimated Mitsukurina with two heads with shrieked and snapped at one another as her tail lashed out and tore trees from the ground with each pass.

The Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum was filled with cheers, Carnifex's warriors finding themselves invested in the battle though the Hybrid himself had other ideas.

"Prepare for the next phase of the mission" he ordered "We came to raze this planet and the moment will soon be upon us" his wings twitched slightly and a low growl of anticipation escaped him. The monster was honestly not expected to win the battle, merely to provide a suitable diversion to keep the Alliances attention until it was too late.

Things were going exactly as planned.

* * *

"It seems you were right about needing the Zords" Billy noted, unable to keep a note of utter disgust out of his voice "A truly atrocious beast"

"But one that can be defeated" Corcus added with a slight sneer tugging at the corners of his mouth "Little more than a wild animal now" Billy nodded in silent agreement as he and the rest of Mission Control watched the image on the viewing globe that filled the centre of the Command Centre, yet at the same time he could not bring himself to share the Aquitians' belief that this would somehow be anything less than a hard fought battle and he certainly took no pleasure in the sight of the now two-headed and freshly mutated giant monster that rampaged across the surface of Liaria; quite the opposite in fact as the sight of a homestead which had housed a civilisation more ancient than any on Earth and the immeasurably old forest in which it resided being destroyed by the shrieking and crazed behemoth angered him to his core not only as a scientist but as a former Power Ranger and protector.

"Don't be overconfident" Zebidiah intoned in warning, the voice issuing from behind them causing both Billy and Caucus to briefly turn and see that the former Lord Zedd watched the unfolding events from his tube with a stern expression, eyes narrow and brow furrowed as he tried to decipher the true meaning behind this attack; certain that his second-born had sent forces to Liaria to do more than simply sow terror and destruction. The former Rangers turned their attention back to the viewing globe however, just in time to see the Rangers deploy their Zords and teleport into their cockpits; including Marigold who was using the Winged Lion Zord for the first time.

Billy couldn't help but be proud of the sight.

Like the other Aegis Zords he, in conjunction with other undisputed geniuses such as Grace Sterling, Angela Rawlings and Justin Stewart had merely assembled the base frame of the Gold Ranger's mecha and once Mari had summoned and activated it the Power itself had sculpted the rest of its' form into what was needed.

It was a truly magnificent sight, resembling the apex predator from the world of Leslie that it was on in its' overall appearance, yet sleek and streamlined and clearly mechanical. Like the Dragonzord the Winged Lion was larger than the average Zord and where the Aegis Zords were each primarily silver with detailing in the colour of each of their respective Rangers and the Dragonzord was primarily black with silver and green segments the Winged Lion Zord was primarily a pristine brilliant white with its' mane, claws and vast wings whose surfaces were stylised to appear feathered were all a golden colour which seemed to glow and several details of its' armoured hull along with entirety of the long tail that trailed behind it, resembling that of a scorpion were a glossy black.

"How's the Zord handling Mari?" Billy enquired as he watched the latest Ranger take control of the machine, shaky movements and uncoordinated turns being the hallmark of one who was unaccustomed to the speed of thought controls and neural interfaces used to control the massive machines.

"I'm not a pilot and even if I was I've never seen anything like this before" the Gold Ranger's nerves gave way to giddy excitement as the Power began to guide her and pieces seemed to suddenly fall into place in her mind "But this is the coolest thing ever"

"That it is" the former Blue Ranger beamed, fondly remembering his time piloting each of the Zords he had once called his own before focusing on the task at hand "Good luck and may the Power protect you" he ended the transmission and turned to nodded to Corcus who gave a gesture, causing several of the staff of the Command Centre to enter commands which shifted the image on the viewing globe away from the battle on Liaria to an image of the planet as a whole, the Colony Ship that had been deployed above it and its' escort of light cruisers highlighted and plainly visible; as was a seemingly empty region of space.

"Colony Ship New Ohio, this is Billy Cranston of Mission Control, Promethea One"

"We read you Mister Cranston sir" the voice on the other end of the transmission effortlessly conveyed the fact that the speaker had snapped to attention, likely awed at the fact that they were speaking to one of the original Power Rangers who had protected Earth against Rita Repulsa and the first Lord Zedd to trouble humanity

"What's the status of the evacuation?" Billy asked, choosing not to acknowledge the reverent tone

"Lerigot and his people are safely onboard sir, seeing the way things are looking on the ground we were considering asking him if he'd be willing to speak to some of the nearby homesteads; convince them to evacuate as well….if that monster starts tunnelling at the size its' at now-"

"Do it" Billy interjected, realising exactly how catastrophic such an attack would be; at her current size Mitsukurina could easily trigger earthquakes across the surface of Liaria.

"But also, the Dark Empire ship that fired a mutagenic grenade is possibly still cloaked and in the vicinity" he added, quickly getting to the real reason for the communication "We've used the trajectory of the warhead to estimate their position, forwarding it to you now; have your escorts open fire"

"Aye sir" with that the transmission ended and Billy, along with Corcus, Zebidiah and every other member of Project Lightspeed currently staffing the Command Centre watched with baited breath as a pair of 'Campbell' class light cruisers opened fire with every weapon at their disposal with the intent to set ablaze the entire region of space surrounding the coordinates they had been given.

They were halted.

"What?" Corcus demanded incredulously as they watched in disbelief, entire volleys of missiles that would have ripped through the shielding of even the sturdiest of Dark Empire vessels were detonated prematurely, setting the gulf of space on fire as they were struck by lances of searing light that came from seemingly all directions.

"We were fools" Zebidiah breathed out "We were fools to think there was just one" the truth of his haunting statement was proven a moment later when the Draco-Ocidendum dropped its' cloaking field and, following their commanders' lead so did the fleet of warships that had accompanied it; revealing just how overwhelmed the Alliances meagre relief effort truly was.

* * *

"God dammit, how is a dead body so fast?" Mari demanded in panicked anger as she managed to narrowly avoid another blow from the reanimated Mitsukurina, the Winged Lion Zord obeying her mental commands and pivoting in the air weave between the two heads of the monster as they lunged and snapped at her; their shrieks reaching her even within the safety of the cockpit.

"We need to get off of the ground!" Panthera's voice exclaimed as the monster whirled around to give chase to the Zords in the air, dragging itself along on its' bulging, muscular arms and in the process bringing its' serpentine form around in a devastating arc that ploughed through much of the Liarian homestead and sent the Blue, Pink, Yellow and Black Rangers scattering as fast as their war machines would allow.

"We need to the Star-Dragon formation!" Mercy offered in response "Mari, can you give us a distraction while we form up?"

"You've got it" the Gold Ranger answered and despite the fear and adrenaline that coursed through her and left her heartbeat pounding in her tables whilst her blood felt as though it were electric she forced herself to focus, hoping that her abilities as a Ranger and whatever transferable skills she carried over from being a cadet and admittedly impressive marksman would help her as she brought the Winged Lion Zord into another steep dive, banking and whipping around Mitsukurina's right arm and leaving the reanimated monster coiling back on itself in attempt to divert its' attention away from her fellow Rangers.

Fortunately whatever mutation had caused her to grow a second head, or possibly even the damage Mercy had certainly done to her brain had left Mitsukurina unable or unwilling to tunnel under the ground and instead she simply slithered after her prey, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake as she lunged and flailed; unleashing a volley of strikes that each came perilously close to ripping Mari's Zord from the air until finally the Gold Ranger had her mecha perform an impressive aerial pivot and brought the scorpion-like tail that trailed behind it arching over its' back, golden lightning arcing and coalescing around the bulbous tip of the stinger before being propelled forwards to scorch and sear the monsters' putrid blue-grey flesh and tear a series of ear-splitting screams from it.

A moment later the other Ranger rejoined the fight, the Star-Dragon Megazord announcing its' arrival by firing the Mega Cannon directly into the point where the two halves of Mitsukurina's severed torso had crudely fused together, blasting through the tendon and sinew that held them together

"It's still alive!" Mari warned as the seemingly unstoppable monster whirled around, lashing at the Winged Lion Zord with its' tail as both of its' blunt and armoured skulls focused on the winged Megazord that hung in the air above it brandishing an enormous lance.

"And she's already starting to regenerate" Mercy answered, mouthing the words out in apparent disbelief as she and the other Rangers watched the monsters' flesh begin to knit itself back together in a way that was simply disturbing to watch. In her own cockpit Marigold examined the various readings and commands available to her, bringing them into view with a mere though and saw something that filled her with fresh hope even before the feeling which she was coming to recognise as the Power itself pushed her towards acting on it.

"Mercy….I can combine with the rest of you"

"It's worth a try" the Red Ranger replied "Let's do it"

"_Ultrazord activation has been initiated" _the heavily synthesized voice sounded in the cockpits' of both the Winged Lion and the Star Dragon Megazord and Marigold suddenly found her mecha acting of its' own accord as the docking sequence began; the two machines soaring into the air out of reach of their monstrous opponent and preparing themselves.

The first step of the transformation was that the Dragonzord's head which had formed additional armour over the Megazord lifted up and rotated so that it sat flush along the mechas' back with the fin adorning its' skull trailing up and back; the Dragonzord's wings then shifted down to sit lower whilst the Hawk Zords' wings which had formed wide, curved shoulder armour plated unfurled and sat above the Dragonzord wings. Then the Winged Lion Zord simply broke apart into various components which orbited around the larger Zord in a ring as each part transformed and combined in turn.

Firstly the entire back of the Winged Lion detached and collapsed in on itself, the hindquarters being hidden entirely from view before the assembly widened itself by expanding from the centre as the haunches and wings of the Gold Ranger's Zord attached to the back of the Megazord, the Dragonzord's head resting between the Winged Lion's shoulder-blades and giving the combined form a total of six wings.

The tail of the Winged Lion locked into place between the right shoulder and collarbone of the Megazord, the stinger weapon facing forwards to mirror the Mega Cannon provided by the Plesion Zord on the left whilst the head of the Gold Ranger's Zord split in half and the face of the lion rotated out of view as the two halves slid into place over each of the shoulders, the streamlined golden mane facing upwards and seeming to frame the shoulder mounted cannons. The Winged Lion Zords' main covering the upper arms whilst the Dragonzord provided clawed and armoured forearms to make the Ultrazord a truly imposing sight.

The legs and torso of the Winged Lion Zord remained, split in half at the waist as they orbited the still-forming Ultrazord; firstly a pair of pristine white segments of armour slid from within the front half of the Winged Lion where they had been hidden from view and latched onto the thighs of the Megazord, providing more protection than the side-skirts formed by parts of the Dragonzord's torso. The hindquarters of the Gold Ranger's mecha then split in half and each section attached itself to one of the combined mechas' shins, covering the Black and Pink Ranger's Zords with additional armour whilst the Winged Lions' legs shifted and rotated so that their clawed feet rest atop the heads of other Zords.

Leaving only the gutted and hollowed forequarters of the Winged Lion Zord remaining, the underside of the machine connected to the heavily armoured left forearm of the Ultrazord and the flanks folded out and rotated so that the lions' front legs were on the outer surface, reaching towards the centre of the gigantic armour plate which then finally split, what had been the sides of the Lions' torso opening into an X shaped formation and a wall of crackling golden light forming between each of the panels to give the Ultrazord a gigantic shield.

The Star-Dragon had looked like a mechanical angel of death, the Aegis Ultrazord however could only be described as resplendent as it loomed over the battlefield carried by six enormous wings, covered in armour of black and white with gold and silver detailing and carrying a lance and shield to smite the monster it had been deployed against.

"_Ultrazord activated"_ Mari felt the odd sensation of her consciousness being accelerated as she was teleported into the Ultrazords' cockpit and joined the matrix formed by the Ranger's shared consciousnesses

"Holy shit" she gasped out, her initial thought of wishing that she had something more profound to say being overruled by the realisation that she had spoken telepathically as well as aloud

"You get used to it" Kay assured her, the Green Ranger having an undeniably smug tone to their voice

"Now let's end this" Mercy interjected, voice filled with grim determination as she took direct control of the newly formed Ultrazord and unleashed its' ranged weapons in tandem; the Mega Cannon firing a smaller beam than its' usual apocalyptic assault and the Golden Stinger unleashing a barrage of iridescent lightning with each weapon targeting one of Mitsukurina's heads and sending the monster crashing to the ground with grievous injuries, only for them to rise again a moment later; both skulls visibly misshapen and with scorched bone visible yet still shrieking in incoherent defiance.

"Okay" Mercy growled "Let's see what this mode can really do" with their consciousnesses linked together through the matrix of the Ultrazords' control each of the other Rangers knew that she intended to deliver a decisive blow and lent their own willpower and control of the titanic Mecha to hers; the seven Rangers yelling out the name of the attack as they unleashed it.

"ULTRA IMPACT!" the Ultrazord swooped from the skies, the sections of lance formed from the Dragonzord's tail that had once glowed an ethereal green shifting to a pure, brilliant white as the weapon struck the centre of Mitsukurina's torso and for a moment the Ranger's were blinded, the flash of light that resulted from the attack overwhelming the Ultrazords' own sensors and the power unleashed being visible to the naked eye from orbit.

When they could see again the Ranger's soon realised that there was nothing left of the monster, only a corridor carved into the forest beyond them where the attack had uprooted countless trees.

"Mission Control" Mercy breathed out, finally allowing herself to relax and simply breathe without worry as she opened a channel to Promethea One "Target destroyed….And the Ultrazord is officially awesome"

The tense and plainly frantic tone she received in reply made her regret ever lowering her guard

"Rangers we have a problem, the attack was- Damn it RANGERS RAISE YOUR SHIELDS!" it was a testament to the training, skill and natural reflexes of the Aegis Rangers as well as their ability to work as a team that they each acted with a single mind, the Ultrazord raising its' shield and the golden light that coursed within each of its' armoured sections expanding out to form a protective dome a moment before everything around them was consumed in flames.

The Liarian homestead and the forest around it had been devastated and fires blazed as far as the eye could see, leaving the Ultrazord standing in a scorched and ruined hell-scape and the Rangers desperately trying to understand what had happened until Kay broke the tense silence, realising that there was only one possible answer

"Orbital barrage" the Green Ranger whispered "The Dark Empire fired on us from space"

"Then let's hit back" Aslaug snarled, voice trembling with rage at the sight on the viewscreen, knowing that it amounted to the destruction of an entire culture and their way of life.

"Agreed" Mercy's anger was beyond words and her armour glowed even brighter still as she took command of the Ultrazord, becoming fury incarnate as the mecha launched itself into their air; her team-mates joining her with each of them determined to see that this act of wanton destruction was met with swift justice.

"We're being fired on again" Tempestus warned, taking enough control of the Ultrazord to bring its' shield forward

"Multiple attacks….Mercy's there's more than one ship up there" Panthera warned and yet Mercy persisted, the hull of the Ultrazord beginning to glow with heat and the sky darkening around them as they neared the edge of the planets' atmosphere.

And then suddenly they were elsewhere.

"What? What happened?" Mercy demanded, voice cracking and almost giving way to a sob as she realised that whilst they were in the gulf of space the Rangers were nowhere near Liaria, comprehension dawning on her as she realised that the glimmering metallic surface she could see in the distance was an Alliance Colony Ship, one of many that formed a ring around a familiar planet.

They had been called home and Billy's voice filled the cockpit, answering the sudden question which none of the Rangers dared to ask.

"We had to get you out, the Zords wouldn't have survived that attack. They had more ships….we….we just lost Liaria"

* * *

The cheering and battle hymns aboard the Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum reached a fever pitch and filled the fiery space with a deafening, maddening cacophony and a hateful energy which served to draw out every ounce of bloodlust within those present; even Carnifex himself was not exempt from the effects and felt his blood singing as his fingers drummed against the arm of his throne and his clipped and cultured tones took on an unmistakable growl as he demanded answers

"The Rangers?"

"They fled my Lord" one of his knights declared to a fresh chorus of cheers "They abandoned the battle and abandoned this world to its fate!" a low rumbling escaped Carnifex, he would have liked to see the Aegis Rangers perish; consumed by the fire of his wrath and with the cockpits of their Zords serving is fitting final resting places but he knew that truthfully it would only over have been the final flourish to an already overwhelming victory.

And the readings on the viewscreen made it clear that his victory had indeed been overwhelming.

The plan had been simple and yet undeniably effective; the draconian hybrid had brought the entirety of his fleet with him and had the ships position themselves in high orbit above each of the major population centres on the planet, with the Liarian species as being as few in number as they were and witch so little technology at their disposal Carnifex could have simply unleashed on all out offensive and taken the world within a matter of hours were it not for the Alliance, instead he had known that the Rangers would be sent along with the Alliances ships, each of which outclassed any of his own in a head to head comparison and so he had made his attack seem far smaller than it had been in order to trick his enemies into sending a rescue mission that was wholly inadequate.

Now his ships were purging the Liarian people and their homesteads without interference, razing them from the world entirely and depriving the Empire's enemies of their magical abilities whilst the Rangers had been forced to retreat; meaning that soon the whole Alliance would soon know that the champions that they had cowered behind for so long had failed them, the terror that would soon sweep through Alliance worlds would leave them ripe for the taking.

Leaving only one small matter left to be attended to.

"The Colony Ship?" Carnifex snarled, glaring at the spacefaring settlement on the viewscreen and relishing the sight of the warships that defended it being utterly overwhelmed; their greater craftsmanship meaning little in the face of sheer numbers.

"The Liarians from the worlds' capital are aboard, including the emissary to the Alliance" one of his bridge crew answered, saurian face morphing into a sinister smile as they added "And their engines were crippled before they raised their shields, they won't be teleporting anywhere"

"Break their shields" Carnifex ordered, any thoughts of destroying the colony with massed firepower forgotten as his lust for battle overcame him and his monstrous, serrated sword appeared in hand, wreathed in golden fire as he gave an order that pushed the fervour aboard the bridge to greater heights

"AND PREPARE TO BOARD THEM!"

**Author's Notes:**

So….that happened.  
In any other story breaking out the Ultrazord would have been the highlight of the Chapter and led to a clear victory, but oh well.  
Anyway one chapter left of this arc, then we'll be getting into the climax of second act.  
So you see why the Rangers have been taking losses lately, I'm setting up for something….trust me.

Anyway, let's summarise shall we:  
Of course the cyborg eel/goblin shark/termite monster can burrow underground and attack from below with no warning.  
One of the hardest parts of writing Ranger fight scenes is figuring out how the monster is gonna play keep away and make sure they only have to fight one or two Rangers at a time.  
Special move: _The Eel Wheel_.  
Nice save Aslaug.  
I'm sure Mari's guns were called something Busters in Dekaranger as well.  
Tempestus's idea is nasty, but it's a good one though….shame it didn't work.  
Nice save Mari and Rensa.  
So Mercy went into the same 'Overclocked' state as Rensa but still couldn't activate her Battleizer armour; which means that the two of them are in the same position.  
Also, definitely a nice kill shot from Mercy but at the same time….damn get these kids some therapy.  
Lord Zedd can scare the shit out of people from another star system.  
Honestly a lot of this scene was just building up the suspense and giving the tiniest set-up and hints for just how big the Dark Empire attack really was.  
Yeah Mitsukurina's giant monster mode is just gratuitously fucked up.  
"_A truly atrocious beast"_ is something Billy said in the Powers Rangers episode with the monster 'Fang' and that was an episode I had on video as a kid and watched a lot; so it's just one of those lines that I think of when I think of Billy.  
So, first time seeing the Winged Lion Zord….it's overall colour scheme is pretty close to the Tiger Zord and some of my initial ideas for it were probably a lot closer to that than what we ended up with.  
Colony Ship New Ohio….I heard a joke that so many astronauts come from Ohio because they're trying to get as far away from the place as physically possible so I couldn't help myself.  
I really let you think it was gonna be okay, I really let you think that the Alliance ships were gonna blast Carnifex's ship out of space and that would be that….Nah; he brought a fleet with him and he intends to use it.  
Just giving Mari a little screen-time in her first ever Zord fight and showing what she and the Winged Lion Zord can do.  
All seven Rangers having Zords can only mean one thing: Ultrazord….and I really wish I could draw, not just because I want to see this design translated into an actual image _(In my head it's got some definite Gundam/GaoGaiGar vibes) _but also because having something to reference would make it a lot easier to work out where everything was going to go….seriously it took forever to figure out how this would work.  
_"ULTRA IMPACT!"_….Okay so I just watched My Hero Academia for the first time recently and I want you to remember that in the first Zord fight in this story Mercy references Pacific Rim; if she were in a better head-space there would definitely have been a _"Plus Ultra"_ joke.  
In an actual PR show that would have been a defining moment and there would have been a dozen product shots of the Ultrazord to show off how cool it is after that special move….nope, just get your shield up and try not to die.  
We just lost Liaria….take a second to appreciate just how big that is; we've known that the Dark Empire are evil, this was a straight up genocide.  
Every major settlement of a species who were already few in number just got wiped, the Alliance now has no access to the Liarian magic that was protecting their ships/Colonies and the Rangers were forced to fall back, so it's a crushing blow to morale and faith in the Rangers as well as a tactical one.  
And naturally Carnifex is going to board the station in person and lead the attack on the colony in person.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	47. Rapid Dominance

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 46 – Rapid Dominance**

They were all in shock and had been ever since their return.

The Rangers had been initially teleported to a part of Promethea One that they had never seen before as they had still been inside the cockpit of the Ultrazord when the titanic machine had been returned to the Colony Ships' Zord hangar, the power involved in reconstituting something so massive not dissimilar from that required to move a small spaceship. Whilst the Command Centre that the Rangers were deployed from was located within the city itself, a joint operation between Promethea and Project Lightspeed whose association with the space stations' university bolstered a positive public image the domed city itself was only a small part of Promethea One and as well as propulsion and life support systems along with the countless other thing required to keep the spacefaring settlement operational the massive, cylindrical structure which hung below the city also the space-docks which Panthera often lurked around and, hidden an area so restricted that even the Rangers themselves did not truly have clearance to enter it, the Zord hanger; a space so massive that it managed to make even the Ultrazord seem small.

Under normal circumstances the Rangers would have been enraptured by the sight, either Mercy's love of all things pertaining to the Power Rangers would have seen her examining everything she could before being escorted away or Tempestus's own mechanical inclinations would have had the same result. As it was however circumstances were anything but normal and the Aegis Rangers had paused only to ask for directions out of the Hanger, sprinting towards the nearest elevator that would take them to the uppermost levels of Promethea One, the area that they considered the _'surface' _and upon arriving they had bolted through the streets towards their base, only realising that they were still in their morphed states when they saw the confused and in some cases worried looks that they were subjected to.

They had reached the Command Centre frantic and desperate for answers only to find that very few would be forthcoming; the usual practice of debriefing had been abandoned as every member of Mission Control along with presumably every other member of Lightspeed with any significant rank was required to deal with the current catastrophic situation.

What the Rangers had managed to glean had chilled them to their core; the entire time that they had been fighting on Liaria there had been a cloaked Dark Empire fleet lurking in orbit around the planet and just as the Rangers had thought victory was in their grasp Lord Zedd's forces had not only laid waste to the planet as a whole and sought to destroy the Rangers and their Zords with an orbital barrage but they had also made their way aboard the small Colony Ship intended to offer aid; whilst there may have been some survivors the scale of the carnage and loss could not be overstated and the undeniable truth of the matter was that the Liarian people had been pushed to the edge of extinction, their planet was a scorched husk and their way of life was no more.

This truth had left the Rangers utterly numb as they tried to process it.

Marigold had stated simply that she needed to be alone and Tempestus had made his way to his quarters informing his friends that he needed to be submerged in the water of his home-world soon anyway and it would likely help him meditate and think. The other Rangers had remained in the spacious common area of their living space with very few words passing between them, though it did not take more than a casual glance to see that Mercy was struggling to contain a white hot fury that bubbled just below the surface.

Aslaug braced herself as she broke the silence.

"Mercy?" she received no answer and the taller girl felt her heart twist as she saw Mercy's eyes brimming with tears she seemed determined not to shed as her hands trembled with grief and rage

"Mercy" she repeated as she drew closer "You did everything you could-"

"THEN I COULDN'T DO ENOUGH!" Mercy's screamed outburst was accompanied by a sharp cracking sound and Aslaug was stunned by the Red Ranger's actions, needing a moment to process what she saw; the Red Battleizer had been ripped from her Morpher and forcefully hurled across the room where it had shattered the television screen on impact. The sound had agitated Klo and the large hunting dog that Aslaug brought from Mirinoi let out a snarl as he leapt to his feet whilst Rensa, Kay and Panthera all shared worried glances; none of them had seen mercy like this before. Aslaug rose to her feet and stared at the three of them

"Leave" she said simply and whilst her voice was not raised or threatening they did as they were asked, quickly making their way out of the apartment that made up an entire floor of the student dorms whilst Aslaug seized Klo and manoeuvred the still growling beast into her own room before making her way back towards where Mercy sat, a stunned expression on her own face as she struggled to comprehend her own actions.

"Mercy" Aslaug said yet again, more firmly this time "Talk to me"

Mercy remained silent for several seconds, running her hands through her curly hair in clear distress and evidently struggling to find words until finally a sound of utter defeat escaped her, a choked half-laugh, half-sob that had no mirth only bitterness behind it

"What am I supposed to say?" she demanded, voice cracking as tears finally began to spill down her cheeks "An entire people were wiped out and it's all my fault?"

"All your….No" Aslaug voice became steel, cold and firm "No. You are not carrying this alone Mercy I won't watch you blame yourself for things out of your control; the Dark Empire rained death on Liaria from above. You would have been no better off trying to fight the sun and keep it from rising-"

"It doesn't matter, I should have found a way!" Mercy insisted "I'm a Red Ranger….this, this is literally what I was made for; if I can't save people then what's the point of me?" these were the words that broke the floodgates entirely, every doubt and worry that Mercy had pushed aside ever since she had learned the truth about herself now feeling as though it were intrinsically tied to her ability to save the entire galaxy as a Power Ranger with her own two hands and she could do nothing else but sob even as Aslaug pulled her close.

"You are more than a tool….more than you allow yourself to see" Aslaug whispered as she gently pressed her lips to Mercy's forehead "This loss was painful and we will mourn it but it will not define you"

Mercy for her part simply melted into Aslaug and sobbed, knowing that it would be some time before anything felt good or right for again.

* * *

Far away from the fiery glow of the Command Bridge of his vessel Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name knelt within his personal chambers. The same mosaic stonework depicting battles that adorned the bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum could be found here yet these were depictions of the Acheron hybrids' own personal triumphs and struggles rather than those of his people as a whole and the walls did not glow, the chamber instead being illuminated by a series of baroque torches and braziers styled to resemble the gaping maws of various monstrous beasts from the world of Wyvern; the torches being tied to Carnifex's own magic and spewing a golden fire which cast long shadows across the chamber and reflected from the iridescent surfaces of his crimson and iridescent blue-tinged scales, the double-edged and serrated sword that lay across his lap and the burned, dented and blackened surface of his mechanical left forearm.

As Carnifex knelt a series of snarling sounds escaped him, what would have at first sounded like indecipherable or simple animal snarling to any outsider instead being a series of ritual incantations uttered in the hybrids' native language as he performed post-battle rites that were just important to his people as those that were uttered before the battle began; the events from the battle that had taken place on the Alliances' Colony ship replaying in his mind until an interruption broke concentration.

It could only have been Lord Zedd.

His own warriors would not have dared disturb the sanctity of the rituals out of both respect and fear of reprisals, moreover the disturbance came in the form of a personal comm channel that he had deactivated upon entering his chamber. Whilst he had made himself unreachable to his followers unless a situation so desperate that a messenger had to be sent to him in person arose the idea that Lord Zedd would be denied was simply laughable and whether by some ability to over-ride Carnifex's commands or simply a magical manifestation of his own willpower the comms had been reactivated.

"My Lord" Carnifex said simply as he shifted himself into a one-kneed bow and placed his sword beside himself; head stooped low as he swiftly removed any traces of annoyance at the intrusion from his face as the flickering and translucent blue form of Lord Zedd himself came into view, towering and imposing as ever even when not physically present.

"Rise Carnifex" the armoured tyrant commanded, the words leaving the grill like mouth of Lord Zedd's faceplate as a guttural snarl and Carnifex quickly obeyed, sheathing his sword as he rose to his full height which, whilst imposing to many was still considerably shorter that the projection before him.

"I presume, judging by the fact that you are still breathing and not grovelling for your life that your mission was a success?"

"The world of Liaria is a burned and blackened husk my Lord" Carnifex answered, a touch of pride colouring their clipped tones "The Alliance only thought to rescue those dwelling at the site of my initial attack, those living elsewhere on the world were purged in fire and the secrets they would use against your Empire are lost. The Power Rangers attempted to use a new Zord configuration, their largest and most powerful weapon yet and still they were forced to flee like cowards in the face of my fleet-"

"And those who the Alliance did see fit to rescue?" Lord Zedd's voice rumbled, sending tremors through the ground and Carnifex struggled to keep his expression ad demeanour utterly stoic before bowing his head and giving his answer.

"My Knights and I boarded their colony ship after crippling its' engines My Lord….we cut down Alliance warriors and Liarian wizards by the score; their power was failing, their teleportation system was unusable, any escape pods they had were obliterated by my fleet….yet their leader, Lerigot, he escaped with a handful of others"

"How?" Lord Zedd's voice shook the wall now and Carnifex swore he could feel the vibration in his skull

"A relic that I had not known was in his possession my Lord, it almost resembled a key….at first I thought it might be a weapon and that Lerigot intended to face me in single combat; instead he managed to teleport a handful of survivors away, his own people and Alliance filth…..I had him in my grasp my Lord" Carnifex forgot himself for a moment, holding his scorched and damaged cybernetic arm to display effects that the magic had left on its' once pristine surface as if he were trading war stories with a fellow warrior and not facing the ruler of Dark Empire himself; by some stroke of fortune however Lord Zedd let out an amused chuckle, though the sound did little to assuage Carnifex's concerns

"Perhaps next time you will be more mindful of your opponents….what of the Colony Ship?"

"The Alliance destroyed it from within, many of their warriors sacrificed themselves in the process" hated as the enemy was Carnifex could at least respect the bravery and conviction that the act must have taken; throwing their own lives away to ensure that the secrets of the Alliances' often superior technology were kept from the Empire.

"I expected little else" Lord Zedd admitted with a growl "Though you are still victorious Carnifex, even if not as completely as you would have liked….Five individuals can become a team of Power Rangers yes, but a dozen Liarian wizards cannot save the Alliance now"

"My Lord?"

"Their magic was what provided a lair of protection against the arcane to our enemies and with Liaria lost the Alliance will be hard-pressed to defend themselves or replace their lost ships as easily as they have….Now is the time for us to strike Carnifex, to strike hard and often"

"As you command my Lord, I will bring them to their knees" the draconian hybrid smiled at the thought, realising that his place at Lord Zedd's right hand was secure and that he would be given countless opportunities to conquer in the name of the Dark Empire all too soon.

* * *

Upon leaving Aslaug and Mercy in peace Kay and Panthera had parted ways from Rensa, the two of them were unsure what the Black Ranger intended but both hoped that it was nothing too reckless or dangerous.

The two of them had, predictably remained together however and ventured into the city whose streets were almost entirely deserted, populated only by a few individuals likely returning home from a long day at work or small groups of people leaving bars and other such places. So much had happened it such a short space of time and the fact that it had been midday for the Liarian homestead they had fought in had caused both Kay and Panthera to forget for a moment that Promethea One had already begun its' artificial night when they had departed, mere hours feeling like days and the two of them launching fireworks from a roof elsewhere in the city feeling more like a distant but fondly remembered memory for them as they meandered aimlessly through the streets of Promethea one in almost total silence caused by the toll the mission had taken on them, their hands brushing together as they walked until finally Panthera took the initiative and laced her fingers through Kay's the two of them managing weak smiles at the contact.

Eventually the pair had made the way to the park that they often frequented, Kay merely following Panthera's lead whilst the teal-skinned and vaguely feline alien having no real goal or destination in mind; just a deeply rooted impulse to climb to avoid her problems that was a vestige of the Felixian culture that she had never truly been a part of. She had wandered into the trees and clambered up the largest and sturdiest looking one she could climb with Kay close behind her until finally they shared a large branch, her tail wrapped around their waist and her head on their shoulder as they tried to ignore the cold; the foliage around them hiding them from the view of anyone who might pass them by.

"There were survivors….there must have been?" Kay murmured, wrapping an arm around a slightly shivering Panthera both for her warmth and their own comfort as they broke the silence "An entire world….they can't all just be gone"

"There might be a few handfuls of survivors" Panthera shrugged, amber eyes looking anywhere but at Kay as she answered "Any Liarians that were off world for some reason….they didn't seem like they travelled much, but they still had diplomatic ties to other Alliance worlds, anyone who escaped the attack, maybe some others….there won't be many but they're out there somewhere"

"You've seen it before haven't you?" Kay realised suddenly, their voice becoming a hushed whisper "A planet being….ended"

"Not first hand" Panthera admitted "But I worked in Empire space for a few years before I joined the Rangers….I'd just lost my sister and a lot of smugglers and pirates hate the Empire as much as the Alliance does; there was a lot of work for anyone who wanted to hit the supply lines for their expansion, sabotage anything we could on worlds that surrendered to them just to make it harder for them to build. The Dark Empire is always expanding though and not everyone surrendered, even if a world outside of the Alliance had no chance of holding 'em off….I saw the refugee ships from planets that had been enslaved or stripped bare"

"What happened to them?" Kay asked, their inhuman black and pink eyes wide at the revelation; they had know that the galaxy spanning culture that had spawned them was one of violence, cruelty and subjugation in all of its' countless forms yet hearing it from those who had witnessed it for themselves was far different to the knowledge that had been forced into their still forming mind before their awakening. They could think of no other response than the question they had asked yet at the same time found themselves regretting it as Panthera's long and pointed ears seemed to droop and a sound of something close to irritation escaped her before she answered

"They're out there somewhere" she shrugged, taking the opportunity to work herself into a more comfortable position as she did so "The galaxy is a big place and they'll find somewhere else to call home but it won't be the same….it won't be the same for the Liarians either; they're never really gonna have their culture or their people again"

"Just like us" Kay mumbled

"Just like us" Panthera agreed before letting out a sigh "But can we not talk about this right now….it's been a long enough day already and I'd rather think about anything else"

"Okay" Kay nodded, tightening their grip around her waist a little as the two of them drifted into a peaceful if somewhat heavy silence as the human Acheron hybrid searched for another topic of conversation. One quickly presented itself and Kay quickly found themselves with one of their signature cocky smirks plastered across their face, though in this case it was one of pure empty bravado that was worn in the hopes that they might muster up the bravery they needed for this from somewhere

"I suppose we could always have the talk that we were putting off, the one about you trying to kiss me?" Kay finally suggested, hoping the teasing edge to their voice might keep the conversation from veering into murky depths of interpersonal relationships that they were entirely inexperienced in.

"Really?" Panthera asked turning to face him with an arched eyebrow and a few strands of her deep violet hair with its' flecks of turquoise falling from the Mohawk that they seemed to naturally from and resting in front of one her slitted, almost golden deep amber eyes

"Sure" Kay managed to keep their smirk in place even if they felt their resolve falter as they caught a glimpse of something entirely predatory in Panthera's gaze; a moment later she was on them, the Green Ranger's back pressed against the trunk of the tree whilst Panthera had gone from sitting beside them to straddling their lap, tail coiling around one of Kay's thighs as they tried to adjust their balance and her considerable bust pressed against their chest whilst she placed her hands on their shoulders and peered down at them from her new position with a smirk of her own, though Panthera seemed far less likely to be using it to mask uncertainties

"Well let's start with a simple question" she purred, the sound rumbling through both of their chests "Do you like this?"

"I like you" Kay managed to breath the words out even as their mind went utterly blank and the ability to process anything other than the feeling of Panthera's body against theirs. The response made Panthera roll her eyes and her grin widen as she descended on Kay again.

Whilst Kay lacked any real frame of reference of context to the art of kissing beyond what they saw in public and on television and from the baser parts of the human part of their psyche they would be lying if they said they had never thought about kissing Panthera, not that they would ever admit it; with that being said the kiss was both unexpected and yet somehow exactly what they expected kissing Panthera to be like. She was fierce and unrestrained, as direct in seeking what she wanted in this regard as she was in any other; she rolled her lips and ground into Kay's lap and made them groan into her mouth so her tongue could dart into theirs and before long Kay noted the coppery taste of their own blood and a sharp sting as her teeth bit into their lip a little too hard only for the broken skin to heal in an instant.

"Did you like that as well?" Panthera asked wearing an exceptionally smug and satisfied smile as she pulled away, both of them a little more breathless than they had expected.

"Yes" Kay answered without reservation, pausing only a moment before adding "But why?"

"Because I've wanted to for a while" Panthera admitted with the first hints of bashfulness which she promptly brushed aside, deciding that she had committed to the action "Because you're fun, you've got a smart mouth and you've never backed down from me once and that makes you interesting, whatever you might think about yourself and whatever circumstances made you do….you're a good, honest person at your core, you're always trying to be better and not just stronger….and I suppose you're pretty cute too, with a nice ass" she ended her answer with a playful wink and regarded Kay for a moment as the Green Ranger took several moments to try and form a response, failing entirely until Panthera lightly swatted their shoulder

"Say something then?"

"So….what happens now?"

"Of all the human cliches to latch onto you picked the 'what are we' talk" Panthera gave an overly dramatic sigh followed by an amused snort "Well we're not gonna be swooning all over each other like Mercy and Aslaug when they finally stopped dancing around each other, I'm not that kind of romantic….we can just be how we have been, but….more y'know?" Kay's eyed seemed to shine as they understood and their smile became the widest it had been all night, yet now it was more genuine than the earlier overconfident smirk

"So….we can do that again?" they asked and Panthera could only laugh response, realising that she should have expected that answer.

She paused for a moment before deciding that they could indeed do that again and promptly pinning Kay in place as she kissed them.

* * *

Mari had first returned to the student dorm she shared with another young woman whom she had considered a good friend yet found herself steadily drifting away from the longer she kept the fact that she was a Power Ranger secret from them; she had hoped she would find some peace there but had been unsuccessful, her room-mate had waited for her to return and had immediately begun questioning her about the various fresh bruises that littered her body until Marigold had finally snapped as her frayed nerved reached their breaking point, following this she had locked herself in her room only for the silence to become more overwhelmed than any noise could hope to be and after several hours she had changed out of the sleepwear that she had worn to the Command Centre what felt like a lifetime ago and made her way, without truly intending to, onto the roof of the building.

It was now the early hours of the morning and were she still on Leslie Colony Marigold would have been watching the sun rise and paint the sky a pale pink as it rose above the horizon, its' light refracting as it struck the colonies' protective dome. As it was the artificial darkness was as total as ever, the city below lit only by street lights as she stared down at it whilst leaning against the wall around the edge of the roof.

Her head still span and her stomach still churned and plummeted to fresh depths every time she tried to comprehend the scale of the Aegis Ranger's defeat at the hands of the Dark Empire and eventually she turned away from the city and simply sunk to the floor, sobbing and fighting a sudden urge to vomit as the weight of countless dead Liarians weighed on her consciousness. Marigold was unsure how long she remained like that, only that she had cried until wiping her tears had stained the creamy off-white coloured sweatshirt she wore and her eyes were red and puffy when finally a distraction from her thoughts presented itself, a scrabbling sound against the wall which, in her exhausted and likely traumatised state put the Gold Ranger on edge as her mind instantly equated the sound of scraping stone to Putties.

She found herself ashamed of the fact that she was only slightly less wary when the sound was revealed to be Rensa.

The youngest of the Aegis Rangers clambered over the wall that Marigold had been sat against, evidently having scaled the apartment block that the dormitories were located in from the outside rather than using the stairs or elevator, once again proving his ability to scale any surface with ease. Rensa wore the same clothes that he had previously, all ripped black denim and spiked and studded surfaces; in addition to his glossy green-black hair many simply assumed the teen chose the garments for the aesthetic whilst Marigold had been informed that he likely wore them as the spikes made him harder to grab, a habit learned on the death-world he had been raised on; knowing this along with knowing his steadily increasing propensity for violence made Marigold cautious yet as she rose to her feet she saw that his pitch black eyes were as haunted and wary as her own and the realisation was enough for her to break the silence

"Hey….are you okay?"

"Was I ever?" Rensa replied quietly and Marigold couldn't help but hear something accusatory in his voice

"No" she murmured "No I honestly don't think you were, but I don't want to judge you I just want to help you….I can't imagine what your life was like before you joined the other Rangers, but I can tell that you need to heal from it"

"I….thank you" Rensa's voice, as usual was barely more than a whisper and yet Mari could hear that he was genuine.

"Don't think I didn't mean what I said earlier though" she warned "I wanted to bring it up with Mercy….but obviously now is not the time. The fact is you need help for the sake of everyone around you as much as yourself; someone as angry as you shouldn't have the amount of power you've got" Rensa visibly bristled at that and Mari braced herself, in her exhaustion thinking that he might attempt to attack her or even throw her off of the roof despite the fact that he had only ever used force against criminals, almost always of the violent variety; instead he merely let out an annoyed huff

"Fine" he hissed out before taking a position beside Marigold and peered out at the city yet Mari could tell that he was not really paying any attention to it; it seemed that he had simply come here in search of some peace the same way she had and the two of them remained in silence for some time until Rensa spoke again.

"What about you?" he asked gently "Are you okay?"

"No" Mari managed a bitter laugh "How could I be….an entire planet; how can….I mean….what am I supposed to even think about that? It's terrible but it's so much all at once, I can't even really understand it any real way" her words became somewhat frantic as she searched for the words to convey just how lost she felt

"Perhaps that's for the best" Rensa murmured "Perhaps if you learn to understand so much death….well, you turn into me" Mari winced at that before deciding to change the subject before they circled back to the younger Ranger's own issues

"How's Mercy handling things?"

"Aslaug is with her" Rensa answered "But badly….the rest of us were asked to leave; I can go if I'm disturbing-"

"No you're fine" Marigold shook her head and let out a sigh "I just needed some space, my room felt too small and I can't talk to my room-mate about any this, even if I could they wouldn't understand….hell I didn't understand, not really"

"We have spare rooms" Rensa noted. Marigold paused to consider for a moment, she had initially held off on moving into the living space that the other Aegis Rangers shared as it would effectively announce her identity as the Gold Ranger to the world and likely destroy the last vestiges of normalcy that she clung to, yet as she considered the current condition of the friendships she had attempted to maintain she realised that her life had changed in a fundamental way and she had no choice but to accept it.

"Yeah….I'll talk to Mercy about moving in with you guys tomorrow" she finally sighed

"So" Rensa breathed out uncertainly "Does this mean we're friends?" the absurdity of the question in comparison to everything else they had faced made Mari laugh uncontrollably

"Sure" she finally managed to choke out as she struggled to compose herself "Sure kid, why not"

* * *

There had been no rest since Liaria had fallen.

Lerigot had fought to hold the Dark Empire's forces at bay as Carnifex and his Knights had assaulted the Colony Ship 'New Ohio', cutting down scores of Alliance soldiers and veteran Silver Guardians with apparent ease along with any Liarian evacuee who dared stand against them with the only small mercy being that the draconian warriors seemed to have little interest in simple butchery, their own martial pride keeping them from cutting down children, the elderly or infirm in face to face combat despite the indiscriminate destruction of every major settlement on the planet. Eventually however Lerigot had been forced to conceded that the battle was lost and had used a small, key-like relic in his possession to teleport himself, his family and every Liarian and member of the Alliance who had come to aid them away at the exact moment that the Dark Empire's monstrous general seized him by the throat.

In a fit of panic Lerigot had seen the human faces of his would be rescuers and had teleported to Earth, specifically the one place on the planet where would have hoped to find aid; Zordon's Command Centre. Nothing but empty desert awaited him in the place where the Command Centre had once stood and the sudden and unannounced teleportation of well over a dozen individuals had led to Earths' considerable defences bein turned on the apparent intrusion only for the current head of Project Lightspeed to notified the instant the truth of the matter had been discovered.

It was at this point the Billy Cranston, one of the last of Zordon's Rangers had been contacted and he and Corcus had made their way to Earth, leaving Mission Control on Promethea One to Zebidiah and Grace Sterling. The two of them teleporting across the globe several times and attending countless emergency meetings, including one where Lerigot himself was present; the Liarian wizard looking simply broken by the loss of his home-world until finally, as the sun rose over the city of Mariner Bay the two of them found themselves entering their final meeting, this one with the head of Project Lightspeed.

"I see Justin has made considerable progress on restoring the Aquabase" Billy noted, gesturing to the facility around them which, whilst still far from ready to be used at full capacity was at least somewhat functional. Corcus merely remained silent and bowed his head respectfully as both he and Billy stood for TJ Johnson, second Red Turbo Ranger, Blue Astro Ranger, veteran Silver Guardian Specialist, former training instructor to the Aegis Rangers and Dana Mitchell's successor as head of Project Lightspeed. The man cut an imposing figure, his dark skin marred by several scars including one which covered a considerable portion of his face and wearing a long black greatcoat adorned over his uniform, which was in turn littered with medals whilst his Morpher was just visible as it protruded from beneath his sleeve.

"That he has" TJ nodded, though everything about his voice and demeanour spoke of a bone-deep weariness and he quickly added "But we don't have time for small talk, the Alliance lost an entire world today"

"Liaria is not entirely lost" Corcus interjected "Eighty nine percent of the previously habitable areas were destroyed by sustained orbital bombardment before the Dark Empire fleet left the system and casualties were unforgivably high….but there are still some pockets of life left, more reclusive tribes and smaller homesteads located away from the major settlements-"

"Does the planet have enough resources to rebuild or even sustain the refugees who managed to evacuate?" TJ asked pointedly

"It does not" Corcus admitted, the words hanging in the air for a moment until Billy spoke up; breaking the silence before it could become intolerable.

"Lerigot has announced that he will be abdicating from his position as emissary and tribal chieftain" he announced "He and a few others have already announced their intentions to perform….effectively a self impose exile as a form of grieving"

"A sentiment I understand wholly" Corcus noted

"Indeed" Billy nodded before continuing "His successor wishes to renegotiate the terms of the Liarian peoples' treaties with the Alliance….effectively they wish to be given a Colony Ship with which to establish a new home"

"They lost their world because the Dark Empire knows we need their help….the request is more than fair" TJ sighed "An entire species….there's less than a thousand of them left in the galaxy now. I'll throw my support behind the Liarians and encourage other former Rangers to do the same, just in case any politicians try to use their losses as a way to strong-arm them"

"Indeed….only a thousand, and of them very few who know the secrets of their protective magic" Corcus murmured "You will forgive me for focusing on the practical aspects but you must know that the Dark Empire will press their advantage….Every Alliance world, Colony Ship and fleet should be made ready, the attacks will come soon I'm afraid and they will be relentless"

"Agreed" TJ nodded "Which is why we're going to be just as relentless in our own counter attacks….we can't afford to be as passive as we have been any longer"

"What are you planning?" Billy enquired, something about the proposition already setting his nerves on edge

"The Ranger code….only using our powers for defence; it's not enough" TJ began with a heavy sigh "We're at war and Lord Zedd has declared his intention to destroy or enslave every single planet within the Alliance, there is no negotiation with him. Every action we take against the Dark Empire is defensive by definition even if it is pre-emptive; with that in mind I'll be ordering Cruger to find wherever it is they're operating from within our borders and launch a full scale assault. He will have access to whatever assets he sees fit….including the Aegis Rangers"

"I see" Billy managed to say, there was little else he could think to reply with. TJ's decision had come suddenly and Billy found himself unable to argue with the logic that his fellow former Ranger had presented; the Dark Empire were a threat that could not be dealt with by any means other than force and refusing to take the fight to the enemy allowed that enemy to dictate the terms of the battle in perpetuity.

The fact remained however that this was against what Zordon had intended the Power Rangers to be and the last time such an action had been attempted it had been led by Tommy Oliver and had resulted in the deaths of over one hundred Rangers.

* * *

It was late the following morning, the artificial daylight having illuminated the city of Promethea One several hours ago when Zebidiah Lord's psychic presence materialised within the containment tube located in his private quarters, the magic that he had weaved into every corner of his personal space before his body had been broken coming to life as it recognised his presence to light the room and bring its' temperature to something more tolerable for human life as he waited.

Prior to manifesting himself here he had been in the timeless, spaceless void that he existed in when not actively inhabiting any one location; there was nothing his presence would add at the Command Centre and watching his own lifeless body in the medical facilities would do nothing as Grace had finally allowed herself to rest whilst Zebidiah, now a largely disembodied presence suffered no such limitations and had instead been in the meditative state that he often enjoyed when not required by any of his allies. It was both a necessary thing, allowing him to focus and conserve his mental and magical might for when it might be needed, his wounded and slowly fading body betraying him as it faded away and also an undeniably interesting experience, allowing him to contemplate things in utter solitude though the former Lord Zedd had been somewhat disappointed to see that there was no shade of Zordon that remained on this astral plane, he would never have admitted it but it would have been enlightening to speak with his oldest nemesis once more.

He was broken away from such thoughts however, the arcane runes and wards he had etched into the corridors surrounding his quarters alerting him to someone approaching and once his presence had manifested he allowed himself a small smile, reaching out with his magic revealed that the presence was undeniably Acheron which meant that there was only one being it could possibly be.

"Grandfather" Kay greeted him as they stepped into the chamber, eyeing the countless tomes, artefacts and trinkets that lined the heavily warded walls with nervous curiosity.

"I see you're well despite the tragedy on Liaria….though your appearance may raise some questions" Zebidiah noted as they regarded the being that they thought of as a grandchild even if it was true only in the loosest sense and also as a teen, despite them having been artificially aged. Kay, whilst physically unharmed looked visibly dishevelled, their clothing ruffled and dirty whilst along with their hair, whose natural spikiness and gradual shift from black to white marked them out as not entirely human had picked up several twigs and leaves somehow.

"I um, slept in a tree" Kay admitted

"Oh?" Zebidiah's projection arched an eyebrow in questioning, sure that there was an interesting story to be told there though it seemed he would have to make do with assumptions as Kay merely shrugged and answered

"Mercy needed some space after the mission"

"Ah" the sorcerer nodded their head in understanding "That girl has a quality that seems to be exacerbated in all Red Rangers, she carries the weight of the entire galaxy on her shoulders and blames herself for not being omnipotent….Self sacrifice almost to the degree of arrogance"

"I wouldn't phrase it quite like that" Kay's tone was measured, as though they were trying desperately to remain civil but were also irked by the statement which Zebidiah found gratifying, Kay's readiness to defend their supposed cousin and fellow Ranger was a sign of a loyalty that they had clearly not inherited from their father after all.

"Perhaps not" Zebidiah answered calmly "But she will blame herself regardless, yet the losses on Liaria were not total; meaning that there is a spark of hope that remains….and if dealing with humans and Power Rangers has taught me anything it's that when given even the tiniest spark of hope you can do great things"

"Let's hope so" Kay breathed out and Zebidiah studied their features, realising suddenly that whatever it was that had compelled his grandchild to visit they would get to the crux of the matter at any moment

"How can I held you Kay?" the former Lord Zedd asked in an unusually gentle tone "Something clearly troubles you"

"We should all be troubled by what happened" they answered quickly before pausing a moment and visibly working up the nerve to continue "But I was speaking with Panthera and thinking….The Liarians were saved by their own magic, the Dark Empire uses magic freely in battle and both you and Lord Zedd can wield it….would it be possible for you to teach me?"

"It would certainly be possible for me to try" Zebidiah answers "Though I must warn you, Acheron magic is vastly different to that used by the Liarians and it would not be an easy or pleasant process if I were to take you as a student"

"But would you be willing to teach me?" Kay's voice grew more insistent "If it could mean the difference between-"

"I will teach you" Zebidiah answered simply, though he swiftly added a warning "You will not find me a forgiving teacher however"

"Thank you" Kay beamed, the vivid pink irises of their unnatural eyes seemed to shine with happiness as they smiled.

Zebidiah had given another spark of hope, now all that remained was to see what that spark ignited.

**Author's Notes:**

So, that's the end of another arc….and as big of a hit as the Rangers and the Alliance took there are still some silver linings and positives to be found.  
I'm gonna take a break from this story next week just to get some planning done because I have the bare bones of the next arc written down but not the scene by scene breakdown I have ready before I start writing.  
Also, the next arc is going to be the finale of the entire second act and will be six chapters long rather than the usual four….and if you remember how the first act ended the you know there's a paradigm shift coming.

But anyway let's summarise shall we?:  
Yay for new area unlocked right? We hadn't seen the Zord Hangars since we left the Aquabase….Also yeah, some use of the big ol' space under the city itself.  
Seriously even if you can't hear sirens at this point in human history within the story, if you saw Rangers running you'd be sure to get the fuck out of there.  
The Dark Empire just handed out a Capital L.  
Oh Mercy is beyond pissed and she definitely gonna take not being able to get her Battleizer working hard.  
So Mercy is being way too hard on herself here, there is literally nothing that she could have done; the entire fight against the monster was nothing but a way to draw them out….At the same time, she was literally made to be a Power Ranger so this is gonna be a fresh identity crisis on top of everything else.  
So I had Lerigot pull out the key he used….Because I literally forgot it existed until one of my readers reminded me of it; so that being said, Lerigot and a handful of other Liarians are still out there but the losses were massive.  
And this was Lord Zedd's plan; Liaria provided magical protection to the Alliances' fleet and equipment, with Liaria gone the Alliance now has less protection and are ripe for a war of attrition.  
Panthera's an alien cat girl, of course she instinctively climbs away from her problems.  
Remember what Panthera was doing when we first met her and how scared of going against the Dark Empire directly she was, she's seen some shit.  
And now for the moment you were all waiting for lol.  
So they finally kissed….And Panthera is a definite top.  
Oof Mari needs a break, that was her first mission as a Ranger and considering how she became the Gold Ranger….she is not having a good time.  
Punk/emo Rensa just works.  
"_Someone as angry as you shouldn't have the amount of power you've got"_ is she wrong though?  
I had a realisation when writing Mari's scene that had been half-formed for the rest of the chapter; it was that Douglas Adams' was right when he wrote in Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy that you can't even process the destruction of an entire planet, it's just too much for the brain to handle.  
So Mari moving in with the others can be seen as her accepting that she's a Ranger and a parallel to Kay not moving in immediately because they weren't _accepted as_ a Ranger.  
Yay for friendships.  
Carnifex and his troops have an odd code of honour, yes they'll wipe and entire continent out from orbit and kill everything living on it but in face to face combat it's fair fights only.  
Lerigot panicking and taking everyone he could out to the desert where the Command Centre used to be just because it was the only place he thought would be safe….that hit me in a way I didn't expect.  
And now it's official TJ is the new Dana and is working out of the Aquabase, which is steadily being repaired.  
So 90% of the habitable areas of Liaria are gone; the only Liarians left are a few small tribes that avoided the worst of it, Lerigot and his people and whoever was off-world at the time. A thousand, give or take of an entire species.  
TJ wants to go on the attack and I can't fault that logic….now let's hope this attempt to hit the Dark Empire on their own doorstep works better than the last one.  
Zebidiah and Zordon finally making peace would be interesting but nope, it's not to be here….the dead, with a few notable exceptions, stay dead.  
It's been a while since Kay called Zebidiah Grandfather.  
They slept in the tree, enjoy that thought.  
"_Self sacrifice almost to the degree of arrogance"_….Is he wrong? You have to be a certain level of self important to think you can save everyone.  
"_If dealing with humans and Power Rangers has taught me anything it's that when given even the tiniest spark of hope you can do great things"_ and once again, is he wrong?  
So Kay's gonna try and learn magic….I have plans for this, don't you worry.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
The Ultrazord was fun to design, in my head it looks great.  
As for the targeting magical societies; the short answer is Resources.  
The long answer is a bit more complicated, Lord Zedd never told Paradoxa to attack Triforia she had been given permission to wage war as she saw fit at the time and she needed the resource of the Triforians themselves in order to make a forge for new Putties. Lord Zedd attacked Liaria in order to deny the Alliance the resource of the Liarians' magic which will in turn cause them to lose more ships and force them onto the defensive.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	48. The Day After Tomorrow (Arc 12)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 47 – The Day After Tomorrow**

Mercy's bedroom within the Aegis Ranger's private suite above the student dormitories was largely tidy and well organised, the stereotypical messiness associated with teenagers being nullified and negated by a lifetime spent on the Lightspeed Aquabase where random checks were uncommon but not unheard of and every cadet was expected to take care of their own uniform and other equipment as they would any of their other belongings and the cost of lost property would be deducted from their monthly stipend. The relatively spacious room was, as a result clean but still from Spartan or without character as Mercy had strung multicoloured fairy lights around a full length mirror that stood in one corner; posters of former Power Rangers adorned the walls as Mercy had been simply to attached to the relics from her childhood to throw them aside and a series of shelves and a lone bookcase were filled with books, comics, various awards she had achieved over the years and various collectibles some of which were noteworthy in how rare they were. On her bedside table Mercy kept framed photographs of her younger self surrounded by the squad of cadets she had once been part of, a picture of her team, Morphed and victorious that had been taken by the press and a picture of herself and Aslaug on one of their dates that had thankfully gone uninterrupted; her communicator and Morpher were also kept on the small table so that they could be grabbed at a moments' notice if the need arose.

Light streamed into the room as the artificial day and night cycle of Promethea One saw the armoured protective dome that encased the city, keeping its' atmosphere inside and shielding its' inhabitants from the void of space, began to display the image of a bright blue and cloudless sky though the temperature remained consistently comfortable whilst the birds that inhabited the city had already awoken and continued to chirp; early morning on the Colony Ship was peaceful.

Or at least it would be if the headboard of Mercy's bed wasn't thudding repeatedly into the wall as the Red Ranger muffled her own screams of pleasure by moaning into Aslaug's mouth.

Time to be alone together had become increasingly scarce since the razing of Liaria though the two of them had fallen asleep nestling into one another in Mercy's bed the night before and now it seemed as though Aslaug was determined to make up for every moment of intimacy that the two had missed.

One of Mercy's thighs was between her legs whilst both of Mercy's legs were locked around Aslaug's own muscular thigh and the larger woman gripped the headboard with both hands, fears that it might shatter in her grasp pushed from her mind entirely as each roll and thrust of her hips tore fresh sound of pleasure from Mercy who grabbed and clawed at her hips, breasts, sculpted back muscles and any other part of her she could reach whilst a low throaty growl escaped Aslaug as he took Mercy's lip between her teeth until, just as it seemed as though Mercy's muscles were about to tighten and her mind go utterly, blissfully blank she instead rolled them both over so that she was straddling Aslaug and the powerfully built tribal warrior found herself gazing up at light brown and lightly freckled skin that seemed to glow as the light caught the sheen of sweat that clung to her. Aslaug wasted no time in reaching and hungrily, kissing, teasing and gently biting her way down Mercy's neck and chest until she was cupping one of the smaller woman's breasts and finally came to a stop

"What's the matt-oh" Mercy's ragged and breathless whine at the sudden lack of motion became a tender whisper as she saw what had caught Aslaug's attention

"I could have lost you….before we had ever had a chance" she murmured the words almost fearfully before leaning close and gently kissing each of the scars that marred Mercy's breast and ribs where she had been impaled on Edenoi by Panthera's sister, brainwashed and mutilated almost beyond recognition by the Dark Empire.

"But you didn't….I'm here, I'm here" Mercy ran her fingers through dusty blonde hair that had been allowed to cascade Aslaug's shoulders, free from the undercut wolf-tail it was often tied back in and was currently plastered to her tanned and tattooed skin.

The tender moment was ruined by the sound of an alarm.

"And now you're not here, not really" Aslaug sighed, trying her hardest not to sound bitter or irritable

"Don't do this, please" Mercy whispered "I need to shower, then I need to train"

"Alone again?" Aslaug asked, already knowing the answer and Mercy gave a silent and barely perceptible nod as she slipped out of the bed.

Ever since Liaria had fallen and its' few surviving people had been scattered across the galaxy in search of refuge Mercy had begun pushing herself harder than every before and it would be pointless to deny that it had begun to take a toll on her relationship with Aslaug. The Yellow Ranger was a fighter to her core and appreciated the value of striving to become stronger or to reach new heights and surpass previous limitations, she was also astute enough to know that what Mercy was doing was something else entirely.

The Red Ranger was punishing herself.

"So what will you be enduring today?" Aslaug asked as she watched Mercy wrap a thin red coloured robe around herself that in any other circumstances would have only made her more attractive to the yellow Ranger "The endless assault courses, the training under increased gravity or will you just be sparring with everyone who's willing to face you at the same time again?" she fought to keep any trace of anger or accusation out of her voice and instead simply tried to convey just how worried for Mercy's health she was, this extreme training to the point of obsession was always done alone so that there was nobody to try and dissuade from pushing herself even further and she had already returned injured or barely able to stand on more than one occasion.

"I need to get stronger Aslaug, the Dark Empire are on our doorstep….they're winning the war" Mercy's voice was little more than grief-filled whisper and Aslaug found herself unable to dispute that fact, with Liaria no longer providing magical protection to the Alliances' fleet in addition to its' more mundane shielding the Dark Empire had been destroying ships in far greater numbers, their own fleet striking and vanishing without a trace and leaving gutted hulks of warships and transports in their wake. The Rangers were yet to be deployed against such an assault however and the Yellow Ranger was not quite willing to accept her leader and partners' reasoning just yet.

"When I joined this team I said that you were my Jarl now, where you lead I follow so let me follow you Mercy….let me train with you, I'll be beside you in every battle" Aslaug considered it a small victory when she saw Mercy's expression soften and become a little less resolute, the Red Ranger clearly struggling to deny herself this small reprieve from the gruelling regimens she inflicted on herself. Eventually though she shook her head and sighed

"You're busy today, you have to speak with Terra Venture"

"Then wait for me?" Aslaug almost pleaded, Mercy was correct however; it had been discerned that the atmosphere and climate of Mirinoi was hospitable to Liarians and rather than take a Colony Ship into the far reaches of the galaxy the leader who had succeeded Lerigot had chosen to settle on the Yellow Ranger's home-world and rebuild his peoples' way of life as much as possible; the problem with this however was that the colonists of Terra Venture simply did not have the authority to give such a large swathe of the planet away without first consulting the various tribes of Mirinoi and to this end Aslaug had been asked to act as an intermediary, speaking as both a Power Ranger and Princess of the Frost Fang Tribe.

"I can't" Mercy answered finally, seeming almost defeated before making her way back to bed and straddling Aslaug's lap as she had been only moments early and wrapping her arms around broad, powerful shoulders.

"But I'll see if any of the others can join me instead" she offered, her deep brown eyes meeting piercing icy blue "I won't train alone"

"Thank you"

"I love you"

"I love you too" Aslaug answered, allowing herself a small gentle smile at this compromise that she supposed she could consider a victory, a smile that only widened when Mercy softly kissed her lips before leaving the bed again and Aslaug watched her make her way out of the room, clearly hoping to take a shower before any of the others could claim it. The Yellow Ranger let out a slow sigh and flopped backwards onto the bed, glancing up and seeing that she had indeed splintered parts of the headboard whilst making love to the Red Ranger.

She was not a politician or a negotiator and had no idea what the task would involve beyond trying to make people who were not naturally inclined to do so care for people they did not know.

Though compared to making Mercy Jackson take care of herself it hardly seemed like a challenge.

* * *

To Billy Cranston the Lightspeed Moon Base would always be Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's castle no matter what changes were made and how many victories were made possible by those who worked here though he could still admit that Commander Cruger's office was impressive. The vaguely canine alien presided over the base from what could best be described as a Command Centre in its' own right, the walls lined with various screens and consoles with gleaming and pristine utilitarian designs that displayed constantly updating information from all corners of the Alliance and far beyond, Billy was sure that if he were to peruse the likely encrypted information he would find reports from the KO Thirty-Five guerilla fighters and perhaps other operatives within Dark Empire space. It was also notable, though the former Blue Ranger reasoned that it was almost certainly a product of his own mind, that the sense of pervading dread and crackling arcane energy that clung to the alien fortress didn't reach this office; allowing him to focus his attention fully on Cruger himself who sat at a simple but plainly well crafted and expensive desk with the ancestral sword of his people hanging on the wall behind him.

"Commander Cruger" Billy nodded his head slightly in recognition, struggling to keep any trace of his own distaste from his voice whilst being certain that it would be detected by the head of the Moonbase anyway.

His issues with Cruger were professional rather than personal and likely stemmed from the fact that the former Blue Ranger had simply not spent as much time directly involved in defending the Alliance as Kimberley had; Billy saw himself as a decent and honourable man and whilst he would concede that in the fight against a foe as relentless as the Dark Empire underhanded tactics such as infiltration, sabotage, assassinations and inciting rebellions would all serve a purpose the fact remained that he found them hard to stomach and was not inclined to trust those who used them so readily. The fact that Cruger's own hand-picked students, Strike Squad Alpha had all turned traitor and delivered means to create the Green Ranger to the Dark Empire was also something that raised questions about his leadership in Billy's mind however such issues were pushed to the back of his mind as Cruger spoke.

"Please, call me Doggie" his voice was naturally gruff, yet still clipped and cultured "We have important matters to discuss….I'm sure that you're aware of the enemies' attacks"

"I am" Billy confirmed, whilst the Aegis Rangers had not been used in any of the ship to ship boarding actions and space battles that had become the hallmark of the Dark Empires' latest spree of lightning fast attacks he, along with the rest of Mission Control had been made aware of the events as they unfolded, either watching from the Command Centre on Promethea One or receiving reports that listed the casualties and explained in great detail how the raids were part of a larger campaign of attrition that Lord Zedd's forces were waging, wearing down the Alliance now that their ability to protect and replenish their fleet had been limited.

"You're also aware that I've been tasked with locating the enemies' base of operations within Alliance space and destroying it?" Cruger questioned, waiting for Billy to nod silently before continuing "These attacks on our fleet and shipping routes will not be the end, all evidence suggests that once the Empire forces believe us to be suitably bloodied they'll move to attacking small outposts, colonies and space stations before using the resources they take to start seizing control of the Alliance one planet at a time…..which means they need to be stopped now, fortunately I believe I have a plan that will accomplish both goals and I will be enlisting the Aegis Rangers in order to complete it" Billy's brow furrowed as he processed the information, wondering how Cruger intended to halt the Dark Empire's attacks whilst also finding their hidden base; the answer occurred to him a moment later and his distaste at the subterfuge Cruger and those under his command employed showed plainly on his face

"What are you planning on sacrificing in order to draw them out?" Billy demanded and if Cruger were in any way bothered by the naked disgust in the humans' voice it didn't reach his face or body language at all, instead the blue skinned canine gave a small smile as if pleased that Billy had caught on so quickly before gesturing to one of the many screens which flickered into life at some unseen command to display a vast industrial landscape on a world that Billy couldn't readily identify

"The Carpathia shipyards" Cruger answered simply before elaborating "I've spent the last few weeks quietly redirecting ships and personnel and resources away from Carpathia so that it's now almost entirely empty, staffed almost entirely by Silver Guardian Specialists….I've also made sure that the Dark Empire come into possession of falsified information, information that will lead them to believe that we are developing a new model of ship there that will negate their recent victories"

"And when they attack the Aegis Rangers will be waiting for them?" Billy surmised

"Deployed to the planet shortly after the Empire attacks, better to not arouse suspicion" Cruger corrected before adding "Further to this several Rangers from other teams and other forces have offered their support for the second stage of the plan….The Aegis Rangers are to let a certain amount of the Dark Empire forces retreat, after placing a tracking device on them so that we can follow them to their hideout and launch a full-scale assault"

"You're planning to attack Lord Zedd directly"

"I will be on the battlefield in person….I will not ask others to sacrifice more than I am willing to do myself" Cruger answered, earning himself a modicum of respect from Billy "This will be a hard fought battle, but defeating Lord Zedd himself here isn't the objective….he may be powerful but if his entire fleet is crippled and resources destroyed then the threat he presents is effectively neutralised. He's only one person"

Billy found that pronouncement to be far too flippant, yet at the same time accepted that the Dark Empire had to be stopped and that this plan had at least some chance of success and finally relented, accepting what needed to be done.

"When will the mission be proceeding"

"Forces on the ground are standing by, waiting for the Dark Empire to arrive" Cruger informed him "Take the tracking device from Bulk and Skull and wait to be alerted"

"Understood" Billy nodded before turning on his heel and preparing to leave whilst attempting to keep his expression neutral, privately however he noted that of all the things he had seen that defied belief since the moment he had become a Power Ranger, his former school bullies Bulk and Skull becoming capable professionals was amongst the strangest.

* * *

Tempestus's room within the Aegis Ranger's suite was as vastly different to Mercy's as the surface of Aquitar was to that of Earth; the lighting was kept perpetually dim if not truly dark and what light was available was tinted in various, ever-shifting shades of blue and sea green, gleaming and reflecting from the various metallic surfaces the could be found around the room. The walls were decorated with Aquitian scrolls and texts that gave it the air of some ancient shrine that was juxtaposed harshly against shelves that were filled with a collection of records ranging across several decades as Tempestus found the older, analogue technology something distinctly human as Aquitar had progressed beyond the need for it long before he was born. Overall the room had the feeling of being a tribute to both the Blue Aegis Ranger's Aquitian heritage and the culture of his adoptive human father whilst in the space that a bed would have occupied a single pod, large enough for Tempestus to be entirely submerged within stood; filled with water taken from his home-world which he slept in every night in order to stay healthy on the Colony Ship that may as well have been a desert to him.

As he stepped out of the pod only a few droplets of water reached the floor before his skin absorbed any liquid before it could got waste, leaving him entirely dry in a matter of seconds and ready to begin his day. He quickly dressed himself, picking out a particularly lurid floral shirt that he had learned did not truly hurt his fellow Ranger's eyes, it was merely their idea of humour and a simple pair of cargo shorts, the denim material that many humans wore was something he found irritating if worn for too long and finally added several pieces of customary Aquitian attire that resembled jewellery which denoted the city state he hailed from and that which had taken him in as an orphan along with his status within it, with these in place along with his Morpher and communicator in place he stepped out into the common area and hoped that he wouldn't be put off of his breakfast by the sight of Panthera all but savaging a hunk of some still bloody meat.

"Good morning" the sleepy voice caught Tempestus off guard in his own still only half-awake state, it was only mid-morning after all even if the Ranger's suite had the feeling of having been filled with activity for some time now. It was Marigold who had spoken, the Gold Aegis Ranger having abandoned all lingering pretence of normality moved in with her team-mates only a few weeks ago and the sight of seeing the normally well put together young woman with tousled, messy hair and wearing an oversized t-shirt, boxer shorts and fluffy slippers as she ate breakfast whilst still clearly bleary eyed was one that still seemed oddly incongruous to Tempestus yet he quickly recovered and returned the greeting

"'Sup home-skillet" at his words Mari promptly began choking on miso soup that she struggled not to spray everywhere as she burst out laughing, a reaction that Tempestus had become used to and had explained to him since he had first arrived on Earth even if it still seemed odd to him that entire swathes of a language could fade out of fashion with each generation.

"One day we're gonna have to teach you some more up to date slang" she finally managed to choke out as she recovered from her coughing fit

"Mercy said that it would somehow make it even funnier?" Tempestus countered, it was something he had asked her early on in their friendship and he was still not sure exactly how this would work but trusted the Red Ranger's judgement nonetheless.

"That's fair" Mari accepted, Tempestus made his way passed her and towards the kitchen area so that he could start preparing a traditional Aquitian breakfast, or at least the closest thing to one that he could create with the food available to him on Promethea One; as he began he continued speaking to Mari over his shoulder

"Are the others still sleeping, it's odd for them to be this late?"

"It's just here, everyone else is already gone" Marigold informed him "I caught Rensa before he left, he's got an appointment he needs to go to, Aslaug has to be part of a conference call with people on Mirinoi, Terra Venture and the natives; I think Mercy, Panthera and Kay are all training but I don't know if they're all together"

"We can hope so, Panthera and Kay might stop Mercy from training until she passes out" Tempestus noted, unable to keep the worry from creeping into his voice as he thought of the extremes his leader was pushing herself to and how her unwavering dedication was fast becoming fanaticism. Tempestus knew of Aslaug's foray into diplomacy and had wished her well, stating that it was an honour for her to be chosen for such a task whilst Rensa had been attending several such appointments over the recent weeks and whilst the Blue Ranger was unsure of exactly what they were about they seemed vaguely medical in nature from what he could gather.

"What about you, do you have plans?" he asked conversationally

"I'm not sure" Mari sighed "I have class this afternoon but honestly….I don't know, I think I might not go" that was enough to make Tempestus pause and abandon his breakfast, reasoning that since it wasn't being cooked he didn't have to worry about burning it the slender, dark skinned teen made his way back to where Marigold was sat and scrutinised her closely

"Are you well?" he asked, the idea of the normally studious Gold Ranger abandoning classes for anything other than illness simply not occurring to him.

"Nah, I'm okay" she shook her head and let out another sigh "It's just….I don't know if you'll get it but part of me wants focus on classes and college stuff so I can have a life outside of being a Ranger but part of me wants to drop out, just call off anything that isn't related to saving the galaxy because doing anything else feels like a complete waste of time"

"I understand" Tempestus assured her with a quiet murmur before sitting cross-legged beside her on the sofa

"You're trying to be two things, an intellectual and a warrior and you don't know if you can or even should…..I understand that all to well, as much as I enjoy working with the research teams on the base I was born to be a warrior, it was decided before I was born that would be place within my people"

"Damn" Mari noted bluntly before lamenting "I just don't feel like I'm ready for any of this, despite what any of you say I don't feel like I'm ready to be a Power Ranger but I know that I can't just give this responsibility away to someone else….how do you deal with it?" Tempestus couldn't help but chuckle at the questioned

"Well I dealt with the first problem by beating Blademaster Corcus in single combat to prove that I can be more than just a warrior without sacrificing my abilities, it was most bodacious" his expression became more serious as he added "As for the second problem….I knew I was going to be a Power Ranger for over a decade before I came to Earth, a prototype Morpher my father was working on reacted to me when I touched it even without a Power Coin when I was a child and I spent most of my childhood training and learning after that yet I still felt unprepared when the time came. Believe me Mari, you are doing everything you can…..you'll never feel prepared for this life because there is no real way to prepare"

"Thanks" Mari breathed out, managing at least a small smile "That actually helps a little"

"Well if you want I can train and spar with you this morning, before you head to class" Mari caught the subtle manipulation but chose not to comment on it, instead nodding and gratefully accepting the offer even as a slightly unwelcome thought occurred to her

"Sure, sounds like a plan….unless the Empire finally decide to stop attacking spaceships and show up somewhere where we can fight back"

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time Rensa left the office of the psychiatrist that had been assigned to him, a slew of hissed and snarled curses on his lips as he did so; the Black Ranger struggling to remind himself that these meetings were for his fellow Rangers, who were as much his people as those he had wandered the wastelands of Dread had been and that as such he would persevere no matter how pointless and ridiculous it seemed to him.

He had begun the sessions at the suggestion of Marigold, the request of Mercy and finally the insistence of Mission Control, who had been advised by Cestria upon the conclusion of her usual medical examinations of the Aegis Rangers that the Black Ranger was suffering from issues that went beyond her remit or field of expertise.

The problem, Rensa noted irritably was that the so called experts had no frame of reference through which to understand or assess him either.

Appalled and astounded proclamations from professionals who had lived peaceful lives on peaceful planets at the core the Alliance where the Dark Empire, any of the smaller despots amongst the galaxy and their armies or bands of marauding pirates and mindless hives of all consuming beasts had either been beaten back by incarnations of the Power Rangers or had simply never reached at all meant little to Rensa who had been raised on a death world and had grown so accustomed to horrors that the countless deaths he had witnessed had all begun to blur together. They wrung their hands over his black and white view of things, as if he had ever been afforded the luxury of time to reason and debate the nuances of morality, they questioned his almost casual use of violence as if it were not the only way of life on the prison world he had been raised on and as if any hesitation would not have seen him gutted and devoured by either the beasts that skulked in the darkness that covered the world or another tribe whose members had grown desperate enough to resort to cannibalism.

After weeks of trying to reach enough of a common ground to have a meaningful discussion about his trauma with the psychiatrists Rensa had finally begun to simply explain the history of the world he hailed from or what little of it he knew to them to paint a picture of what the professionals had laughably called his _'home life' _in truth the pallid an emaciated teen knew little beyond what he had seen for himself or been told by older members of the nomadic clan he had been born into, he did not for instance know the true name of the planet that its' original in inhabitants had called it before it had become simply 'Dread' but he could explain in great detail the native monsters and the various clans, tribes and sects that had grown from prison gangs on the doomed and abandoned world as well as the various conflicts, blood debts and agreements between them.

It all felt like wasted effort however and Rensa felt that if he was going to be forced to talk about what troubled him rather than simply act then it would be far more useful to speak with someone who could at least understand him.

With that in mind he skulked from the joint Promethea and Project Lightspeed base in which the therapy sessions had been taking place towards the student dormitories, with several people moving aside or even crossing the street to avoid him as he passed, realising that the impossibly pale and thin teenager clad in ripped black clothing adorned with chains spikes and studs was not simply expressing their personal style; his glossy green-black hair, bottomless jet black eyes and teeth that were too sharp to be human marking him out as something else entirely. Eventually he reached the building and put his natural abilities to use, scaling the almost sheer surface with ease and clambering onto the roof with his limbs twisting in ways that many would find unnatural and once he had some privacy he took a moment to simply stare out at the city before sitting, hunched up with his limbs held close to him as he activated his communicator and attempted to reach Andros.

For months the Black Ranger had been able to speak with the man who had been both a mentor and father figure to Rensa and a leader and protector to his people; taking the scattered and desperate tribes and forging them into a resistance against the Dark Empire but ever since his death and subsequent resurrection on Mirinoi the former Red Astro Ranger had been far easier to contact, the loss of his connection to the Morphing Grid forcing him to trade a life of a guerilla fighter operating deep in Dark Empire space, cut off from outside aid for one as a teacher on his own world of KO Thirty-Five where he searched for someone worthy to inherit his Morpher; Rensa's communicator chirped and bleeped several times before a familiar voice finally greeted him.

"Rensa, is everything okay?"

"That would depend on who you ask" Rensa noted with an unmistakably moody edge to his voice that was enough to catch Andros of guard, of all the things he expected to have to deal with when he had taken Rensa under his wing as a potential Ranger a stereotypical teenager had not been one of them and he felt suddenly out of his depth

"What's happened, something is clearly troubling you?" he asked, bracing himself for whatever the answer might be; he had grown up on a world at war and forced to mature quickly leaving him as utterly baffled by the lives of the average adolescent human as he expected his young ward was.

"Therapy" Rensa hissed the word with utter contempt, confusing Andros even further "The people here worry about me, they think I have some some sort of trauma that their soldiers suffer from-"

"And do you think that you don't?" Andros asked the question leaving Rensa blinking in surprise as he stared at the communicator on his wrist

"There's no shame in struggling Rensa" Andros added, his voice becoming a murmur that suggested he had more than his own fair share of nightmares "We all leave the war with scars that others can't see"

"The war isn't over" Rensa replied simply

"Do you want it to be?" Andros asked carefully

"Of course I want to defeat the Dark Empire" Rensa replied, the usually gentle voice that stood at odd with his almost sinister appearance becoming irate

"That isn't what I asked" Andros countered "I asked if you wanted your war to be over, when we….either the Aegis Rangers or the Alliance as a whole finally defeat Lord Zedd; will you stop fighting?" there was a heavy silence that hung between the two, the air thick with tension despite the incalculable distance between them until finally Rensa answered, his voice barely more than an annoyed mutter as he clearly tried to dismiss the idea entirely but found himself unable

"There is good and there is evil, even without Lord Zedd everything good would have to be protected from the evil; there'd be something else, some new threat….besides, what else could I be?" This final admission caused his voice to drop to a fearful whisper and though Andros couldn't see them Rensa's eyes were wide as he added "Is this why I haven't been able to use the Battleizer you gave me? Because on some level I don't really want to-"

"Listen to me" Andros interjected, halting a potentially self-destructive train of thought before it could gain momentum "You're an outstanding Power Ranger and no Ranger ever went through their life or career without struggles or worries about the future….you'll be fine with or without the Battleizer. Lord Zedd and the Dark Empire will be defeated and whatever comes after, you'll handle that as well but right now….You're young, too young for the responsibility that you've been given and you've still got all the time in the world"

"Thank you" Rensa whispered, swallowing thickly "That helped….more than anything the idiots with clipboards said ever could"

"Glad to be able to help" Andros assured him "Hopefully soon you'll be able to visit KO Thirty-Five; I'd be interested to see what you make of some of these potential recruits"

"If they were to take your Morpher….would that make them part of our clan?" Rensa asked curiously, on Dread fresh arrivals to the Prison World were usually either killed or adopted by the group of nomads that found them depending on their luck.

"Perhaps" Andros mused "Have you ever thought about being an older brother?"

"I can learn how to be" Rensa answered eagerly and Andros couldn't help but chuckle

"I'm sure you could" he answered "I have to go, call any time you need to….And I'm sure it was one of your friends who suggested you talk to a therapist; just remember that they might not understand you as well as you'd like but they do want you to be happy"

"Thank you" Rensa managed to murmur, screwing his eyes shut for a moment. A moment later the communication ended and the Black Ranger was truly alone the roof, yet he strangely felt less displaced and stranded than he had for quite some time.

* * *

"Again!" Zebidiah's voice was an insistent and booming command that sent a chill visibly rippling through the air, expanding outwards from the tube that housed his psychic presence within his quarters. An ordinary human would have suffered under the assault whereas Kay merely shook the frost from their clothes before narrowing their human eyes, hot pink irises seeming to glow against black sclera and trying again.

Zebidiah had been true to his word and had attempted to teach the Acheron mystic arts to his grandchild, he had unfortunately also been honest when he had promised Kay that the tutelage would be neither pleasant or easy and that he would be an unforgiving teacher.

The current lesson involved gathering and projecting magical energy which the former Lord Zedd had explained was the basic foundations that all other magic was built upon and though Kay had been attentive, studious and determined it was clear that they were still struggling.

The Green Ranger braced themselves with their feet at shoulder width apart and their hands held at their chest, one above the other and forming a rough circle as they slowed their breathing and focused intently and within moments small specks of light flickered into existence at the room and began to gravitate towards Kay until they were wreathed in an incandescent green aura that subtly shifted around them and as they gathered and focused yet more power the air around them began to reek of ozone and take on a charged quality that left hairs standing on end before lighting bolts of brilliant white began to crackle and arc across their body

"Good" Zebidiah beamed "You can gather and focus the energy. Now, direct it" Kay grit their teeth and thrust their arms forwards as if they were Morphed and were using a ranged attack as the Green Ranger yet the magic refused to comply and instead of flowing through their hands and outwards as a stream of raw power a shock-wave simply erupted from their body, sending them crashing to the ground and gasping for breath

"Damn it!" Kay spat as they dragged themselves upright once again, seeing the smoke billowing from their clothes and that the paint had been stripped from their nails by the mishap; their oddly musical voice letting out angry curses seemed wrong somehow but Kay paid no mind to anything other than their goal as they returned to their stance and prepared to try again.

"Wait" Zebidiah demanded, booming voice reverberating around the chambers which had been magically protected to ensure that the Green Ranger's forays into the arcane arts didn't cause any lasting damage. Kay's shoulders sagged as they glanced up at where their Grandfather's image floated suspended in the clear tube Zebidiah's expression was as it had been for much of these lessons, stern, stoic and unflinching yet seeing the frustration on Kay's face it became something slightly more gentle

"You are trying your best" Zebidiah murmured

"But it isn't working" Kay retorted, a horrible idea coming to their mind "What if I just can't? What if I'm too human to use Acheron magic?"

"Then I will find a human who can teach you theirs or instruct you in them myself as I did for select students on Earth" the sorcerer replied frankly before his own brow furrowed as he was plagued by his own unwelcome thoughts "Although perhaps you might be better suited to another teacher"

"What? Why?" Kay demanded, concerned and almost affronted by the idea.

"You are a Power Ranger" Zebidiah said simply, pausing a moment to choose his words carefully "As a Ranger you are sworn to protect….Acheron magic is the antithesis, it is forceful and violent, every aspect of it is an act of domination and subjugation of natural forces. You are more than capable of using the arcane arts Kay but I wonder if perhaps a Triforian or even an Aquitian healer like Cestria would be able to instruct you more properly; perhaps you might need a catalyst to fully develop your abilities"

"Whatever you think is for the best" Kay mumbled, clearly unhappy with the idea as they ran their hands through hair that marked them out as something not entirely human, unnaturally spiky and faded from jet black to snow white at the tips; the movement also caused the pale green tank-top that they had worn with simple sweatpants for the training to shift and reveal that their skin, whose exact tone and shade was something hard for other humans to properly describe was littered with what could only be bite-marks trailing from their neck down their chest.

"Or perhaps you're simply distracted" Kay looked bashful but was unable to keep a wistful smile from their as they thought about their steadily progressing relationship with Panthera.

Where Mercy and Aslaug had gazed longingly at one another and their relationship had been a slow, uncertain thing as the two of them had begun to explore it, neither of them seemingly willing to make any overly bold advances Panthera had known from previous experience exactly what she wanted and sought it out with gusto and Kay, eager both to please and enjoy every new experience the galaxy had to offer had obliged her. Whilst during the day things were largely unchanged between them, their previous closeness now featuring the occasional brief kiss but no less of the wicked teasing that they had often shared at night things were different and far more heated, with Kay spending nights learning things about both of them whilst beneath her, on top of her, between her thighs, behind her and more than once Panthera had been behind him whilst wearing a harness and whist Kay was bruised and marked where the Pink Ranger had bitten down on them in her pleasure she wore marks of her own where the human Acheron hybrid had lovingly left marks of their own on each of her curves, much to Panthera's enjoyment.

The enjoyable memory was not allowed to last however and Zebidiah's voice, stern once more dragged Kay back to their senses before they could truly become lost in it.

"Again"

* * *

The Draco-Ocidendum dropped to sub-light speeds, though it's advanced cloaking system masked any disturbance in local space that might give away the massive warships' presence to its' intended prey as it closed the final remaining distance, prowling through the void with a malevolent intent that seemed to radiate it from it's very hull as it moved in for the kill.

"Carpathia my Lord" one of the bridge crew announced, the guttural snarl of the knights' voice rising above the haunting and ethereal harmony of the choir of serfs that flanked Carnifex's throne; the draconic Acheron Hybrid raised a single hand to demand silence aboard the Command Bridge and rose to their feet, pacing forwards with his hands clasped behind his back as he took in the sight of the world he intended to lay low.

Carpathia was a small world that had been little more than a barren rock when the Alliance had first discovered it, a lifeless husk of a world with a craggy and grey surface broken up by oceans that were almost black whilst its' sky was peculiar in that it was almost entirely clear, stars visible almost in daylight as the atmosphere only barely tinted the sky a drab greyish blue.

The world had been one of the first that humanity had attempted to colonise in a joint effort with the Xybrian people despite how far it was from Earth itself, a sign of humanities' desire to fling themselves into every dark corner and unexplored crevice of the universe without hesitation; where the Dark Empire consumed and refined the worlds they found, taking that which they desired from a planet, culture or species and subsuming it into themselves whilst destroying everything else humanity seemed determined to share its' own culture like a gift with those worlds they landed upon and Carpathia now, at least on the continent that had been colonised sported a vast and unique ecosystem where crops from both Earth and Xybria had been grown to support the burgeoning city that the colonists had built and along with them wildlife from both worlds which had found a new equilibrium and begun to flourish.

All of this was unimportant to Carnifex however.

What the General of the Dark Empire had come for was the city of Carpathia, a metropolis of steel towers and spires constructed in human and Xybrian styles of architecture that was surrounded by a ring of farmland, the ring of green that stretched out several acres in every direction almost serving to form a target around the city.

With Liaria razed Carnifex and his fleet had been unleashed upon the Alliance by Lord Zedd and allowed to burn and pillage the enemies' ships as they saw fit and they done so joyously; putting those who would dare stand against the might of Acheron to the sword until finally Carnifex, upon butchering the crew of an Alliance warship had learned of a secret that the Alliance were keeping; they had developed a new model of warship, one that would make the magical protections that the Liarians had once provided redundant and thus undo the Dark Empire's victories and it was here, on Carpathia that these new vessels were being built, the worlds' renowned shipyards having been emptied to give them the appearance of being abandoned while they were constructed in secret.

This could not be allowed to stand and Carnifex had ordered his crew to set a course, bringing his flagship to the world as soon as possible so that he could level the city and halt this act of defiance before it could truly begin.

"Their crops will burn, their works will be cast down and their city will serve as a fitting tomb when it crumbles beneath our might" he proclaimed to a chorus of cheers from the Knights of Wyvern whose hunger for battle had only been whetted by boarding Alliance ships and cutting down all they encountered

"Prepare all weapons!" Carnifex barked "Are the Putties ready to be teleported to the surface?"

"They are my Lord" a voice answered and Carnifex gave a feral smile before turning to a figure that had stood, somewhat presumptuously at the right hand of his throne

"You will join me on the planets' surface and destroy anything that stands in your way" he ordered

"It would be an honour and a great pleasure my Lord" the voice that answered him was a shriek whose harshness was almost painful to listen to, the sound of nails on a chalkboard combined with something lower and almost metallic in the way it rasped; the voice also belonged to the only warrior aboard the Command Bridge who did not hail from Wyvern.

Their name was Falchion.

Falchion had, until the fall of Liaria served aboard another of ships with Carnifex's fleet but had served so well in the subsequent battles that the Acheron Hybrid had ordered them to be brought under his direct command, they too were an Acheron Hybrid though, as was common amongst the chimeric and mutable race the two shared little in common beyond their loyalties; Falchion had however earned themselves titles in the language of the world they had been spawned upon that translated roughly as _'the living blade'_, _'the trespasser'_ and _'the fist that breaks the world'_ cementing their status as a warrior with some promise, moreover Falchion had willingly surrendered their body to the Acheron flesh-crafters so that they could be made an even more powerful weapon; a sign of commendable loyalty and commitment.

They stood roughly six and a half feet tall, bipedal and supporting their weight on a pair of legs that were covered in bone coloured scales from the knees downwards, the knees adorned with jagged blade like protrusions whilst the limbs ended in taloned three toed claws. They wore no armour and their body had inexplicable appearance of power despite how wiry and emaciated it appeared to be, their hide was covered in what could either be described as hardened feathers or malleable scales that overlapped one another and featured serrated edges, each of them a deep mossy green colour whilst a pair of avian wings lay folded across their back, their surfaces covered with iridescent black feathers whilst between them a featherless and equally black protrusion that resembled a shark's fin could be seen pointing towards the ground.  
The evidence of the flesh-crafters work was plain to see as it stood in stark contrast to Falchion's natural form, a long metallic tail having been grafted to their body and tipped with a blade whilst augmentations ran up the length of their spine to a pair of small propulsion systems that had been hidden under their wings; the hybrids' arms had been entirely replaced and were now metallic and almost skeletal with bundles of thick black synthetic muscle laid over them, each limb ending in a three clawed hand fitted with slightly outsized talons.  
Falchion's face was a sleek and aerodynamic thing, his eyes glinting black embers that gleamed evilly in the fiery light and his avian beak having evolved into another streamlined fin that was swept back and had been modified and encased in metal to more resemble a bladed weapon.

"Good" Carnifex nodded as he drew his golden flaming sword and held it aloft, his clipped and cultured tones become a feral war-cry as he gave his next order

"NOW, TO BATTLE!"

**Author's Notes:  
**So, I'm back after a week hiatus and now we're starting the 12th arc, which is the finale of second act.  
The chapters in this arc are all named after disaster movies, which combined with the fact it's a finale should tell you just how tightly you need to buckle in.  
In Toku news Kamen Rider Sabre has been revealed and I dig the suit, but I don't want to make any kind of judgement about the premise until I actually see some of how the show approaches it.  
Also, apparently there's a Black Time Force Ranger now and she's got a big sword….cool.  
In _**much more **__**interesting**__ Unofficial_ Toku news, many of you know that whilst I'm not officially involved with Unworthy Productions in any capacity I am good friends with a few of their creative team and support their endeavours. They've just announced that in one their upcoming short films, _the Chrono Ranger origin story _Cosplayer, artist, co-host of the Power Hour and all round great person **ZungieBungie** _(Follow her on Twitter and TikTok) _will be playing the Gold Time Force Ranger…..who is, none other than Mari from DekaRanger, who is also the Gold Aegis Ranger in this story, which I personally find hilarious.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
A characters' room helps give them some character and says things about them yet we hadn't really seen any of the Aegis Ranger's room in any detail since the Aquabase so I corrected that a little.  
So, let's address the elephant in the room…..I was writing while horny on main, deal with it okay.  
And then it turned into something tender because of the scars.  
"_And now you're not here, not really"_ oof the angst.  
Yeah Mercy is pushing herself dangerously hard and has been ever since Liaria, because of course she has; would you really expect anything else from her.  
Increased gravity training because DBZ.  
The Dark Empire are pushing forwards because their victory at Liaria has had consequences, see that's what happens when you write villains with actual plans and tangible goals.  
So the Liarians are going to Mirinoi, or at least some of them and rather than just give them a chunk of a planet that isn't rightfully theirs the Alliance is negotiating with the various tribes; which means Aslaug gets to play diplomat.  
Yay for compromise.  
A face to face meeting with Billy and Cruger and I wanted to set a different tone between the two to what Cruger and Kim had.  
Cruger is the head of the space CIA/Black-Ops and Billy finds the idea of the Rangers being involved in that kind of thing uncomfortable, Kim had time to grow accustomed to it after being on the Aquabase for so long whilst Billy was on Aquitar.  
Billy's smart, not just when it comes to building thing; he figured out exactly what Cruger was planning.  
So, there's gonna be other Rangers in this chapter; team-up incoming.  
"_He's only one person"_ oh that's gonna come back and bite him.  
I'm just reminding people of the fact that Tempestus is Aquitian and does actually need water from his home-world to survive…..for _reasons_.  
Tempestus is still wearing floral shirts and now he's got a vintage record collection, because why wouldn't he have….All of the alien Rangers have got things from Earth they've latched onto.  
"'_Sup home-skillet" _you laughed….Also yeah, Mari lives with the Rangers now.  
Oof, Mari is still struggling to come to terms with being a Ranger and the effect it's having on her life.  
The little talk with Mari and Tempestus was fun, because he probably gets her problems on a level that the others don't and also because it's an interaction we haven't really seen before.  
Does that count as a fourth wall break from Mari at the end of the scene?  
Rensa is finally going to therapy.  
There's the reason that he hasn't been sent to therapy before; there aren't actually any therapists who can deal with him, he's from a world outside of the Alliance and given the nature of the Prison World he's from he's not even one distinct species; they literally don't have a baseline of frame of reference to work from when they're treating him.  
Andros is probably the only person Rensa can really talk to about his issues.  
Andros not getting teenagers just works for me.  
And there's a fun little insight into Rensa's thought process, does he want to save the galaxy or does he want the war to keep going so he can keep winning it and feel like he has a place.  
So, the possibility of a new Red Astro Ranger at some point is open.  
Kay is learning magic, but it's going slowly.  
An interesting idea from Zebidiah that Kay definitely has magic but using it the Acheron way might not be for him owing to just how destructive it is.  
Horny on main again, bite me….besides it just makes sense that Panthera wouldn't beat around the bush like Mercy and Aslaug did.  
Kay canonically gets pegged _(Only sometimes, Panthera gets that good dick as well)_ and Panthera is a former smuggler/space pirate…..make all the jokes about plundering booty you want.  
Yep, Carnifex fell for it….and he only brought one ship; like a dumb-ass.  
The little insight into the difference between human and Acheron expansions was one that occurred to me as I was writing.  
So here's how Falchion came to be: I knew I needed another monster of week type deal for this arc, I was initially thinking something like Guiron _(Hence the living blade title) _or Trespasser from Pacific Rim _(Hence that title)_ I was thinking of a name, decided on Falchion and my brain jumped to Falcon and how falcons kill their prey_ (Hence the world breaker title and the robot arms).  
_And now Carnifex is about to run dick first into a trap.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter:  
Mari getting interactions with Rangers other than Mercy is fun.  
TJ's plan is getting put into action now.  
And Kay's progress is slow, but I'm dropping hints.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	49. War Of The Worlds

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 48 – The War Of The Worlds**

The assault course that the Aegis Rangers used on Promethea One was smaller than the several training areas that they had access to back in Mariner Bay though the size was in no way a hindrance and if anything the tests that could be devised when the brightest minds of both Project Lightspeed and Promethea applied themselves were even more daunting. Rather than square miles of specially constructed and then specially destroyed city blocks the training area aboard the Colony Ship was a marvel of technology, all chrome and utilitarian white surfaces; easily a mile in any direction and filled with cubes that were roughly six feet in all dimensions.

The cubes were the first part of the assault course.

They were operated and controlled by an AI that was decidedly working against those who braved the assault course and each cube was also able to float, the combination of these two facts led to the training taking place in a three dimensional and ever-changing landscape as stacks and rows of the cubes went from forming narrow corridors to floating islands and platforms, all whilst providing screens for the attacking forces in the exercise, which were in this case several dozen bipedal and humanoid robots that could vaguely be said to resemble the Cogs of the Machine Empire, though any resemblances were entirely incidental and they also sported cartoonish toothy grins of the kind that might adorn the nose-cone of a fighter jet, courtesy of the engineers that maintained them and also, instead of optic lasers each automaton carried an under-slung and oversized, double-barrelled laser weapon. At full power the weapons would almost certainly be lethal, though for this exercise their output had been dialled back significantly so that the bolts of glowing cyan light would not kill, but would certainly still be an unpleasant experience.

As the several scorch marks on the grey sweatpants and hot pink tank-top Panthera wore, along with a patch of singed fur on her tail could attest to.

"And to think, you wanted to do this with live rounds!" The Pink Ranger called out to Mercy as the Red Ranger ducked beneath a low wall of AI controlled cubes that would likely cease acting as cover in a matter of moments close to where Panthera herself was taking cover, lasers missing her by mere inches. Panthera had offered to join the Red Ranger for a training session under the mistaken impression that she intended to spar and had found herself regretting the decision almost the moment they arrived at the adaptable assault course. Self improvement and intensive training were one thing, Panthera wholeheartedly supported Rensa's therapy, Mari's commitment to her studies and Kay's attempts to learn magic but Mercy's efforts had clearly progressed into something self destructive and the only reason that the teal-skinned and feline alien was still allowing herself to be involved was because she had been in trapped in a similar spiral before becoming a Ranger and understood that her friend needed help, even if she wouldn't accept it.

"We were close" Mercy snapped "The flag is right there!" her voice was ragged and betrayed just how frayed her nerves were; this simple but admittedly punishing capture the flag exercise pushing her to her limits.

"We need a plan" Panthera stated bluntly, trying to make Mercy mentally take a step back and think rather than simply hurl herself at the problem again and again until either it or she cracked. Before either of them could form even the vague basis of a strategy however their cover was swept aside, the AI evidently having decided that they had been given enough time to recover and as the relatively low wall of single cubes reformed itself into a pillar the automatons on the other side of it took aim at the two unmorphed Power Rangers.

"MOVE!" Mercy yelled, bursting into motion and seizing Panthera by the waist to practically tackle her out of the line of fire; the air sizzling and stinking of ozone as bolts light whizzed by, the robots that had fired them steadily advancing as both Mercy and Panthera sprinted away and made their way into a nearby corridor of stacked cubes.

"Okay, I've got a plan….but you're not gonna like it" Mercy informed Panthera through her gasps and pants as the two of them came to a halt, certain that they would be attacked again at any moment

"I'm listening"

"I'm gonna be the bait-No listen to me!" Mercy gesticulated frantically to cut off Panthera's imminent objections "Listen, the 'bots are gonna be on us again in a sec so we split up and I draw their fire; when these blocks start to reform you get onto one of the airborne platforms that it makes and attack from above to get the flag….You're better suited for that kind of thing" Panthera frowned but found herself agreeing that her physiology and experience made her more capable in three dimensional plans of attack and moreover pleased that Mercy was using some sort of logical and rationale.

Then the sound of metallic footsteps intruded upon the discussion

"Go" Mercy ordered "I'll be two steps behind you, they need to see me so I can draw them off" Panthera nodded and without hesitation sprinted ahead, happy that her friend and leader sounded a little more like herself again. The sound of the automatons' weapons firing reached her ears as she rounded a corner though it was soon drowned out by the low bass note that each of the cubes that formed the training area emitted as they were displaced and reformed and Panthera watched as vast portions of the walls of the maze like corridors and alleys that they had been fighting in were pulled away to allow fresh batches of robots to approach more quickly, however as they were pulled upwards by some unseen force the lithe and agile alien woman pounced and put the plan into motion and leapt from one block to another as they moved through the air until finally she landed on a congregation of automated cubes that had formed something she could use as a pathway and immediately she bolted towards this impromptu route towards the flag that she and Mercy intended to capture.

The cubes ahead of her moved aside and laser-beams burst up through the opening like a geyser of pure light as robots that had detected her approach began firing directly upwards; Panthera frantically leapt away from the path and onto one of the cubes that had moved only to be forced to immediately leap again as several groups of robots opened fire on her.

"Damn it!" Panthera spat, letting out a slew of hissed curses in several languages as she continued to leap from platform to platform; narrowly avoiding laser-fire yet getting no closer to her goal as she was forced to constantly change direction and double back on herself to evade the incessant stream of incoming attacks until finally she chanced a glance downwards and was both stunned and utterly galled at what she saw

"YOU USED ME AS BAIT!" she demanded as she saw that Mercy had, in a ploy that Panthera could at least admit was something that she herself might have attempted but was still a far cry from what she expected from Mercy turned her strategy on its head and allowed Panthera to be targeted whilst she ran directly towards the objective, she was only meters away from it and the Pink Ranger realised that as long as the AI continued to target her instead of Mercy for a few seconds longer they would be successful, with that in mind she leapt and flipped through the air, watching with baited breath until Mercy was mere feet away from the flag, a single leap would see them victorious.

"Simulation halted. Preparing to reset"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Mercy demanded, voice trembling with furious frustration at the announcement that the AI had made, the robots ceased fire and the automated hovering blocks that form the training area froze in place, Panthera quickly leapt down to the ground and saw that her friends' fists were clenched tight and shaking as she struggled to control herself yet before she could offer any words of comfort a new voice sounded over the speakers of the training area.

"Sorry to interrupt" Billy sounded genuinely apologetic and Panthera was left wondering just how much of their attempt to defeat the AI on a particularly challenging setting he had seen.

"Report to the Command Centre immediately" he continued "We have a situation" Panthera turned to Mercy whose deep brown eyes were filled fire and steely resolution, in a way that for once did not inspire confidence

"Well, at least we know Putties won't ask for a ceasefire" she chuckled darkly, though judging by her scowl Mercy did not find the comment as amusing.

* * *

Marigold was stood more stiffly to attention than she ever had been before in her life, her stomach feeling as though an icy weight had been dropped into it as even a perfunctory glance around the Command Centre seemed to make it patently obvious that something was wrong, even more so than the obvious fact of a Dark Empire attack as a pervading an undeniable sense of tension and unease hung in the air. The Gold Ranger felt that her career as a Ranger had been marred by tragedy and failure, both the circumstances of her acquiring her Morpher and her first real mission but she was determined that that would change and she would begin to earn her place amongst the Rangers here and now.

The sound of Mercy and Panthera entering the Command Centre distracted from Marigold from her thoughts and she had a moment to realise that the Red and Pink Aegis Rangers looked decidedly worse for wear with scorched clothes and bruises forming on their body as they took their places amongst their fellow Rangers who were already assembled, allowing the briefing to begin.

"Good, everyone's here, let's begin" Billy noted, before turning to someone who had thus far remained out of sight and nodding to give them silent permission; a moment later Mari was left wondering just how this tall and imposing figure with a face that resembled some kind of canine, yet with blue scales in place of fur who wore a greatcoat displaying their rank and several insignias along with an ornate sword that hung at their waist had ever managed to hide in plain sight.

"Rangers, the majority of you know me but for those of you who are new additions to the team I am Commander Cruger" he introduced himself "I run the Lightspeed Moonbase and this is a joint operation which I will be taking command roll of"

"After your old poster children turned traitor and tried to kill us all….lovely people" Panthera noted pointedly, the temperature within the entire Command Centre seeming to noticeably drop at her words as the two of them glared at one another

"That was deeply regrettable and I can assure you nothing like it will ever happen again" Doggie answered solemnly

"Panthera, enough" Mercy interjected bluntly as the teal-skinned alien prepared a retort; after a few moments of tension that ended when Panthera simply leaned on Kay's shoulder and made it clear that she was listening both Billy and Cruger continued, the former Blue Ranger bringing the image a partially industrialised colony world onto the viewing globe.

"This is Carpathia, up until recently it was one of the Alliances shipyards" Cruger began, pacing as he spoke and giving the appearance of speaking a far larger collection of troops "It is currently under attack by a small Dark Empire contingent, though this is all according to plan-"

"Plan! You sacrificed a city?" Mercy demanded, suddenly incensed

"Indeed" Billy answered "The buildings are empty with the exception of Alliance forces, this operation has been planned since Liaria; it's an attempt to turn the tide of the war"

"We need to find where the Empire Forces are operating from" Cruger explained, the indisputable logic calming the Rangers who all seemed unsettled by the callous decision "To do that we've staged a trap and fed the Empire false information that has lured them out into the open. The operation will be in two parts, the first is for you to place this tracker on a Dark Empire officer or fighter so that when they teleport back to their ships we can follow them, we believe it will be strong enough to breach their cloaking fields" with this he reached into his coat and held out a single projectile made of a smoky and translucent material with computerised inner workings.

"Mari" the Gold Ranger felt Mercy's eyes on here "You're our best shot….we're counting on you for this"

"You've got it" the oldest, yet newest Ranger managed to croak out with a slight nod despite her dry mouth.

"You are otherwise to engage the enemy as you would any other threat and give no indication that anything is amiss" Billy instructed them.

"And then once they retreat you will be teleported to my ship at the head of a strike force, where a strike force of Silver Guardian Specialists and veteran Rangers will be joining us. Once we have a location for the Dark Empire's base we will have to act immediately, our objective will be to destabilise and destroy as much of their infrastructure as possible"

The words left a profound silence hanging in the air.

Each of the Aegis Rangers looked to one another and realised that this was something vastly different to what they had done before, a direct attack on the Dark Empire; where Lord Zedd himself would be present no less and Mari fought to keep her resolve despite the knowledge that there was a very real chance that they might not survive this mission; she looked at her team-mates and saw the various looks of grim resolve on their faces, from Aslaug's battle-ready stoicism, to Kay's clearly mixed feelings about a confrontation with their father, to Mercy who seemed to be breaking down the information into smaller chunks; focusing on one detail at a time and finally speaking up

"Who are the other Rangers we'll be working alongside?"

"The Quantum Ranger, the Yellow and Silver Wild Force Rangers and the Titanium Ranger….Dana has returned to active to duty specially for this engagement" the news seemed to bring some comfort, four additional Rangers of such a high calibre in addition to the Silver Guardians might be enough to tip the scales in their favour, moreover there would still be other Rangers left in the galaxy should the mission prove unsuccessful; Mercy squared her shoulders and readied her Morpher, Mari noting that the Battleizer had been reattached at some point

"The attack is underway right now?" she asked

"It is" Billy nodded

"Then it's time for us to go" Mercy turned to her team, something of the conviction and light that usually filled her eyes returning as she gave a command that her entire team echoed

"IT'S MORPHING TIME!"

* * *

Carnifex had been forced to have his forces teleported some distance away from the shipyards themselves, the sheer volume of Putties and other ground forces such as tanks, artillery and other warriors, more capable than the stone automatons requiring an open space to be deployed into lest they risk being killed in the process should they find half of their body occupying the same space as a wall or something similar. Upon arriving on the ground the Draconian Acheron hybrid had found, almost immediately that this Alliance colony world was vastly different in its' collective mindset and prowess to what he had experienced on Mirinoi where he laid the Red Astro Ranger low; there were no fleeing and cowering civilians to be found on Carpathia and instead the Dark Empire forces had been set upon by trained and unflinching warriors from the moment they had arrived, making the advance on the shipyards a slow thing as the two opposing forces spread out through the empty streets of the city and tore into each both at range and in bloody melee battle.

Carnifex would have it no other way, he wanted to earn this victory through blood and fire.

"COME YOU SNIVELLING WHELPS, FACE ME AND DIE A WARRIOR'S DEATH!" his roared challenge was directed at a small group of the Alliances' Silver Guardians, supposedly veteran fighters equipped with the best weapons and armour Project Lightspeed could provide short that of that of a Power Ranger; the team of four had ducked behind cover and were unleashing a maelstrom of withering fire upon Carnifex and his forces that was admittedly more powerful than the crimson-scaled warrior had expected yet still far from enough to halt him whilst one of their number primed and readied something of a far larger calibre, a weapon that let out a low, dull whining sound as it as powered up; Carnifex gave them no opening or opportunity to fire and tapped into his own arcane might, an aura of golden flames gathering around his body and their light reflecting from his iridescent scales before he directed the flames through his outstretched sword and unleashed them upon his foes. The air was filled with screams and the scent of burning and flesh and heated metal as the Silver Guardians armour was reduced to molten slag and the doomed soldiers wearing still wearing it were simply cooked before finally the weapon they had been charging exploded under the punishment and ensured that there would be no surviving

"ONWARDS!" Carnifex ordered, his blood singing with the thrill of battle as the sound of gunfire and explosions filled the choked, smoke-filled air; those same explosions however gave a new attacker the distraction they needed to draw close, Carnifex might not have heard them at all and been cut down by the unseen assailant if they had not chosen to declare themselves

"CARNIFEX!" he turned and brought his sword up in front of his face, only to be forced back several feet by the force of the Black Aegis Ranger colliding with him, falling from the air like an obsidian comet and clutching his daggers, launching another offensive the moment he landed in the form of a whirlwind of slashes, stabs and spinning kicks which Carnifex deftly avoided

"I see, you wish to restore your honour and avenge your Master" the hybrids' beaked and armoured snout formed a mocking sneer "You have heart, though you fight like a mere animal and have cowardly ways about you, lacking in honour entirely" the insults were delivered between countless blows, parries and ripostes as Carnifex and Rensa fought with each of them struggling to gain the upper hand; Carnifex redirected a stabbing attack aimed at his gut, the Black Ranger carried the redirected momentum into a spinning kick at the hybrids' knee in an attempt to break the limb which Carnifex blocked in turn, responding by by slashing horizontally and unleashing a shock wave of howling winds only for the Black Ranger to simply leave over the attack and use the still glowing surface of Carnifex's weapon a springboard to deliver a knee-strike to the monsters' face which the hybrid managed to avoid by sidestepping and promptly countered with a stabbing thrust aimed between the Black Ranger's shoulder-blades, Rensa span and entangled Carnifex's sword with his two daggers and threw the larger fighter off balance, taloned claws digging into the ground as Carnifex steadied himself and lashed out with his cybernetic left hand with the intention of holding his adversary in place whilst deploying the triple-barrelled cannon tucked beneath his mechanical wing which laid across his shoulder like a cape and simply shooting him the face.

He was unsuccessful.

"FIGHT WITH HONOUR YOU MISBEGOTTEN BACK-ALLEY CURS!" Carnifex's clipped and erudite tones were reduced to a furious snarl as lances of pale gold light struck their mechanical arm the moment he reached out, scorching and sundering the metallic surface as leaving the limb issuing a steady stream of sparks as the digits twitched and something internal was clearly damaged.

"Are you gonna tell me Shakespeare sounds better in the original Klingon next?" Marigold asked, masking her worried beneath bravado as she leapt into view, the twin pistols she named 'Busters' at the ready and the moment Carnifex turned towards her the Gold Aegis Ranger fired again, the Acheron warlord wincing in pain as one of her shots tore deep into the flesh of his right shoulder, yet it seemed that the underhanded tactics were to continue as he held his double-edged and serrated sword at the ready and burst into motion, only for his charge to redirected and ultimately halted by the Blue Ranger who parried the blow with his staff and created enough of an opening for the Black Ranger to kick him aside.

Carnifex was furious.

He would not be forced or reduced to acting like a fool or mere barbarian however, he would complete his mission and deliver the Alliances' new technology to Lord Zedd himself and he would raze this colony to the ground to ensure that its' secrets were never used against the Empire he served; he studied the trio of Rangers and saw them for what they must truly be, a simple distraction intended to keep him from his prize.

"FALCHION! TO ME!" Rensa, Tempestus and Mari burst into motion; attempting to charge Carnifex and maintain their momentum only for a blur of motion to appear before them and the air itself seeming to explode, the three Rangers were sent hurtling backwards and crashing into various walls and overturned vehicles whilst standing in the centre of a crate that had been blasted into the Ranger's path was the feathered yet still reptilian warrior with a swept back, blade like beak that Carnifex had bid accompany him on this assault, their black-feathered wings and the propulsion systems that had been grafted onto his body both remaining outstretched for a moment before tucking flat against the fin that sprouted from his back whilst lightning crackled along the surface of his mechanical talons and forearms.

"You summoned me my Lord?" Falchion enquired

"These Rangers mean to distract us from our service to Lord Zedd, the others will likely be guarding our true objective….Slay these whimpering vermin"

"As you command" Carnifex turned and departed, sword at the ready to cut down any more of the Alliances' warriors that dared stand against him. The hybrid warlord paid no mind to the Power Rangers rising to their feet behind him as the air was soon filled with the sound of Falchion's onslaught against them; instead Carnifex merely rolled his wounded shoulder and noted that one of the Gold Ranger's weapons obviously fired solid projectiles rather than energy attacks as it seemed he had a round still lodged in his flesh that would have to be removed later.

* * *

"Mari, Rensa and Tempestus need help!" Panthera called out. She and Kay had been deployed elsewhere within the city of Carpathia, though they still firmly in the midst on the battle that seemed to stretched across the entirety of the colony. Kay didn't respond immediately and Panthera saw that they were in the process of handling their current problems, a spinning back kick shattering the chest of one Putty before they sprung forwards and drove their knee into the chest of another, the two of them had encountered the group of automatons being led by an armed and seemingly capable warrior as they attempted to slip through the streets and flank a nearby group of Silver Guardians; now the Putties were gone and the Dark Empire officer who had been leading them lay unconscious and unmoving on the ground close by.

"Okay let's go" Kay nodded and with that the Pink and Green Rangers tore through the streets at inhuman speeds only to be halted again before they could reach their goal.

"No time to go around" Panthera noted irritably "We're going through them!" a dozen Putties, leaderless and seemingly disoriented in their flailing and warbling but no less dangerous had rushed out into the street and Panthera charged into their midst with single minded focus.

The Pink Ranger was unstoppable force, leaping into the air as she barrelled into the automatons and kicking the first of them square in the chest with both feet before using its' crumbling body to leap towards another, carrying her momentum into a spinning heel kick to its' skull and staggering it before landing in a crouch and driving her left elbow into the Putties' knee to cripple it before shattering its' chest with a left jab; the motion carried her forwards and back onto her feet so that she could deflect the wild and uncoordinated blow of an oncoming attacker. The Third Putty fell as she batted its' arms aside and seized its' shoulders, roughly dragging its' face down into her knee before kicking out at its' chest. The attacks continued without respite however as a trio of Putties rushed towards her an instant later, prompting Panthera to let out an annoyed growl as she manifested her curved blades in twin flashes of magenta light and making short work of the threat, charging forwards and bisecting all three of the chattering automatons in a single wide slash.

The Green Ranger by contrast was an immovable object, they waited for the Putties to reach them and ended them swiftly and without hesitation. A glowing fist crushed part of the skull of the first Putty before the a follow up blow to the chest shattered it completely; another was seized by the neck and held aloft before being slammed into the ground with earth-shaking force where its' body was reduced to broken fragments another two were unmade by a devastating spinning kick that tore through stone as if it were air and the final two chattering constructs were halted when Kay unleashed the ethereal green light that coalesced around their fists in twin burst that consumed the Putties and left only molten stone in their wake.

The sense of victory was robbed from them by the sound of a booming impact in the distance

"Come on, that way!" Panthera urged "They're close" with the immediate threat responded to the pair returned to racing through the streets in order to aid their fellow Rangers, barely even taking in their surroundings which were made up of the somewhat bleak and uninspired greys and gunmetal hues of any industrial or urban setting; made all the more so by the smoke in the air and raging fires that cast the sky in a fiery glow.

"There they are!" Kay declared as they saw Mari, Tempestus and Rensa locked in combat with a monster that bore similarities to both a prehistoric bird of some description and a reptile whilst also having a shark-like fin along its' back and several cybernetic implants and fought with a skill and fluid agility that marked it out as something apart from the average genetic horror that the Dark Empire unleashed upon its' victims which instinctively pushed the Pink and Green Rangers to move faster and with greater urgency.

Yet they found themselves impeded yet again

"Is this some kind of a joke?" Panthera demanded as the familiar and ever-threatening form an Empire tank came lurching into view, the war-machine which was effectively a single swept-forward crescent shape with a turret mounted atop it and a small cockpit at the centre of its' curve having the air of being lumbering and brutish despite the fact that it hovered above the ground.

"Take out its' turret!" Kay yelled as they rushed towards the tank, hands glowing as they prepared to deliver a devastating attack. Panthera obliged and combined her curved blades before launching them and filling the air with the sound of screeching metal; the Green Ranger leapt into the air with a somersault and prepared to attack yet found themselves making a slight adjustment to their plans,

the Pink Ranger's blades had ripped the turret away from the tank entirely and it would likely explode at any moment due to the damage and so the Green Ranger grasped the barrel of the weapon firmly with one hand whilst firing a beam of destructive light from their hand with the other to both destroy the cockpit of the tank and send them themselves careening into the air holding the severed turret by the barrel like a club; Kay quickly aim and prepared to hurl the makeshift weapon directly at the individual the Blue, Gold and Black Rangers were fighting.

They were unsuccessful.

"Fool" the turret exploded in Kay's grasp and they were suddenly face to face with Falchion, whose wings and mechanical propulsion system had sent him rocketing upwards to use his own bladed skull as a weapon; the insult had barely the monsters' lips before he pressed the advantage, spinning in the air and using his tail to strike Kay across the face before lashing out and driving both palms, which were wreathed in lightning into the shield that covered the Green Ranger's chest.

Kay hit the ground with a boom.

"Are you okay?" Panthera demanded as she pulled them to their feet, Rensa, Tempestus and Mari skidding to a halt as they joined them

"I'm okay" Kay choked out, examining the scorched claw marks on their armour "Didn't realise he was that fast"

"Things are looking….wack, we need a plan" Tempestus noted, twirling their staff as Falchion returned to the ground and clearly began preparing for the next attack.

"What can this guy do?" Panthera asked

"Move fast and hit like a truck" Mari answered, the many damaged areas of her armour bearing testament to that fact.

"The equipment under his wings seems to create its' own air currents in order to give him better control in the air as well as increase his speed, his tail also acts as a stabiliser as well as a weapon" Tempestus informed her, showing that whilst the Rangers had been forced onto the defensive he had at least managed to study his opponent well enough to understand them a little "His hands have small energy weapons built into them which he combines with speed of his own attacks to create larger impacts"

"He's preparing an impact right now" Rensa noted warily as Falchion unfurled his wings and the cybernetic enhancements beneath them and braced himself for what would clearly be a devastating charge.

An idea came to Kay's mind entirely unbidden.

"Aim at me" they said to Panthera and Marigold, their voice quiet but insistent

"What-"

"Do it!" they hissed through clenched teeth, cutting Marigold off as they readied another of their own energy attacks, emerald green light flaring around their hands to create twin, swirling nexuses.

Falchion's talons carved gouges into the ground as they prepared to launch themselves at the Green Ranger and suddenly Mari understood; the monster blasted forwards and left a shallow crater in their wake and three attacks struck them in rapid succession.

Kay blindly unleashed the energy they had been storing in a burst of light, robbing Falchion of his momentum if only for a split second.

Panthera hurled her combined blades into the monsters' tail, not severing the cybernetic limb but leaving it showering sparks and thrashing uncontrollably, entirely unable to be used in flight.

Marigold aimed her Power Busters and tapped into an ability that she had used in her fight against Paradoxa when she had first become the Gold Ranger, time slowing to a crawl around her whilst she remained unimpeded; she opened fire and not only searing holes into Falchion's left wing but destroyed the propulsion system housed under it completely, the twisted and shredded metal spewing flames at first which quickly gave way to black smoke. From here Rensa and Tempestus launched their own attacks, the Black Ranger managing to draw blood with his daggers before Falchion attempted to escape by kicking off of the ground, only to find themselves unable to fly with their previous blinding speed or grace and be sent spiralling to the ground with smoke still trailing from their crippled wing.

"Mari!" Panthera called out from where she was helping the Green Ranger to their feet "Kay can't fire right now, you need to take the shot!"

"On it!" the Gold Ranger planted her feet and aimed her oversized pistols at the monster which was already struggling to its' feet, holding both triggers down until twin orbs of golden light formed at the muzzle of each weapon and the entire world seemed to fall away until nothing remained but Marigold and her opponent.

She fired and as Falchion fell to the ground, scorched and ruined torso crackling with the golden light of her attack Mari found herself feeling a sense of victory that she hadn't truly experienced a Power Ranger before.

Yet she knew better than to believe that this was over.

* * *

Mercy and Aslaug had been deployed away from the fighting, the apparent last line of the fictional defences that the Alliance had put in place on Carpathia.

Whilst the Dark Empire forces had teleported from their ship into the open streets of the evacuated colony city their objective was the shipyards towards the industrialised outskirts where they had been led to believe they would find a new model of Alliance warship and while several dozen squads of Silver Guardian Specialists had been the Dark Empire at their goal, taking up strategic locations in buildings and drawing the enemy into pitched battles across the city the shipyard itself was guarded only by the Red and Yellow Aegis Rangers.

"The fighting is getting closer" Aslaug murmured, readying her axe in a two-handed grip as she braced herself, she and Mercy were in a large and dimly lit hangar where their voices echoed in the gloom; the falsified information that the Dark Empire had received would lead them here and the sounds of a particularly one-sided battle taking place outside made it painfully apparent that the enemy had indeed fallen for Commander Cruger's ploy, though perhaps at too high a cost.

Several screamed and roared orders to retreat filled the air, followed by a silence that was soon punctuated by heavy footfalls

"Here it comes!" Mercy warned, having just enough time to raise her katana and prepare to charge before the entire front of the hangar was torn apart by a single blast of concussive force and golden flames that ripped through the interior of the building and washed over Mercy and Aslaug, their armour saving them from a particularly painful demise. The moment the flames subsided the two of them turned and saw that their attacker was none other than Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name; the Acheron Hybrid who had, if only temporarily slain Andros and almost managed to kill Rensa.

"Stand aside Rangers, I am here for-" Mercy didn't give Carnifex chance to finish speaking, she was uninterested in any terms or demands he wished to offer and instead she burst into motion, becoming a fiery red streak which the Acheron hybrid promptly took aim at, unfurling his mechanical wing and deploying the triple-barrelled cannon beneath it; flashes of searing light filled the gloom and Mercy's advance was slowed as she was forced to weave aside and evade incoming volleys until Carnifex, wounded as he was with his bloodied shoulder and damaged mechanical arm chose to take the initiative and lunge towards the Red Ranger, forcing her back several feet as the two of them locked swords.

"You're weak Red Ranger" the crimson-scaled saurian noted coldly as the two exchanged blows, Mercy's impressive speed and manoeuvrability being matched by her adversaries' raw power "Weak and cowardly like your allies" he punctuated his words with a downward slash that Mercy was forced to hold her katana overhead to block, sinking to one knee as her blade glowed with crimson light and Carnifex's weapon blazed with arcane fire, yet when she replied it was with utmost confidence

"But I make a great distraction"

"What-" Carnifex's words once again went unheard and unfinished as Aslaug joined the fray, the Yellow Ranger had used the hybrids' distraction as he fought Mercy to climb onto a gantry that ran around the edge of the otherwise empty hangar before leaping over the edge with her axe raised for a devastating blow. Carnifex managed to leap aside just before she collided with him yet he was still flung backwards by the force of the impact which shook the ground and threatened to destroy the entire hangar as it cratered the ground beneath her

"Come on!" Mercy yelled, she and Aslaug readying their weapons and preparing to charge at Carnifex and continue applying pressure, the came skidding to a halt however as he unleashed another volley of shots from his shoulder mounted weapon as he rose to his feet.

"Your are most notable cowards" the draconian hybrid sneered, his cultured tones still firmly in place despite his own blood staining his flesh and armour "Infinite and endless liars and owners of no good quality….there is no new warship here" Carnifex's eyes narrowed as he cast a glance around the obviously empty hangar and realised that he had been lured to Carpathia under false pretences, seeing that there was nothing here but a failed ploy to assassinate him or draw his fleet and the Empires' forces into a pointless and protracted siege he opened a communication to the Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum

"Return me to the bridge, so that I might watch this colony burn from orbit before we depart" with that he flourished his sword and unleashed a jet of golden flames that kept the Red and Yellow Rangers at bay whilst he vanished in a stream of light.

"He's gone" Aslaug noted "Do you think he noticed that I timed that attack to miss?" Mercy pondered for a moment before shaking her head and then opening a communication channel of her own

"Mari" she began, suddenly anxious "Carnifex just pulled back to his ship….please tell me you got him?"

"Yeah, I tagged him in the shoulder. The tracker's in place" hearing the Gold Ranger's words Mercy's face split into a wide smile only for it falter as Mari spoke again

"We've got a slight problem though" she added "We need Aegis Zord Power….now"

**Authors' Notes:**

Okay, that's two out of six chapters done.  
Which means that what would be the big fight of a normal arc is only gonna be the mid point of this one….I'll let you interpret that how you want.  
Also, this chapter was an absolute slog to get through; I don't know why but it really was. That being said I hope there isn't a notable dip in quality here and if there is I hope get my groove back before the next chapter.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
So I did a training scene A) Because I wanted to show Mercy pushing herself and B) Because we don't see enough of the Rangers preparing and training….it was initially just gonna be a sparring match but then I remembered the Atlas Academy training area in RWBY Vol.7.  
…..Yes Mercy wanted to do live ammo capture the flag, and that would have turned this into Starship Troopers.  
Also Panthera is in this scene because she wasn't in the last chapter and because it makes sense, she's dealt with trauma badly before and knows the signs.  
It's a sign of how far Panthera has come that she isn't initially onboard with someone else using themselves as bait for her gain; it's also a sign or where Mercy is at mentally that she lied about the plan and used Panthera as the bait.  
Oh that poor timing though.  
I mean Mari isn't wrong….she hasn't been having the best time of this Ranger thing.  
Yeah, Cruger obviously didn't know Strike Squad Alpha have gone off the deep end but there's definitely still some tension there between the two branches.  
So Mercy will sacrifice herself or potentially another Ranger, but not a city.  
Oh yeah, there's a team-up coming next chapter….and I'm bringing Dana back as the Titanium Ranger again just 'cos people seem to like it.  
Carnifex immediately realised that this was very different to the last Alliance world he was on, but since he doesn't know and doesn't want to know anything about Alliance culture he doesn't see the obvious trap; he just thinks the world is militarised because in the Empire that's how you keep control.  
Yep….he just melted their armour with them still in it; that's why standard armies are not gonna win these fights.  
Rensa had the dramatic entrance because those two have got beef….Don't worry, they'll have a round two later on….Also, Carnifex's insults were fun to write this chapter.  
And damn, Mari is stepping into that _"Snarky bad-ass leader" _role quite well while Mercy is dealing with her issues.  
You knew what that shot in the shoulder was straight away.  
And there's the monster of the week, I didn't show him on the viewing globe specially because I wanted him to have 'Impact' when the Rangers met him….in my head he fight lie if Deku from MHA was a Kaiju.  
The difference in the way Kay fights to the other Rangers is fun to write, the others are mobile and acrobatic, they kinda just tank their way through everything.  
Tanks, they make great plot devices, set-pieces and impromptu weapons….Also, play _"Katsuki and Izuku" (You say Run V3)_ from the MHA soundtrack and imagine the Green Ranger swing a tank turret like a baseball bat.  
"_Fool"_….Falchion just showed up with an anime intro twice in the same chapter.  
Tempestus gave the intel, Kay had the plan and the others executed it flawlessly to hit Falchion where it hurts, with Mari earning her first proper win as a Ranger with the finishing blow.  
Was Carnifex ever gonna make an entrance that wasn't dramatic?  
And there's the pay off to the training scene….Mercy really was the bait this time.  
Carnifex's insult to Mercy and Aslaug was literally paraphrased from Shakespeare.  
So he figured out that he'd been fed lies and lured out into the open, there is no new ship….he just thought it was a plan to kill him.  
So in short, Carnifex has a tracker that will lead the Rangers to the Dark Empire base on Unus; there's a backup team of Rangers waiting in the wings and we have a Zord fight coming.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	50. Perfect Storm

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 49 – Perfect Storm**

Carnifex appeared on the Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum in a blaze of screaming crimson light, teleported directly there from the battlefield of Carpathia below and as his body re-materialised the Acheron hybrid found his senses assaulted as the gloom of the hangar in which he had battled the Rangers was replaced with the fiery glow of his ships' interior and the sound of various consoles and displays were interspersed with the haunting battle-hymns of his choir of serfs who scrambled hastily into position and began to sing, well aware of what their fate would be if they failed in their duties to their lord no matter how non-essential those duties were.

"My Lord, you-"

"UNHAND ME CUR!" Carnifex barked furiously as he lashed out; a mixture of brief disorientation and simple pain had caused him to stagger a single step as the light of his teleportation subsided, this combined with the fact that he was losing a considerable amount of blood from his wounded shoulder and the damage to his cybernetic arm had caused one of his Knights to reach out and physically support his weight, a gesture that caused Carnifex to whirl around and backhand his underling for daring to presume that he needed aid. The force of the blow sent waves of pain travelling along Carnifex's right arm and caused his bloodied shoulder to spasm though he masked the pain, disguising the grimace as a snarl of irritation and forcing himself to stride purposefully towards his throne rather than limp before sinking down upon its' surface and draining the burning liquid from the chalice that had once been Gibil's skull in a single mouthful.

"Silence whelps….leave me" his voice had regained its' cultured tones, though it was no less fearsome and the choir of retainers, squires and serfs behind him wasted no time on following their new orders, all but fleeing in terror as they scurried from the Command Bridge. Without their presence to give the battle its' proper ambience and decorum the place suddenly seemed far more sinister and the Knights of Wyvern, each roughly resembling Carnifex himself though smaller and with scales that ranged from dulled bronze to ash-grey and mottled green rather than his own iridescent crimson felt as though they were no longer surrounded by the warming magma of their home-world but something far more heinous and each of them struggled to suppress a shudder as their lord spoke.

"Hail Falchion" there were a few moments of tense silence, filled only by the sound of his orders before one of the Knights of Wyvern turned and bowed, sinking to one knee and averting their eyes

"My liege….I am unable, Falchion is no more" Carnifex took a few moments to process the information, sparks jetting from his ruined cybernetic arm as his fists clenches and the joints of the metallic appendage audibly whined under the strain being placed on them.

A warrior's death in battle was supposed to be a glorious thing, yet the way it had happened left a foul taste in Carnifex's mouth and the fact that Falchion was not of Wyvern did little to douse the flames of the draconian hybrids' fury. His golden, slitted eyes seemed to blaze with some inner light as he hefted his golden sword and thrust it downwards into the ground, the mosaic crafted from slabs of rock taken from Wyverns' surface shattering and the fiery glow emanating from that part of the ground fading away. Carnifex let out a low rumbling snarl before sweeping the bridge with his eyes and glaring deep into the soul of each of his Knights before speaking, his voice trembling with every rage filled-syllable

"There stands our honour" he gestured to the cracked surface of the ground "Broken and sullied by worms and wretches…..We were lured here by deception, there was no new manner of warship here waiting for us, only cowards and scum who skulk and stab at their foes from the shadows rather than face them on the field of battle. We were lured here by assassins and Falchion fell in battle facing those conspired to kill me without honour. I ask you, my Knights….shall we let this mockery, this….this disgrace stand?"

"NO MY LORD!" the felt as though it was being torn apart by the reply, half-answer and half furious war-cry as each of the Knights of Wyvern not only roared out their answer but unsheathed their weapons, filling the Command Bridge with swords, axes and spears held high as if they intended to charge into the fray in person.

Seeing the response Carnifex couldn't help but smile and be proud of the warriors he called his own.

"New orders!" he boomed out, his voice silencing the cheers of his warriors in an instant "There may be no great prize on this battlefield, but honour and vengeance are their own rewards; this is still a shipyard and the Alliance still has warriors for us to kill!" a fresh wave of cheers filled the air whilst Carnifex debated the specifics before silencing them again

"Keep watch for any Alliance ships entering system, they've already proven themselves to be without honour as warriors. Return all living warriors to the ship….let the Putties roam as animals and kill everything in their path, give these whimpering bastards the deaths without glory they've earned. Open fire with all weapons, target everything of importance on that colony; purge it with fire!" the warlord took a moment to let out a slow breath before ripping his sword free of the ground he'd plunged it into and directing it forwards as though ordering troops to charge "And give Falchion the warriors' ending befitting one who died for your Lord! FIRE MUTAGENIC GRENADE!"

Carnifex sheathed his weapon and sunk back into his throne, his theatrical display had rallied the troops and he had believed every word of it; yet it did little to dull the mind-numbing and incessant pain in his wounded shoulder.

He let out a growl and accepted that it was something he would have to deal with later, he would not leave his station.

* * *

"We need Aegis Zord Power, now!" the familiar words had come from each of the Aegis Rangers in unison, almost lost beneath the sound of explosions that ripped through the colony city of Carpathia; the Dark Empire's mutagenic grenade appearing like a falling comet amidst the lancing beams of light that tore through buildings. The perspective soon changed for Mercy however as she felt the familiar tingling sensation of teleportation, followed by the sudden disorientation and feeling of acceleration as she entered the cockpit of the Hawk Zord and found herself integrated into its' speed of thought, neural controls. After taking a moment to get her bearings, the experience still a jarring one no matter how many times she was subjected to it the Red Ranger looked down on the battlefield that Carpathia had become.

It was no less horrific from the air.

The city and everything around it burned and it was all Mercy could do to be thankful that the battleground had been evacuated well in advance. Torrents of plasma, lasers and missiles spewed from the Draco-Ocidendum as the Dark Empires' warship hung above them in high orbit, still cloaked and only identifiable by the devastation it unleashed. It was not blind destruction either, Mercy realised as she frantically yet carefully weaved the Hawk Zord through the explosions and debris that was hurled high into the air with each cataclysmic impact; the Draco-Ocidendum had focused its' guns on targets that would be strategically valuable, laying waste to shipyards, communication towers, factories and warehouses and even setting the fields around the city which grew its' crops ablaze all whilst a sea of Putties washed through the streets, the automatons hunting down Silver Guardians like pack animals as the soldiers attempted to escape the violence and destruction, cornering them in the ruins of buildings that they were retreating from or in streets that had been cut off by wreckage.

"Not on my watch" Mercy muttered to herself as she saw one such example and promptly intervened, adding her own missiles to the raging firestorm below as opened fire; rockets streaking from the wings of her Zord and into the ramshackle mob of animated stone that continued to advance of a unit of trapped soldiers regardless of the incoming gunfire, they could not however ignore being blasted into ruined and shattered fragments and the Red Ranger allowed herself a satisfied grin as she whipped through the air and brought her Zord around to take stock of the situation as a whole.

Her fellow Rangers were similarly engaged.

The Osore, Ursa-Titan and Sabre Zords leapt and pounced over or simply lumbered and powered through the rubble and ruins, using their titanic mass to smash obstacles aside so that the Alliances' defenders could move and redeploy more effectively whilst also using their size and might to devastate any Putties they encountered or send any remaining Dark Empire ground forces into a route whilst the golden Winged Lion Zord supported them from the air, it's tail mounted weapon clearing paths with ease. The Plesion Zord hovered above the ground close at hand, Tempestus using his machines' weapons to intercept attacks and detonate missiles before they could destroy the city further. Mercy searched for the hulking form of the Dragonzord but was unable to find it until the sky beyond her cockpit darkened as the Green Ranger ripped through the air overhead

"Kay what're you doing?" Mercy demanded

"Returning fire" with that Kay brought their Zord, howling and shrieking with a predatory mind of its' own as always into an impressive aerial pivot and splaying its' clawed forelimbs wide before unleashing the missiles stored within its' digits; the projectiles streaked directly upwards with their tips beginning to glow as they surged towards the edge of the planets' s atmosphere only to be cut down by the defensive weapons of the Draco-Ocidendum before they could even weaken the vessels' shielding with their detonation.

Then a piercing, avian scream filled with unimaginable hatred filled the air.

"Oh snap…..he's decided to go to the max, that is certainly not jiggy" Tempestus declared, the outdated slang sounding as incongruous as ever when juxtaposed against his deadpan delivery.

"We expected this" Panthera noted "Hopefully he won't be as fast now" Falchion's reanimated form rose above the skyline of Carpathia, mechanical claws of the monsters' robotic hands screeching as it used buildings to drag itself to its' feet and crushed them beneath its' grasp. The titanic beast sported a bloody crater in its' chest where Mari had delivered the fatal blow in their earlier battle though the holes that had shot into Falchion's wings seemed to have been healed in the reanimation process, the propulsion system beneath his left wing remained completely ruined however; the blackened and twisted remains spewing out a trail of black smoke that began to swirl and around and envelop the enlarged monster. Falchion's mechanical arms began to crackle and become wreathed in lightning, smoke billowing from them too as whatever components resided within them were rendered unstable by the reanimation process until finally the giant monster was wreathed in a midnight black cloud of smoke which roiled and shifted of its' own accord with lightning flashing within and finally the metal sheathing Falchion's bladed beak cracked and splintered, allowing the streamlined bone-protrusion that adorned it grow and reform itself into a gigantic and swept-back crescent shaped weapon.

"Don't wanna dampen anyone's mood" Mari noted, trying to sound jovial and unconcerned "But I wouldn't expect this to be an easy fight"

"We need to gauge its' speed and abilities" Mercy noted, trying to form a workable plan of action "We need to know if it can still fly"

"Leave it to me" Kay's voice, serious and determined yet as oddly musical as ever crackled over the comm channel

"Be careful" Panthera urged as the Dragonzord wheeled around and tore through the sky, approaching Falchion from behind and swinging the drill-like weapon mounted on the tip of its' tail downwards to send alien blood cascading through the air and raining onto the ground as the flesh of the reanimated monster was torn asunder.

Successfully getting Falchion's attention.

Seeing the monster brace itself Kay had the Dragonzord climb higher into the air, unhindered by the Dark Empire's bombardment which seemed to have at the very least paused for the time being. Falchion gave chase and Mercy watched from the cockpit of her Zord in open-mouthed shock and could only imagine that her fellow Rangers were in similar conditions; Falchion could no longer fly, their enlarged wings and damaged thrusters unable to support them but the monster could still launch itself directly forwards like some obscene living rocket, spinning as he moved and the newly enhanced blade adorning his skull cleaving through everything in his path.

When the giant monster came to a halt they stood in a crater that reached out for a mile in every direction and the path they had travelled had been entirely levelled, building reduced to nothing but rubble in his wake; Mercy had no time calculate just how many lives would have been lost if this city were occupied however as a side effect of the attack was a rush of air and concussive force that left her struggling to stay airborne and keep the Hawk Zord from careening to the ground whilst those Zords that could not fly were simply forced backwards by the shock-wave.

The Dragonzord had escaped unharmed however and unleashed a stream of emerald light from its' gaping maw; burning another blood gash into Falchion's monstrous form only for the monster to retaliate by lashing out with its' still damaged mechanical tail when the Green Ranger's mecha dared to draw close and then unleashing what could only be described as entire lightning storms condensed into single moments from its' robot arms, the clouds that swirled around the beast shifting and gathering around their talents as he illuminated the sky with blasts that left scorch marks visible on the Dragonzord's armour and sent cobalt coloured lightning dancing across its' surface.

"Kay pull back!" Mercy ordered, deep concern tingeing her voice

"Do you have a plan?" Aslaug asked, clearly eager to get to grips with the enemy herself

"I think there's only one thing that we can do" Mercy noted "Kay, Mari give us a buffer from the air and then form up….it's time to pull out the big guns"

"On it" the Gold Ranger assured her, a beam of golden light from her Zords' scorpion-like tail splitting the sky before Kay unleashed a fresh volley of missiles at Falchion. Then, as all seven Rangers acted in tandem each of their cockpits were filled with the same, familiar synthesised voice.

"_Ultrazord activation sequence has been initiated"_

* * *

"This isn't part of the plan" it was Commander Anubis 'Doggie' Cruger's voice that filled the Command Bridge of the absurdly large, yet mostly automated vessel that hung above the world of Carpathia, cloaked and in a high geostationary orbit above the opposite hemisphere to the continent which the Alliance's colony was based on; close enough to intervene if needs be yet remaining entirely undetected by the Dark Empire forces as they focused their efforts on the more obvious goal below.

Cruger's personal Command Ship was huge, perfectly capable of doubling as mobile fortress and base of operations should the Lightspeed Moonbase ever be lost or become untenable. The thing was also a relic of an age gone by; when the inhabitants of his home-world of Sirius had taken to the stars to flee the advance of an empire headed by a warlord named Grumm whose worlds had subsequently been conquered or destroyed by the Dark Empire they had done so in ark-like generation ships such as these, captained by spiritual and military leaders of whom Cruger was a descendant.

The ship was an angular and incomprehensibly massive thing, with a wedge shaped front which sloped forwards and four massive propulsion systems mounted on its' sides along with enormous weapons batteries covering much of its' hull and the large tower which housed the Command Bridge rising from the top of it, shaped to resemble the canine ancestral spirits of Sirius that watched over its' people. Under Cruger's authorisation the enormous craft had been retro-fitted into a weapon of war by the Alliance and although he had drawn the line at allowing Justin Stewart to convert it into the largest Zord ever seen, dwarfing even Ultrazords by orders of magnitude; now the ship was fitted to carry a small fleet of Alliance battleships along with all of their crew and payload of soldiers and war-gear as well as boasting its' own Zord Hangar.

The Command Bridge itself was more Spartan than one might expect of such a marvel of technology, where modern Alliance vessels were all pristine minimalism and white panels and gleaming control panels this was a bleak and brutalist display of rough gunmetal and unfinished surfaces interspersed with pitch black view-screens; sound also carried and echoed here as was proven when Cruger received a reply.

"The plan had to change….The Aegis Rangers wouldn't accept anything else" Cruger turned to face the speaker, former Vice-Admiral and commanding office of the Lightspeed Aquabase Dana Mitchell; wearing the armour of the Titanium Ranger was again though with her helmet removed so that she could fix Cruger with a steely glare. Behind her were the Silver and Yellow Wild Force Rangers and Eric Myers who had not yet used the Quantum Morpher, preferring to adress the Silver Guardians under his command un-morphed and give them a human leader to follow rather than a simple icon.

"The mission cannot be risked" Cruger ground out before raising his voice and addressing the artificial intelligence that controlled much of the massive ship "Patch me through to the Red Ranger" ancient systems whirred and bleeped for a moment before the computer responded

'_Complying'_ a moment later the dull crackle of static informed all present that the communications were open

"Specialist Jackson, this is a deviation from the plan"

"Sir, the call had to be made; I'm a Power Ranger I don't throw peoples' lives away"

"Those are Silver Guardian veterans Specialist" Cruger reminded her "They're trained for anything"

"With all due respect sir I went through the same training as them and it didn't cover fighting giant monsters that can move at the speed of sound" Mercy retorted, voice strained as she was clearly focused on bring the Hawk Zord in for its' docking sequence "Besides….I think we'd jeopardise the plan more by not bringing out the Zords"

"How-"

"You made the right choice Jackson" it was the voice of Eric Meyers that cut across Cruger's own, the military man giving a roguish smirk as he quickly added "And one specialist to another, bring that ugly son of a bitch down" the Red Aegis Ranger clearly took the comment as the dismissal it was intended to be and ended the communication, leaving those aboard the bridge of Cruger's ship to watch as the Aegis Rangers combined their Zords on one of its' various displays whilst the blue furred canine turned to face Eric, a low growl of annoyance escaping him as he tried to force himself to remain calm, fingers clenching around the handle of his sword.

"I am not accustomed to insubordination" the demand for answers was obvious, though Eric; equally unused to having his decisions questioned couldn't help but take it as a challenge and rolled his shoulders back, rearing up to his full height as he spoke.

"The Rangers made a tactically sound decision and ensured that the commander of the Dark Empire forces doesn't suspect anything" he answered coldly "If the Rangers didn't cal the Zords and we allowed a colony to be sacrificed it would look strange to say the least" Cruger bowed his head slightly, willing to accept that line of reasoning; though the urgency of the situation still gnawed at his nerves

"If the Dark Empire ships leaves system-"

"Computer, locate tracking beacon and show on screen" Eric interrupted

'_Complying'_ a moment later a map of the star system was brought onto another of the many displays around the Command Bridge, showing that the Dark Empire warship was still cloaked and in orbit above Carpathia.

"They won't run, not yet" Eric continued "Because they have at least some twisted sense of loyalty to their own people and their commanding officer wants to see how this fight plays out"

"And we have a sense of loyalty as well" Taylor added, stepping into place beside Eric "I helped train the Aegis Rangers, Mercy most of all….I can assure that even if we had ordered them to abandon the planet she wouldn't not whilst our ground forces are still present"

"I can confirm that" Dana muttered, no doubt thinking of her own poor decisions in the attempt to apprehend the rogue Green Ranger and the Aegis Ranger's reaction to them that had ultimately led to her relinquishing her position within Lightspeed.

"A sense of loyalty I appreciate" Eric growled, his voice growing harsh as he stepped into Cruger's personal space "Because those are my troops down there on the ground" Cruger swallowed thickly and bowed his head in disgrace as he realised his error, he was speaking not only to a soldier but to to a Power Ranger who had lost his team at the battle of Acheron and asking them to risk and potentially sacrifice the lives of soldiers that he considered a replacement for that lost team and family; he might as well have been asking Billy Cranston to sacrifice Tempestus.

"My apologies" the alien breathed out, ears laying flat along his skull "I haven't allowed myself to consider personal attachments since…." he trailed off and it became painfully apparent just how much the betrayal of his closest allies had wounded him and affected his judgement.

"Calm yourself Cruger" It was Merrick who spoke now, a rarity from the Silver Wild Force Ranger who had been almost entirely taciturn since Zen-Aku's death "One wolf to another….I understand the hunt; and I understand the need for justice. We will have it" Cruger nodded before turning his head towards the screen displaying the Rangers ongoing battle with the enormous form of Falchion

"We will indeed" he agreed "But it will be easier with the Zords on our side and this is a battle that will no doubt leave them in need of repairs"

"I wouldn't worry about that too much" Eric chuckled darkly, his own eyes fixed on the same battle as he added "It wasn't just battleships and fighters that were brought aboard…..and Justin really can work wonders on short notice"

Cruger couldn't help but be paradoxically both relieved and concerned by that particular statement.

* * *

'_Ultrazord activated' _the synthetic voice of the Zords' AI announced as each of the seven Aegis Rangers were teleported into the Ultrazords' cockpit and felt their minds brush against one another as they were interlinked to control the behemoth mecha.

"Okay, let's take this-" Mercy's words, uttered entirely subconsciously and directly into the minds of her fellow Rangers were cut short as the entire cockpit of the Ultrazord was rocked with a booming impact that threatened to throw them from their seats; the Ultrazord had not yet landed from its' aerial combination sequence but it seemed that they were still within the reach of the reanimated Falchion and rather than descending gracefully like some immense, many-winged mechanical angel it was instead ripped unceremoniously from the sky. As the Ultrazord impacted against the ground, staggering back several paces yet ultimately being kept upright by a concerted effort from the Rangers the view-screen within its' cockpit came online and they each saw that Falchion, unable to properly fly had simply leapt into the air and struck them, scoring a deep and massive gouge into the heavy armour of the Ultrazords' upper torso with his bladed skull.

"We don't the shock absorbers to keep taking hits like that" Mari observed as information about the titanic machines' status was relayed directly into her mind faster than she could hope to process it normally.

"He's on the move again!" Rensa warned

"Shields up!" Mercy ordered, her own consciousness taking direct control of the Ultrazord with Aslaug's mind joining and bolstering her a fraction of a second later to bring the mechas' massive energy shield formed from the forelimbs and torso sections of the Winged Lion Zord around and brace the Ultrazord before Falchion could strike again. The sound of the two titans colliding could simply not be described and the shock-wave that was unleashed swept through the streets of Carpathia, tearing through buildings as though they were paper and leaving a howling wind in its' wake yet Falchion was not done and the Aegis Rangers had only the briefest warning as the roiling storm clouds and miasma of choking smog that now engulfed the reanimated monster coalesced around its' mechanical claws.

"Look out!" Aslaug warned yet it was too late, Falchion discharged his energy weapons and unleashed storms of apocalyptic lightning that flung the Ultrazord backwards, its' six wings and immense propulsion systems straining before finally a deafening explosion filled the air; when the flames subsided the Rangers were left in terrified shock at the sight of the Ultrazords' left arm, a twisted and misshapen mass of glowing, molten slag

"We lost the shield" Tempestus noted, seemingly struggling to comprehend the fact despite the undeniable evidence before him

"Then we go on the offensive" Mercy ground out through clenched teeth "OPEN FIRE!" it was Marigold that mentally reached out and took command of the Ultrazord, yet she did so with all of the Rangers lending their aid and power to her as she activated the shoulder mounted weapons formed from the Plesion Zords' mouth and neck and the tail of her own mecha

"ULTRA BURST!" at her command twin streams of golden light issued from the barrels of the Ultrazords' guns to form a sphere of golden light akin to a miniature sun which hung in the air for a moment before being flung forwards, directly at the skull of the giant reanimated monster at a height that kept it from directly touching any buildings though the stone and steel of those it passed over was reduced to magma in its' wake.

Falchion was lightning fast however even in death.

"How did it dodge that!" Panthera demanded incredulously as the afterglow of the blast subsided and revealed the monsters' fate

"He's still wounded, even if it wasn't a direct hit" Kay noted, the Green Ranger was correct and Falchion still remained; the monster having tried to leap aside from the Ultrazords' attack and lost its' entire right arm and wing rather than be utterly destroyed, flash-boiled and vaporised blood and viscera billowing off them as they staggered to their feet from the crater that being flung through several streets had caused. Despite the horrific wound however the maimed beast remained defiant and Falchion let loose an almighty, ear-splitting shriek before bracing himself, taloned limbs sinking into the ground and giving the Rangers at least a modicum of warning

"Brace for impact!" Mercy warned, letting the words out as a panicked yell as well though the matrix of their shared consciousness before Falchion launched himself forwards at blinding speeds. The Rangers managed to bring the tattered remains of the Ultrazords' left forearm and mentally prepare the titanic machines' propulsion and stabilisation systems for the impact a split second before it came.

The impact sounded as though the planet itself had been rent apart and the Ultrazords' entire left forearm fell to the ground with a booming metallic thud as the glaive like blade protruding from the monsters' beak cleaved through it and tore another wound into the mechas' armoured chest, this one rending deeper into it than the last and leaving the cockpit filled with alarms that screamed and blared, yet Falchion was not done, the reanimated monster spun with speed that nothing of such colossal size should have possessed and smashed the bulk of its' damaged mechanical tail into the Ultrazords' cranium and sending it toppling and staggering to the ground before finally unleashing a bolt of lightning from his remaining hand into the machines' back that travelled across its' wings and caused sparks and smoke to issue from several places.

"WE CAN'T TAKE ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE!" Mari insisted, ears ringing with the force of the blow to Ultrazords' cockpit even despite her armour

"We need a plan" Rensa noted "While we can still fight" Mercy took a moment to steady herself, letting the blaring alarms fade away and sink into the back of her mind as she exhaled and forced herself to ignore the pain coursing through her own body or the various warnings flashing across the view-screen that she pushed aside with a single thought before steeling herself

"Can we still fly?"

"We can for now" Panthera answered, clearly concerned

"Then we've gotta finish this now" with another thought she opened a communication channel to Cruger's ship, fighting the urge to contact the Command Centre out of habit

"Jackson-"

"You need to get all of your ground troops out of the vicinity, immediately" with the warning given Mercy took command of the Ultrazord and had the mecha drag itself to its' feet and surge into the air with enough force to shatter the road beneath it, as the mecha pivoted in the air it readied the massive lance formed from the Dragonzord's tail and as the other Aegis Ranger's joined hers in shared purpose the glowing green components of the weapon shifted to brilliant white.

The seven Rangers spoke as one

"ULTRA IMPACT!" the Ultrazord dove downwards at incomprehensible speeds, wreathed in flames as it fell like a meteor yet impossibly the reanimated and utterly mangled Falchion braced himself for a counter attack.

The blazing lance tore into the monsters' chest and burst from their back, his entire body glowing with blinding white light yet the expected explosion never came; instead fresh warnings flashed across the view-screen and buildings situated around the cataclysmic battle burst into flame

"His tail!" Tempestus exclaimed, seeing the damaged cybernetic appendage sunk into the ground behind the monster "He's trying to channel the attack into the ground!"

"NOT ALL OF IT!" Mari called out in warning a moment before Falchion drove his remaining hand into the already ravaged torso of the Ultrazord and began to redirect the power of its' own attack back into it; the monsters' body blackened and smoke rose from it as it began to burn from within yet it seemed unimportant at that moment.

Falchion, even in death was loyal to the Dark Empire and if he fell here he would ensure that the Rangers fell beside him.

"RIP THE BLADE FREE!" Aslaug bellowed, taking direct command of the Ultrazord and planting a foot firmly in Falchion's abdomen before focusing every last inch of her willpower into her next action and having the Ultrazord, with its' remaining arm tear its' weapon up and though the monster; splitting his body open in a flash of light.

Then the explosion came and all the impacts that had come before it paled in comparison.

"IS EVERYONE OKAY!" Mercy all but screamed over the ringing in her own ears, she received replies from her fellow Aegis Rangers confirming that they were all unharmed if decidedly worse for wear after the blast yet they fell on deaf ears as the Red Ranger had begun to process the sheer scale of the damage done to the Ultrazord.

It was catastrophic and the fact that Mercy gazed out at the ruined skyline of Carpathia through the open hole that had once been the mechas' face rather than a view-screen only served to highlight that fact; the Ultrazords' arms were simply gone, removed at the bicep whilst the armour of its' shoulders and the massive weapons mounted on them were ruined beyond all recognition and the entire torso of the enormous machine had been torn open and laid bare, the glow of its' exposed power system joining the countless fires illuminating the destroyed city.

Mercy heard a communication channel open in her helmet, though rather than the stern and demanding tones of Doggie Cruger it was Billy's voice that spoke.

"Mercy, is everyone okay?" Mercy turned and staggered back into the ruins of the cockpit where they had been disengaged from the mental network somewhat painfully and pulled Rensa to his feet before pulling Aslaug into a brief but tight hug to assure herself that the Yellow Ranger was indeed still there

"Yeah" she managed to murmur, though with a decided lack of conviction "Yeah we're okay but the Zords-"

"Can be repaired….Justin and I have rebuilt from worse than this" Billy assured her

"Okay" Mercy sounded more confident this time "So now what"

"With the monster defeated the Dark Empire will likely retreat" Billy answered "We'll bring the Zords back to Promethea One, you're about to be teleported to Cruger's ship"

"Got it" Mercy sighed, unable to hide exactly how weary she was after the battles against both Falchion and Carnifex himself, Billy must have noticed as his next words were gentle and soothing; issued on an open channel that each of the Aegis Rangers could hear

"You've done well, but now the real challenge begins….good luck, and may the Power protect you all"

* * *

The drab and Spartan command bridge of Cruger's relic of a spaceship was suddenly illuminated by streaks of light that cast coloured glows onto the various dull metallic surfaces and, with a woosh of air as the atmosphere around them was displaced the Aegis Rangers materialised.

"Reporting for duty" Mercy managed to convey the weak smile she wore beneath her helmet with her voice alone as she snapped off a salute and her team stood to attention as Commander Cruger, the Quantum and Titanium Rangers and two of the remaining three Wild Force Rangers gathered before them. The potential moment of camaraderie soon evaporated however as Merrick strode forwards and batted Taylor's arm aside as she made to hold him back; the Howling Wolf Ranger brought himself directly into Kay's personal space and it was obvious to all present that the snarling lupine maw of his helmet was nothing compared to the expression of pure hatred and disgust he wore beneath it as he spoke, every syllable trembling with barely contained rage

"Zen-Aku was the other half of my soul Green Ranger….I may be forced to fight alongside you today, but know that we will have a reckoning when this is over"

"Let's hope that we both live to see that day" Kay's tone was far less jovial than usual yet the sombre words still had something of a biting edge to them and Merrick visibly bristled, claws extending from the fingertips of his armours as both teams of Rangers looked on and the tension between them grew heavy; Mercy glanced at Taylor and saw that her former teacher and Merrick's team-mate was ready to intervene if the situation devolved but seemed content to allow this confrontation to continue for the moment, which Mercy was forced to admit to herself was something she could understand.

Panthera was far less understanding

"Okay, you've made your point now back off" the Pink Ranger's commanding words were punctuated with a flash of light as she manifested one of her curved blades and pressed the tip of the weapon under Merrick's chin; the Silver Wild Force Ranger let out a low and guttural snarl that would not have sounded out of place coming from Zen-Aku and in response Rensa took a single step forwards which was answered in turn by Eric, now morphed reaching for his weapon.

"That's enough!" It was Dana's voice that echoed through the Command Bridge and brought a sudden end to the growing hostility; the Titanium Ranger and former Lightspeed officer and Pink Ranger was still without her helmet and fixed each of them with a baleful glare in turn

"We are not going to have a stand-off like thugs in some gangster movie" she continued sternly "We are Power Rangers, we should act like it" Panthera's body language alone conveyed the plethora of disparaging comments she was ready to make, no doubt eager to point out the sheer scale of Dana's hypocrisy and her own unbecoming actions; before she could so however Marigold stepped forwards and spoke

"She's right" she sighed "Look I only know the basics of what's happened between people here and I'm new to this whole Power Ranger thing….but we're supposed to be a team, that's kinda the point right"

"Together we are more" Mercy murmured nodding earnestly as she uttered an old slogan that had been attributed to a former Power Ranger

"Agreed" the Titanium Ranger gave a nod of approval before turning to Cruger "Doggie….whenever you're ready" the canine alien wasted no time and turned his attention to the massive ships AI

"Computer, locate tracking beacon" a moment later the instruction was followed and the signal emitted by the tracker Mari had embedded in Carnifex's shoulder could be seen traversing the gulf of space

"They're on the move now the monster's gone, just like we expected" Eric muttered

"But they can't teleport" Cruger noted with a grin that bordered on savage "This ship has been refitted with the Alliances' best teleportation systems….They might be fast but we can catch them at any time"

"And they're staying in Alliance space" Dana noted "Exactly like we thought they- what ? We lost the signal! How?"

"Something must be jamming it" Taylor noted, suddenly deeply worried; hearing the situation rapidly changing Mercy stepped forwards, taking charge and forcibly integrating herself into the team of veteran Rangers and addressing them as equals

"What was the signals' last location?" Cruger quickly entered a series of commands into a nearby console, acting himself rather than commanding the AI and Mercy saw his eyes widen as he received the answer to her question

"Unus….one of the moons of Triforia"

"Then that means they've been there this whole time" Mercy mouthed "They literally kidnapped those Triforian mages for their Dread Forge and then set up a base on the moon-"

"Rita Repulsa set up her own base on Earths' moon" Dana noted dispassionately

"It is in line with the Empires' approach to warfare" Kay added quietly, unsure of if their input would be valued

"If we use the location that we lost contact as the edge of their base and work how much space they need for the ships and resources we think they have then we can have a destination in a mater of minutes" Doggie announced, turning to the Quantum Ranger with a smile and their earlier confrontation forgotten

"Meyers, do the honours….after all, they're your soldiers" The Quantum Ranger raised a hand to their helmet as they opened all comm channels and addressed every Silver Guardian aboard each of the several warships that were held within Cruger's vessel.

"Ladies and gentlemen….you've all served under me for long enough to know that I don't have the patience or inclination for long speeches. You will be fighting alongside almost a dozen Power Rangers and I expect you to conduct yourselves accordingly, you all know what's required of you and you all know that it's actions that count; in a few short minutes we will be engaging the enemy" Eric paused and Mercy was certain that he wore a smile beneath his helmet as he added "So….back to action"

**Authors' Notes:**

Okay we are no halfway through the twelfth arc of the story and the end of the second act.  
As you can imagine things are going to get very intense very fast over the course of the next three chapters and I'll be entirely honest with you, I'm almost worried that I'm cramming too much into too short of a space and some of it might lose its' effect.  
That being said there won't be an upload next week…..August is one hell of a month for me, most of my families birthdays, including mine are within a week or so of each other and that, on top of all the other errands and responsibilities I'm gonna have means I just won't have time; I promise you it's gonna be worth the wait though.  
I very nearly didn't finish this chapter on time because working out, job interviews, helping my Dad with a DIY project and sheer humidity conspired against me but here we are.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Carnifex is not gonna take help from his people, the idiot who got backhanded should have known better.  
Oh you know it's gonna be interesting when Carnifex turns his theme music off.  
Okay so I know Carnifex is the bad guy but he's a different kind of villain to Paradoxa and I feel like he's the kind of villain who gets bad-ass speeches….hence the bit with the sword.  
"_H__onour and vengeance are their own rewards"_ and y'all can quote me on that.  
And it's all for nothing because he's still got a tracker buried in his shoulder that he doesn't know about.  
Oof, Carnifex did not fuck about with that orbital barrage; he basically smashed the city to bits and turned it into a killing field for the Putties.  
I wanted to show the Rangers using their Zords in a different way instead of just against the giant monster for once and having them do bombing runs, intercepting missiles and clearing a path for ground troops just works.  
No I will not stop having Tempestus use outdated slang at the most unsuitable times and with a completely straight face.  
The storm clouds and smoke around Falchion are a natural progression of his body and upgrades being destablised by the reanimation and was inspired by Gigantamax Pokemon.  
Insert "Falchion Punch!" joke here.  
You knew that the Ultrazord was coming and that I was gonna end a scene with it.  
So there was initially gonna be a lot more interaction involving Billy and the usual Mission Control crew but it just seemed redundant, Cruger's running this mission and it made more sense to spend time with him and the Rangers he has with him.  
So a slight change to canon, Doggie didn't personally escape Sirius; he's the descendant of people who fled the world on generation ships.  
Also yeah his ship is basically the Delta base in its' Command Crawler mode but as a spaceship…..No it doesn't turn into a giant Megazord here; it's a Zord/spaceship carrier.  
"_With all due respect sir I went through the same training as them and it didn't cover fighting giant monsters that can move at the speed of sound"_….I mean, she has a point.  
I had fun giving Eric a personality that shows how much his grown since Time Force as well, Cruger feels darker in this….My own issues with police and their use of unreasonable amounts of force aside he's closer to the head of the CIA here and it still makes sense for him to butt heads with the Rangers due to his tactics.  
All these veteran Rangers need therapy.  
"_It wasn't just battleships and fighters that were brought aboard…..and Justin really can work wonders on short notice"_ I'll just be off to one side, chuckling ominously.  
A monster didn't wait for the Zords to finish combining….the rules have changed.  
In my head Falchion crashing into the Ultrazords' shield and sending a shock-wave out was just pure anime bullshit…..following up by blowing its' shield up like that was just icing on the cake.  
Megazord and monster fights are always just the two of them trading big haymaker blows with each other so I just leaned into it here and them slugging each other to pieces.  
Oh you thought it was gonna be the usual special move and go home scenario? Nah fam, Falchion went full Palpatine vs Mace Windu.  
Looks like the Ultrazord got….disarmed.  
"_Reporting for duty"_ she really tried to have one of usual one liners but her heart was just not in it.  
If you thought Merrick wasn't gonna say something to the person who killed Zen-Aku then you're wrong.  
Who else forgot that the Wild Force Rangers actually had claws?  
Panthera did exactly what you'd expect.  
"_Together we are more"_ an important sentiment that too many people forget.  
The signal vanished when it entered the protections Lord Zedd put in place around their base.  
Back to action indeed….we're gonna have fun over the next couple chapters and I've got at least one twist coming that you won't see.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	51. The Bravest

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 50 – The Bravest**

Carnifex forced himself to move as if her were unhindered despite the pain he was in, allowing his wounded arm to rest in its' proper place at his side rather than clutch it to his body even as it sent waves of pain pulsing outwards from the bloodied mess of his right shoulder which a projectile of some description was still lodged in, likely having struck a bone; the saurian Acheron hybrid resolved to visit the physician stationed aboard his flagship at the earliest opportunity though he was unsure of exactly when that opportunity would present itself, he had been summoned by Lord Zedd the moment the Draco-Ocidendum returned to the moon of Unus after all and one did not make the supreme ruler of the Dark Empire wait.

The blasted, dust covered ground cracked and shifted beneath Carnifex's feet as he took in the now familiar sight of the base that the vanguard of the campaign against the Alliance was operating from and unnatural darkness stretched as far as the eye could see, a side effect of the arcane warding that Lord Zedd had used to hide their presence; a permanent veil of artificial night and roiling black storm-clouds that moved as if alive and took the shape of hideous monsters whilst flashing with crimson lightning that reflected against the hulls of the dozens of ships still at their disposal. The sound of those press-ganged into servitude toiling in the mines and quarries that had been carved into Triforia's moon, kept in check by brutal overseers could be heard in the distance, a dull rumble of stone and metal and countless thousands of tortured souls toiling without respite which Carnifex paid little attention to; it was not what he was here for nor was it noteworthy to him as such sights could be found at any planet or base of operations within the Dark Empire as it expanded out and claimed any resources that it found including the populations of the worlds it subjugated.

Eventually he saw Lord Zedd.

The tyrant himself was, as always wearing his jagged armour which only made his towering stature all the more intimidating; its' masked helmet resembling that of his father and the skulls of some great predators adorning his shoulder pauldrons whilst its' savage exterior disguised the various machines integrated into the suit that interfaced with those that Lord Zedd had worked into his own body over his life. Carnifex saw that Lord Zedd was stood on a raised platform, watching over his domain as the master of all he surveyed, a microcosm of how the galaxy should be and quickly made his way to his masters' side and sunk into a low bow on one knee

"My Lord" he murmured, entirely deferential to the tyrant before him who waited a carefully measured amount of time before acknowledging his General, turning to face him slowly and gazing down at him with the full force of his commanding presence

"Your fleet returned, yet you did not" he rumbled, an accusation creeping into his tone even as it remained aloof and vaguely mocking "You deviated from the mission you were given, explain yourself….did Paradoxa's failed attempt at forging her own Empire spark some new ambitions in you?"

"Never, I remain your loyal subject and executioner of your grand vision for the galaxy" Carnifex answered as forcefully as he dared, asserting the truth of his words without directly challenging Lord Zedd before explaining himself further

"My warriors cut down the Alliance ships as you instructed, we attempted to board them to take their teleportation technology so that it might aid you but once again they destroyed it before we could however in doing so we learned of a shipyard on a world they call Carpathia….we were led to believe that a new kind of warship was being designed there, one that would not require the Liarian magic that our enemies have used to protect themselves for so long"

"I see….then you made a sound choice Carnifex" Lord Zedd nodded in approval, voice turning menacing again as he added "I presume you were successful in destroying this vessel or you would not have returned here so brazenly"

"My forces ruined the entire city, depriving the Alliance of their shipyard and when the Power Rangers intervened their Zords were damaged so heavily that they will be unusable for some time" Carnifex began, hoping that the positives might soften the blow of what came next "There was no ship, it was a lie used to bait a trap so that the cowards who oppose your rule could assassinate me"

"And it seems that they were closer to a victory than you might have liked" Lord Zedd noted with a rumbling chuckle, though he seemed thoughtful even with his face hidden as he considered this departure from the Alliances' usual approach to warfare, Carnifex merely gestured to the bloody wound on their shoulder as he rose to his feet

"A battle scar that I'll wear as a trophy, a reminder that we face cowards and vagabonds without honour….just as soon as I have the bullet removed"

"Removed?" Lord Zedd's voice was low and menacing as he closed the distance between the two of them in a single stride, his right hand closing around Carnifex's jaw and lifting the crimson-scaled saurian from the ground before her drove the index finger of his left hand into the wound, the curved and jagged talon that tipped the digit cutting deeper into his scorched and ruined flesh without regard for his subjects' safety or comfort until finally he found the projectile that the Gold Aegis Ranger had shot him with and ripped it free in a single fluid motion to reveal a small device featuring a steadily blinking light which bleeped rhythmically.

Something that could only be a tracking device.

"YOU FOOL!" Lord Zedd roared as he hurled Carnifex away from him, the hybrid crashing to the ground several dozen feet away "THEIR PLAN WAS NEVER TO KILL YOU, THEY LURED YOU OUT SO THAT YOU WOULD LEAD THEM BACK HERE!" the armoured tyrant reached out and gathered his dark magic around himself in a swirling nexus of light before letting out a roar of equal parts exertion and base, murderous fury as he split the sky and dispersed the clouds that hung over his domain in an instant.

Revealing the colossal form of an ark ship that had been repurposed by the Alliance, unloading its' cargo of warships and fighter craft as it loomed overhead.

"My Lord?" Carnifex asked, quailing under Lord Zedd's glare as he rose to his feet again "What do we do?" Lord Zedd snarled and in a single swipe of his arm his sword had manifested in his hand, the blade of the monstrous weapon wider than a mans' torso and formed of two smaller blades set parallel to one another, he directed the weapon upwards as he bellowed out an order that was heard by every living soul and automated Putty within the base

"WE'RE ATTACK! DESTROY THEM ALL!"

* * *

Aboard the Command Bridge of the ancient ark ship that had been entrusted to Commander Cruger by his people the Aegis Rangers waited with baited breath, flanked by both Cruger himself and each of the veteran Rangers that would be joining them for the attack in their morphed states standing at the ready save for the Quantum Ranger who had departed to join the Silver Guardian forces he would be leading. The massive, Spartan and industrial-looking space was thick with tension and the atmosphere seemed heavy around the Rangers as they stared at the main viewscreen which showed nothing but a tunnel of pure, blinding white with no fixed destination at its' end until finally, with an announcement from the enormous ships' AI the light seemed to fracture and then shatter before receding into countless pinpricks that shone in the distance as the darkness of space bled into the gaps and reasserted itself; their final approach had been completed and the they hung in orbit above the Dark Empire's hidden base of operations.

"It's huge" Mercy breathed out, barely able to comprehend what she was seeing whilst also being reassured by the feeling of Aslaug's fingers gently brushing against hers even through the armour of their Ranger suits.

"And they kept this hidden?" Tempestus mouthed out in utter disbelief, voice barely audible

"Dark magic" Kay noted, disgust filling their voice as they added "Likely Lord Zedd's own magic….I can almost feel it from here"

"Indeed" Cruger said simply as he folded his arms across his chest and analysed the situation as detached a perspective as he could hope to reach "And the Triforians had no idea that it was here….I imagine that we only found it because we knew exactly where to look, it's possible that without the tracker Mari placed on Carnifex we wouldn't even be able to see the base if we were looking directly down at it"

"That's reassuring" the Gold Ranger noted, unable to keep the fearful note out of her bitingly sarcastic voice as she realised that she was being thrown head first into something far beyond her limit experiences as a Power Ranger

"We can't see anything now" Panthera stated bluntly "They may as well still be camouflaged" as she gestured at the various screens that displayed their objective the truth of her words became undeniably clear. The overall size of the Dark Empire base could be discerned and it was simply huge, easily the size of a small city and possibly rivalling the overall area of the colossal ark ship itself, whilst each of the Rangers had known on some level that the base must be large enough to support the fleet that it served and contain the various resources needed for them to wage war, seeing it in person was quite different.

Or not seeing it as the case may be.

The true layout of the base, along with any defences that may have been prepared to repel an attack like that which they were about to embark upon were completely hidden beneath a pall of swirling and impenetrable darkness within which crimson lightning flickered and flashed periodically.

"Lord Zedd won't be controlling that directly, he'll be using ward stones. If those can be broken then we'll have the advantage" everyone present turned to face Dana, being mildly surprised that the Titanium Ranger had spoken which such certainty and conviction before remembering that the original team of Lightspeed Rangers of which she had been a part had faced enemies who were magical in nature and had almost certainly spent many years since studying the theory of the arcane arts if not their application.

"She's right" Kay added, dregs of knowledge implanted into their mind as they artificially aged and developed rising to the surface

"Then that will be the Aegis Ranger's objective" Cruger instructed "Target the ward stones and bring down whatever this darkness is, from there we'll commence an aerial bombardment of the Dark Empire base and fleet; crippling their forces"

"What about Lord Zedd himself?" Aslaug asked "He's unlikely to stand by and allow this"

"That will be my teams' objective" Dana answered with cold determination in her voice "Merrick, Taylor and myself will be seeking to eliminate any high ranking Dark Empire officers that we can identify; we know that total destruction of the enemy forces here is likely impossible so instead we're focusing on destabilisation in order to force their retreat….that being said Lord Zedd himself would certainly qualify as a high ranking official"

"Be careful" Mercy's voice almost cracked "We've fought him before and we didn't stand a chance against him….just, be careful"

"The Dark Empire take slaves" Panthera noted "What about them, are they going to be caught in your bombing runs?"

"Eric will be leading Silver Guardian strike teams, freeing Dark Empire slaves is one of his highest priorities" Taylor answered, assuaging the Pink Rangers concerns, though before the discussion could progress any further the group were caught off-guard by sirens blaring through the Command Bridge preceding the sight of the darkness that hung over the Dark Empire base rushing away from a certain point like a receding tide before a lance of deep crimson light burst from the opening and collided with the shields of the ark ship.

"They know we're here!" Cruger exclaimed before rushing to one of the many control panels stationed around the Command Bridge and addressing the seven Aegis Rangers, Titanium Ranger and two Wild Force Rangers stood before him, those his words were meant for Eric as well "There's no more time, we have to act now….Rangers, may the Power protect you all"

With that multiple streams of light engulfed the Rangers, sending them streaking towards their goal.

* * *

The Command Centre aboard Promethea One, located within a secured and restricted segment of the joint Lightspeed and Promethea base that also worked closely with the colony ships' university was, despite the fact that it was not directly overseeing this particular mission still in a state of barely controlled chaos with the frantic energy that filled the massive spherical space an almost palpable thing.

As was the cacophony of noise filling it, driving thoughts from Billy's mind as fast as they could form.

"There's a magical energy field at work disrupting your equipment, likely to keep any slaves from escaping" Zebidiah Lord's voice asserted as he examined an image displayed on the large central viewing globe that was being transmitted from the helmet feed of a Silver Guardian amongst the first wave to teleport onto the surface "Sargent you need at least a dozen magically inclined soldiers on your location immediately, I presume the shortlist of those I recommended prior were deployed? Excellent call them to you and hold your position unless you wish to walk into a minefield" Billy tried to tune the conversation out, only for Corcus's imperious tones to intrude on his thoughts an instant later

"I've fought these cowards before, turn around and immediately charge towards your own rear; they'll take advantage of knowing the land and attack from behind but they'll break off and fall back if you strike first; be wary for Putties being unleashed and don't allow yourselves to become bogged down or stationary" the Aquitian turned away for a moment to address a group of staff within the Command Centre "You three, run facial recognition on this group of Empire footsoldiers; those aren't standard weapons there might be a ranking officer with them!" Billy took a moment to step back and breath slowly and centre himself, in and out until the world around him slipped away and became background noise and he could think coherently again; the Command Centre and more precisely those who made up Mission Control were serving an advisory role in this mission to ensure that he Dark Empire's advantages of having an entrenched position, superior numbers and the Alliance having effectively a limited field of vision until the ward-stones could be destroyed were not insurmountable; meaning that the central viewing globe of the Command Centre was broken up into smaller sections which were each overseen by one of the trio that made up Mission Control whilst Cruger was taking control of the battle in space, avoiding incoming assaults and directing the warships that had been docked within his own enormous vessel as the Dark Empire fleet rushed up from the surface of Unus to engage them. Zebidiah's knowledge of the arcane arts, especially as practised by the Dark Empire had been invaluable and would continue to be so as the Alliance's forces sought to liberate the innumerable slaves that the Empire had brought with them whilst Tempestus was serving as an overall military commander for the ground forces, compiling information gathered from every single headset worn by the Silver Guardians and seeing the larger picture whilst the Quantum Ranger led small strike times to surgically eliminate chosen targets and Dana, Merrick and Taylor searched for officers' whose deaths would cause the most damage to the Dark Empire's war machine.

The former Blue Ranger was on standby to assist with the dismantling of any unknown or advanced technology that the Rangers or other ground forces encountered, however in the meantime he had another matter to contend with as one of the Command Centre operatives standing close by called out to him.

"Mister Cranston, sir! Incoming transmission from Triforia!"

"On screen" Billy replied curtly and a moment later the various schematics and other potentially vital information he had been viewing faded away to be replaced by the holographic image of a seemingly ancient man with ghostly pale and papery thin skin, whose silver-grey beard reached almost to their waist and stood in stark contrast against the simple black tunic they wore; their eyes holding the wisdom that only one who had lived for several human lifetimes could hope to achieve

"I am Lord Morsus and I adress you as a fellow member of the Alliance and an emissary and speaker of the people of Triforia" his voice was soft and gentle, yet a firmness lay beneath it making it clear to Billy that this was no mere bureaucrat

"I am Billy Cranston of Project Lightspeed, former Blue Power Ranger"

"I know of you" Lord Morsus nodded sagely "Lord Trey spoke highly of you, as he did each of Earth's Power Rangers….may his spirit find peace"

"I assume this communication is in regard to the Alliance ships currently acting above Unus?"

"It is" Morsus answered, his voice losing much of its' softness "Lord Cranston I assure that neither violence nor anger are the way of my people and that we are willing to give our Allies every chance to explain themselves…..but our moons are sacred to us, an explanation must be forthcoming"

"Then our assumptions were correct and your people are unaware of the Dark Empire stronghold that has bee established on Unus?" Billy asked, taking a calculated risk and expanding further "From the information we've gathered thus far they've been mining Unus for raw materials, including stone to make their Putties for quiet some time….the process for creating their forge required the souls of mages which was why they initially attacked Triforia"

"They dare" Morsus whispered, voice trembling with fury. Billy watched in silence, unsure of what would come next, he knew that Trey had been an outlier of sorts and considered something of a pariah amongst his people after returning from Earth; Morsus was correct in his assertion was not the way of Triforia and even a Power Ranger was considered brutish if they sought out conflict to readily yet the Lord of Triforia was clearly enraged in a way that almost defied words and as he spoke again his voice rose with each syllable, until it boomed like thunder and raw, untamed magic crackled around him

"REST ASSURED THAT TRIFORIA WILL STAND THESE INSULTS NO LONGER MY FRIEND, WE WILL NOT BE COWARDS AND NOR WILL WE BE VICTIMS TO THESE TYRANTS AND MONSTERS! TRIFORIA WILL SEND AID!" with that the transmission ended and Billy was left dumbfounded before he came to his senses and prepared to relay the information to Cruger; the former Power Ranger was uncertain exactly what form the promised aid would take but it would be welcome nonetheless.

Thus far it seemed that things were going remarkably well, though Billy knew better than to become complacent.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!" the panicked scream of a bloodied and wounded Silver Guardian was almost lost between the truly horrific noise that threatened to drown it out; part piercing and deafening scream, part low rumbling warble that was felt as much as heard and punctuated with the sound of cracking, crumbling stone as if a mountain had been granted speech and promptly let out a tortured wail.

Eric couldn't help but think that things had been going a little too easy until now.

The Quantum Ranger had initially intended to lead the charge on the mines and quarries where it seemed likely that the largest concentration of the Dark Empire's raw materials and prisoners would found, knowing that time was of the essence and that it was entirely plausible that once the liberation effort began in earnest the overseers charged with keeping the prisoners obedient would begin executing them in droves; for Eric this was by far the most important part of the mission, beyond even destabilising the Dark Empire forces as a whole, he was a Power Ranger after all the preservation of life and freedom was paramount. Problems had arisen however when it became apparent that the enemy could produce Putties rapidly enough to simply bog down the Alliance forces through sheer numbers alone, at which point the Quantum Ranger had taken a strike team of his most trusted veteran specialists and de-morphed, relying on his Silver Guardian training and the weapons and equipment that Project Lightspeed had provided, including a filter to breathe the air of this cursed place in order to mask his presence and using covert tactics to reach the monstrous and foreboding machine that had been dubbed the _'Dread Forge'_, disposing of any enemy in his path with his typical ruthlessness before finally morphing again and drawing the Defender, opening fire until the Dread Forge exploded and spewed a jet of magma high into the sky, melting several of the final Putties that it had spawned.

Before spawning the abomination that had caused one of his soldiers' panicked yell.

It could best be described as a mass of animated stone, resembling both a sickening tumour and also the amalgamated forms of every Putty that the Dread Forge was yet to produce; a colossal thing whose body ran with thick veins of magma and dripped liquid stone which supported itself on a pair of impossibly thick legs ending in countless protrusions that were somewhere between toes and the gnarled roots of a tree. Its' stony body was squat and hunched over due to the strain caused by its' own mass and what Eric initially assumed were a pair of immensely broad shoulders were in fact twin mounds of Putties, whose molten and broken bodies were tangled and interwoven with each other, bursting out of the body of the enormous construct like maggots from a corpse to grasp at the pair of impossibly large pillars of stone that formed the things' arms; vast and gorilla like in their proportions yet rather than fists they ended in a pair of roughly spherical cudgels each the size of a small house, covered in countless ridges and spikes that were plainly intended to serve as weapons. More Putties swarmed across the chest of the construct, never truly being separated from the larger whole as their limbs melted into its' body and reformed with each laboured movement, less distinct entities and more living shields intended to cover the circular plate embedded in the things chest displaying a capital Z larger than Eric was tall. Finally the things' head resembled that of a regular Putty in its' blunt ugliness, save for the fact that it was in a near molten state with its' jaw distended and hanging loose whilst streams of magma poured from empty eye sockets that glowed with arcane light.

"That" the Quantum Ranger sighed "Looks like a Mega-Putty….all of you, fall back and rejoin sigma squad. I'll handle this"

"Sir?" one of his soldiers questioned, faltering for just a moment until the Quantum Ranger turned and regarded them with an air of absolute certainty

"You have your orders. I can handle this" with that the Silver Guardians retreated, their weapons cutting down several more Putties as they went whilst Eric glared up at the enormous, wailing automaton that lurched forwards and seemed to stare down directly at him; without hesitation Eric opened a channel to the ark ship and said simply "Send the Q-Rex Zeta"

The response was instant and Eric felt the rush of acceleration that each of the Aegis Rangers felt each time they entered their Zords and suddenly the Mega Putty did not seem all that large at all.

The Quantum Rex had been destroyed long ago, Doctor Justin Stewart of Project Lightspeed, former Blue Turbo Ranger and undisputed genius was not one to let such trivialities stop him however and had created the Quantum Rex Zeta for the Quantum Ranger to use in its' place.

The Q-Rex Zeta was notably larger, its' dinosaur mode being roughly the size of a Megazord on its' own even with its' forward-leaning stance, it was also far more sleek and streamlined than the Quantum Rex despite its' larger size, something which marked it out as a much more recent Zord; the most notable difference however was that the Q-Rex Zeta was not in fact built to resemble a tyrannosaurus and instead evoked the image of an enormous mechanical Spinosaurus, a lone sail rising up from its' back between two enormous weapons batteries mounted on the mechas' shoulders whose barrels almost reached the tip of the Zords' snout.

"Okay...we don't have time to play games" Eric noted to himself as the thing he had christened the Mega-Putty shambled towards him, its' legs cracking as it moved and spewing magma across the blasted ground; the Quantum Ranger steadied himself, allowing his mind to sink back into this new Zord the way he had forewarned would be required and once the Morphing Grid itself had forged a connection between the two of them he activated the colossal machines' weapons

"Zeta lasers!" he called out, instantly rewarded with the sight of the air between the two titans being illuminated with fiery red light as barrages of attacks were unleashed, each beam of searing light wider around than the average car and hot enough to melt the armour of a spaceship almost instantly, the Mega-Putty however proved itself to be a monstrously resilient beast and promptly responded by unleashing a gout of white flames from its' mouth that were accompanied by a scream that was so loud that it seemed to make the entirety of the Q-Rex Zeta tremble and vibrate even as the fire washed over it, leaving the Zords' outer hull glowing with the heat; not content with this however the Mega-Putty rampaged forwards and it was all Eric could do to keep his Zord upright as one of the monsters' giant mace-like appendages slammed into the neck of the mecha and sent it staggering aside.

"So that's how it's gonna be is it?" the Quantum Ranger chuckled as he pushed through the dazed and rattled state that the impact had left him in, lashing out with his Zords' tail to force the Mega-Putty back before calling out another command "Quantum Rex Zeta! MEGAZORD MODE!"

The transformation began immediately, the Q-Rex Zeta letting out a bestial roar as its' entire torso section rotated around a central spinal column so that the fin and shoulder mounted guns rested beneath its' skull, from there the entirety of what had been the back of the mecha opened outward to reveal a pair of arms that had been held close to the body, vast armour plates shifted and repositioned themselves as the limbs straightened out and the giant fin began to transform, collapsing in on itself to form a triangular point before expanding to form a gigantic sword resembling those wielded by the Time Force Rangers which found its' way into he Zords right hand. From there its' posture changed, knees rotating around as it stood upright and the head of the dinosaur mode folded down onto its' chest before the mechas' tail slid up its' now straightened spine and promptly split in half and splayed itself out behind the Zords shoulders as it reconfigured itself into a pair of thrusters. The Q-Rex's dinosaur arms repositioned themselves so that they were tucked into the Megazords' shoulders and served as rails for the weapons batteries so that they could sit atop the shoulders, angled slightly back and facing forwards again. Finally the Megazord mode head slid into place, a sleeker and more fierce iteration of the previous Q-Rex, much like the rest of the titanic machine.

The Mega-Putty was on it in an instant

"I'm not going down to a giant putty!" Eric roared as he seized control of the newly transformed Zord and had it weave under the enormous constructs' first attack, a wild swing of its' right arm that was quickly followed by what could loosely be called a spinning backhand from its' left although it lacked any technique or coordination, the second blow was countered with the flat of the Zords' sword and this was quickly followed up with a slash at the Mega-Putty's shoulder that cleaved through several of the smaller automatons bursting from the things' tumour like body yet more flooded out to replace them before the Q-Rex kicked its' adversary away, leaping back itself to create enough distance for another attack

"ZETA STRIKER!" Eric called out urgently, pushing his Zord onwards and willing it to channel more of the Morphing Grids' power as it sent countless streaks of light soaring skyward to form a nexus of red light above the Mega-Putty which lasted for barely more than a second before a hailstorm of energy beams rained down on it, blasting holes into its' body and leaving a shower of shattered and molten stone raining down from the various wounds that began to heal as quick as they had been made.

The Mega-Putty retaliated with another jet of flames that the Quantum Ranger blocked with his Zords' sword before shifting the stance of Q-Rex Zeta as he prepared another attack, the mecha seemed coiled and poised to strike as he exclaimed

"ZETA MAX CUTTER!" at his command the Megazord burst forwards, the twin thrusters at its' back leaving contrails that glowed with the light of tiny stars as it readied its' sword for a finishing blow; the Mega-Putty rampaged forwards with a deafening roar, the two titans shaking the ground beneath them before colliding with an impact that left them in the epicentre of a small crater. Eric saw the Mega-Putty shift its' weight at the last second with speed it should not have possessed, rearing back so that his Zords' weapon pierced through its' midsection rather than the plate in its' chest in which the magic that animated it was held and a moment later he felt the Q-Rex be buffeted by the things' powerful arms; alarms blaring in the cockpit as armour was ripped away from the mechas' left shoulder

"Come on!" he hissed through clenched teeth, willing his Zord to step backward yet finding it impossible to do so as the Mega-Putty wrapped its' left arm around the Q-Rex's shoulders before slamming its' right club-like limb into the Zords' weapons.

Revealing the horrible truth of the matter.

The vast ridged sphere had cracked, revealing oozing liquid stone which oozed and wormed its' way through the barrel of the Q-Rex's weapons with each blow; still entirely controlled by the Mega-Putty as they were its' own limbs which, judging by the countless error warnings that the Quantum Ranger was being confronted with could also adjust the hardness and temperature; internal components were being melted by magma, crushed under mounds of stone or simply enveloped and overheated at an alarming rate which was only exacerbated as the monstrous construct dragged the Zord closer and the swarm of Putties that were sunk into its' chest began to tear themselves free and melt into the joints of the Q-Rex.

As the first spear of jagged, dense grey stone burst through the floor of his cockpit Eric realised what he needed to do.

"Shame it's gotta end like this" the Quantum Ranger sighed, depressing the angle of the Zords' cannons before setting an automated sequence of commands and disengaging himself from the controls.

"You were a good Zord" he commented absently as he drove the Quantum Defender in its' sword mode through the skull of a Putty emerging from the spear "I'm sure Justin can fix up whatever is left of you after this" with that Eric teleported, peering out of the cockpit of the Zord he had used far too little for his own liking and using line of sight to teleport himself to roughly where he expected to find the Silver Guardian strike teams he had begun this battle with. Before he began to search for them he turned towards where his motionless Zord continued to be pummelled by the Mega-Putty until its' canons, angled far too low to be safe discharged.

The explosion could be felt for miles around.

The blast ripped through the core of the Mega-Putty, which in turn released a shock-wave of arcane energies and screaming souls that ripped through the already compromised armour of the Q-Rex Zeta, overheated and damaged systems finally failed entirely before the reactor that powered the Megazord detonated; letting out a flash of blinding white light before an immeasurably powerful wave of fire and concussive force washed over that entire section of the Dark Empire's base, unmaking everything they touched.

"That should make things easier" Eric noted, with the enemy unable to produce more Putties the Alliances' ground forces would be able to achieve all of their goals with less resistance including the liberating of the Dark Empires' slaves and prisoners; a task the Quantum Ranger quickly turned his attention to, setting off towards the mines and quarries where a battle was already raging.

* * *

Lord Zedd had joined the fray and could be described as nothing less than a force of nature or an avatar of base rage and wanton destruction.

The Alliance forces had teleported onto the surface of great numbers, doing so effectively blind as his veil of darkness prevented them from ensuring that their landing zones were safe or even devoid of obstructions, from their they had spread out and began wreaking havoc on Lord Zedd's domain though the forces of the Empire were retaliating and showing no mercy as they cut down the interlopers; the explosion that sent tremors through the ground as one of their Zords was destroyed by the final creation of the Dread Forge served to underline this fact, the force and sheer size of the blast causing the battle to come to a halt for a split second and allow Lord Zedd to see just how many fallen bodies lay on the ground in the distance, staining the dusty surface of Unus in blood of countless colours.

The warlord himself fought alone however.

The ground was blackened and cracked around him, the scorched earth reaching out several meters in all direction though there were no bodies here as none had been foolish enough to attack him directly; this was simply a side effect of his own onslaught and the baleful magic that crackled around him as he once again turned his gaze and his wrath upwards. He knew that the Alliance ships intended to perform air-strikes, bombing runs and orbital barrages on his base of operations and as responding accordingly, adding his own might to that of his fleet which had already began to engage the enemy; with a roar of exertion Lord Zedd ripped away the veil of darkness above him so that he could see Alliances' warships high above him and held his enormous sword overhead, crimson light filling the space between its' twin blades and building into a swirling, raging nexus before being fired out as a beam of destructive light that steadily grew until was large enough to consume buildings, the beam impacted against the prow of the nearest warship and Lord Zedd watched with hateful satisfaction as the ships' shields faltered and failed before its' forequarters crumpled and explosions began to rip through its' hull.

With an almost idle gesture he reasserted the veil of darkness that was going some length to keep the Alliance at bay before turning his attention to the next would be attacker.

The ark ship which loomed above Unus like some enormous predator had discharged its' cargo of Alliance warships which had not only deployed ground forces but had unleashed their own craft, small fighter jets; human designs modified and retro-fitted with propulsion and weapon systems from other cultures within the Alliance, several of these fighters were piloted by individuals brave enough to streak through the roiling darkness that covered the Dark Empire base to engage their enemies even with limited abilities and one such pilot had the audacity to use Lord Zedd's latest attack as a beacon and streak towards the tyrant directly, unleashing a salvo of rockets as they drew near

"Don't mistake idiocy for bravery" Lord Zedd sneered, harsh and ragged breaths misting as he exhaled through the grill-like mouth plate of his mask before planting his sword into the ground and extending his left hand; bolts of crimson lightning burst from each clawed fingertip and struck the incoming missiles, detonating them instantly before he ripped his sword out of the ground and slashed wildly in the general direction of the fighter craft; its' entire body collapsed and imploded killing the pilot long before whatever fuel or power source that powered it ignited and the burning remains of the thing crashed into the ground some distance away. The sense of victory that came from butchering such feeble opponents was a paltry thing indeed yet Lord Zedd intended to savour it nonetheless and took a moment to admire the destruction of those who dared to oppose him before seeking out his next target.

A target sought him out and announced themselves with an energy blast striking his face.

The attack did little to harm him, merely catching him off-guard and slightly off balance though it was not enough to send him to the ground, achieving nothing more than forcing him to shift his weight and leave the smallest of visible cracks in the visor of his mask directly in front of his left eye.

For that alone they would die horribly

"ZEDD!" the attacker roared, giving their position as they descended upon him from the air and poising themselves to deliver a flying kick whilst the blaster they had shot at him with transformed into an axe in their hand. Lord Zedd lashed out with his sword and the thunderclap of raw power that he unleashed ripped his would be assassin from the sky, sending them crashing to the ground several dozen feet away with enough force that their helmet cracked and splintered with the impact. The attacker sprung to their feet again in an instant, there was no doubt that they were a Power Ranger though not one that Lord Zedd had the pleasure of facing before; with her helmet broken she was revealed to be a roughly middle aged woman with breathing apparatus that had been within the helmet covering the lower half of her face to protect her from the atmosphere of Unus whilst her suit was a dull yet metallic grey, adorning with white and gold detailing.

That they thought they could survive this battle alone was amusing

"Come human, entertain me!" Lord Zedd challenged, his booming laugh filling the air "What is it that inspires this act of bravery?" Dana Mitchell braced herself, muscles coiled as she prepared to lunge into combat; yet still she answered, this was a moment she had waited decades for after all and she had no intention of letting this monster perish without knowing why and so she forced each syllable out through gritted teeth, voice shaking with hate

"Kelsey Winslow, Joel Rawlings, Chad Lee, Carter Grayson and my brother Ryan Mitchell"

Lord Zedd laughed at her

"The arrogance of humans, it truly is as legendary as they say" he taunted "It could only have been a human that dared to lead the charge on Acheron itself and it could only be a human who stands here expecting me to remember or care for her friends who died like cowards….I conquer worlds and civilisations to bend them to my will; those names mean nothing to me and neither will yours" Dana let out a wordless scream of rage and burst into motion, axe at the ready and through the darkness and the fog of war Lord Zedd could see two more Rangers approaching, a Yellow Ranger and a Silver Ranger who seemed to be members of the same team; Lord Zedd readied his own weapon and let them come.

He would collect their Morphers and their heads as trophies.

* * *

Mercy had been at war from the instant she had materialised on the desolate surface of Unus.

The Aegis Rangers had been teleported towards the edge of the impenetrable darkness that covered the Dark Empire's outpost and immediately set off for the various arcane ward-stones that powered the bases' defences, splitting into smaller teams as they went so that they might cover more ground and work more efficiently. They had run into resistance and interference almost the moment they had started however, ground of soldiers pinning them down with massed gunfire whilst Putties swarmed towards them in droves made their progress an arduous slog though it was one that the Red Ranger was well trained and prepared for, after spending her entire life on the Lightspeed Aquabase being trained to become a Silver Guardian and holding the rank of Specialist she was as well equipped to handle this challenge as any of the soldiers that fought here. More importantly she had Aslaug at her side and the two of them had finally cut through the last of the defenders and reached what could only be one of the ward-stones; a roughly hewn obelisk of cursed and blackened stone a dozen feet in height that had been engraved with countless runes and glowed with heinous inner light.

Only for Mercy to realise that she had lost sight of Aslaug in the preceding violence and moment before she was attacked again and sent rolling across the ground.

"I knew you were coming for the ward-stones Ranger, it was the only reason for you to head this way" a sneering voice mocked and Mercy leapt to her her feet, still unsure of exactly what had struck her before casting her eyes around and finding her attacker.

Her opponent was a truly grotesque thing, boasting a segmented and roughly insectoid body covered with thick, shaggy mud-brown fur and sporting six limbs, a pair of arms, legs and a third pair of limbs that could seemingly double as either. Its' head was a sleek and narrow thing that tapered to a blunted point with pricked ears, a pair of antennae that moved incessantly and a pair of cunning yellow eyes; the most noticeable thing however was the aliens' mouth, a pair of serrated and insectoid mandibles between which a tongue as long as the thing was tall slithered and thrashed, dripping some viscous liquid as it moved. Overall the alien seemed to be the unholy union of an ant and an anteater and if Mercy were not so consumed by her need to see this mission through she would have given it a truly insulting and creative moniker.

There was no time for that now however and the two of them launched themselves at one another

Mercy manifested her katana in a pulse of light and made to slash at her opponent, only for them to evade the blow masterfully as they dropped to all six of their limbs and leapt upwards; like the ants that the thing resembled this alien was strong enough to lift several times its' own weight and that strength of limb translated into an impressive jump that sent it sailing up and over the Red Ranger's attack before firing its' elongated tongue out to wrap around her mid-section, retracting the appendage to retract themselves at great speed. Another evolutionary advantage this alien possessed was that its' ant-like abdomen was in fact an almost entirely solid mass of of dense bone and mineral deposits that served as a counterweight and anchor for its' species as they used their tongues to snare larger prey, in combat against a Power Ranger however it proved to be just as useful as a club to beat an opponent with and Mercy was sent skidding backwards with pain shooting through her left arm where she'd been hit.

"Lord Zedd will reward me for bringing him your body" the alien chuckled, slobbering as they spoke before launching their tongue forwards again yet this time the Red Ranger was ready for them and allowed the adhesive appendage to stick to her left arm before promptly dropping to a crouch and stabbing her katana down through the aliens' tongue and into the ground to effectively pin them in place. With a shriek of rage and pain the alien retracted their tongue again, rocketing forwards for another attack though this time they simply threw themselves at Mercy with all four arms ready to grab her; Mercy lunged forwards and the two grappled for a moment, this alien soon realising that as strong as their species were they were still a baseline alien unmodified by the Dark Empires' flesh-crafters or adaptive Acheron genetics and their strength paled against that of a Power Ranger.

As was proven further when they went bouncing and skittering across the floor before coming to a halt in a crumpled an unconscious heap as a comet of golden yellow light struck them

"I'm sorry I lost sight of you" Aslaug murmured as she straightened out after driving her shoulder into the alien and plucked Mercy's katana from the ground, offering it her before adding "The others have taken down some of the ward-stones already"

"Where are they?" Mercy asked, leaning against Aslaug for a moment in a gesture that was not entirely for sake of steadying herself.

"Right here" Kay's musical voice announced a moment before a flash of emerald coloured light raced passed the Red and Yellow Rangers to strike the glowing obelisk that had been Mercy's target a pour a steady stream of destructive energy into it before a moment later Marigold rushed into view with Tempestus at her side, the Gold Ranger opening fire at the same target with her pistols until finally the ward-stone exploded and flung each of the Rangers backwards; yet as they dragged themselves to their feet again each of them noted that the darkness had abated somewhat and the light of the stars was beginning to shine through, serving as a faint beacon of hope.

"A few more like that and our guys' ships should be able to get a clear shot at Empire targets" Mercy noted, newfound confidence filling her voice "Everyone okay?"

"We are" Panthera noted as she sidled into view alongside Kay, her words at odds with the various scuffs and burns adorning their armour that indicated they had faced their own struggles; Mercy turned to Mari and Tempestus who merely nodded yet the Red Ranger quickly realised the youngest of her team was still unaccounted for

"Where's Rensa?" she demanded, not waiting for an answer as fear set in and instead opening a comm channel to the Black Ranger "Rensa where are you? Rensa come in? Rensa?…."

There was no reply.

* * *

The Black Ranger had elected to assault a ward-stone alone whilst the other Rangers worked in pairs, to him stalking enemies that outnumbered him with limited resources at his disposal and under cover of absolute darkness was the closest he had felt to his home-world of Dread in quite some time and were it not for the fact that the atmosphere of Unus was difficult for to breathe and downright intolerable to humans he would likely have considered fighting whilst unmorphed for the sake of stealth.

As it was Rensa had slunk along the perimeter of the Dark Empires' stronghold with his daggers at the ready and sunk their blades into any opponent, Putty or otherwise that he encountered before they could raise the alarm and alert their allies' of his attentions as he sought out a ward-stone some distance away from those that his team-mates were targeting, his reasoning being that they would have more success by bringing down the obelisks that enabled the veil of darkness across a wider area than by focusing on those ward-stones closest to each other. Finally he had reached his goal and now he stood before a ward-stone a little over twice his own height and twirled his daggers in mild agitation as he considered a problem that he supposed he should have foreseen.

He had no way to destroy the stone.

With a low hiss of annoyance escaping him he threw caution to the wind and stabbed at the cursed and glowing obelisk but it was to no avail, the force of his attack was siphoned away by a field of magical energy that clung to the thing and sent tingling sensations travelling along the Black Ranger's arms which quickly gave wave to burning as it brought him to a halt, the tips of his daggers barely scratching the glyph ridden surface of the abominable thing. Eventually Rensa was forced to concede that his direct approach would not yield results and so he broke away from the ward-stone, retracing his steps and checking the bodies of the Dark Empire soldiers he had felled for any grenades or other explosives they might have carried, looting them in a way that any of his team save for Panthera would likely have been appalled by.

In his distraction he didn't see the attack coming until it was far too late.

A ball of golden flames struck Rensa and flung him from his feet, warnings flashing across his visor as he skidded to a halt telling him nothing that he couldn't have already guessed from the pain that washed over him. Hissing and spitting in defiance like a feral animal he leapt to his feet and brandished his daggers in a low skulking stance only to come to a halt as his attacker strode into view, iridescent crimson scales with blue tips flickering like flames in the golden light of the blazing, doubled-edged and serrated sword he clasped and held at the ready.

"And so we meet again Black Ranger" Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name chuckled darkly "We were denied a proper conclusion to our duel, first on Mirinoi and again on Carpathia….we rectify that here and now"

"All your talk" Rensa snarled, his usual hushed tones giving way to something more fierce and guttural as he braced himself "The Dark Empire will fail today and you'll meet the same end as any other enemy the Power Rangers have faced"

"Such courage now, such brazen gallantry" Carnifex sneered, his erudite voice dripping with mockery "Do not delude yourself into thinking you impress me whelp, you remain the cowardly and half crazed whelp who watched his liege die and did nothing to avenge him….Allow my Knights to show you proper decorum and the true meaning of wrath boy" at this obvious command half a dozen armed and armoured warriors marched from the shadows, resembling Carnifex save for their slightly smaller stature and duller hides.

Rensa was outnumbered and surrounded by the Knights of Wyvern

"Are you prepared to die with honour Black Ranger?" Carnifex demanded, pointing his flaming sword at Rensa and readying himself whilst the Black Ranger silently trembled with white hot, uncontrollable fury; the realisation that he was alone and outmatched tapping into some primal part of his psyche whilst the taunts regarding Andros's death, temporary as it had been and his own inability to avenge it threatened to send him into a berserk rage. Power coursed through Rensa, the ground cracking beneath him as he shifted his weight and the edges of his armour seeming to blur and become indistinct as excess amount of Morphing Grid energy was channelled through it, causing its' obsidian surface to appear as though it were consuming what little light could be found around it; yet unlike on Mirinoi that power had somewhere to go and Rensa felt the Power itself directing him as the Battleizer that Andros had given him began to glow and words came from the Black Ranger's lips without thought

"Battleizer activated!"

**Author's Notes:**

So….I'm back, sorry about the break.  
Had to take a week hiatus just because this was always gonna be a longer than average chapter but I'm also very close to completing my other ongoing project and I didn't want to take time off of that but scheduling became an issue, also most of families' birthdays are in August and that became an issue.  
But to compensate, we're now two thirds of the way through the final arc of the second act and you got a bigger chapter with some set-pieces and a cliffhanger.  
Two chapters left of this Arc and we'll be ending things with a paradigm shift that's gonna change the tone for the final third of the story.  
Also let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that this story has reached fifty chapters…..I know this is listed as chapter 51 but I don't count the prologue as a chapter.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
Carnifex out here trying to put a brave face on and pretend that getting shot didn't hurt.  
Everything Lord Zedd does feels like a carefully measured power move.  
Lord Zedd is a monster, but he isn't stupid; he'll let his field commanders deviate from strategies and act on their own initiative if there's a good reason for it, that's what they're there for….but also he's still gotta keep an eye out for treachery.  
You've gotta have someone spot the tracking device right before the attack starts, it's a trope for a reason.  
Yes Lord Zedd can basically rearrange the atmosphere with a wave of his hand.  
Seriously, we always see the same general area of the Dark Empire base but it must be huge; it's basically a port city/mining town.  
Little reminder that Kay is learning to do magic and they can feel it in the air.  
Even with the location of the tracker they can't actually see the base from orbit.  
It makes perfect sense that Dana knows something about magic, her team fought literal demons.  
So that's everyone with their objectives and now the party is really starting.  
Oh look, Mission Control controlling a large scale mission; it helped convey a sense of chaos that I was going for.  
Remember Morsus, he was a friend of Trey's way back near the start of the story, another Lord of Triforia.  
So, Triforia is getting in on the action and defending themselves…..that's gonna be something fun to look forward to.  
Any scene that starts with _"What the hell is that thing?" _is gonna a fun time.  
Just enjoy the mental image of Eric de-morphing and going full Special Ops.  
I'm gonna be completely honest, this scene was originally going to be something entirely different and a lot less interesting; it was basically just gonna be a standard monster fight but I realised I needed something better….then I saw the "Rat King" infected in Last of us Two and the idea for a Mega-Putty hit me and we got this.  
Also, getting body horror out stone was trickier than you'd think.  
I designed a whole new Zord, transformation sequence and all just to scrap it in the same scene.  
Also yeah, the Q-Rex Zeta is a Spinosaurus because why not.  
The Zeta Striker attack is basically just Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z's Hell-Zone grenade.  
He really tried to carve through it like it was just another Putty.  
Living stone people, LIVING stone, here's a Putty that uses that properly.  
So Eric was originally gonna die here but I didn't like the idea of him going out after this fight; instead he's at the other side of the Dark Empire's base now, too far away to help the other Rangers….And I'm gonna snuff someone else out instead.  
Lord Zedd was just out here flexing like a juggernaut.  
The balls required to shoot Lord Zedd in the face are immense.  
Dana really tried to 1V1 Lord Zedd.  
That little exchange was definitely inspired by that one scene in Guardians of the Galaxy, you know the one.  
So, Dana Merrick and Taylor vs Lord Zedd….should be a fun time.  
Don't forget that Mercy basically has special ops training.  
So I'll be honest this alien was just something I came up with on the spot to be a mildly annoying mini-boss; literally I just thought_ "Ant + Anteater"_ but then found myself considering the logistics and evolutionary benefits of it as I wrote it.  
It really was never gonna be anything more than one-sided, it wasn't even a monster of the week and we all knew Aslaug was gonna do the Aslaug thing and come in clutch at the last minute.  
And that's a ward-stone down.  
So, Rensa stayed morphed because the air is poison, Eric wore a filter, Dana still had the mouthpiece that's under the Lightspeed helmets in place after her helmet shattered…..you know I'm not mentioning this for no reason right?  
So Rensa can't break the stone….before we all call him a dumb-ass let's just remember that Mercy and Aslaug don't have a ranged weapon between them either.  
Rensa Vs Carnifex….but will it be a final showdown?  
And there's a cliffhanger…..and also, look at that; the first person to activate a Battleizer wasn't the Red Ranger.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
You were right to be excited.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	52. Deep Impact

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 51 – Deep Impact**

The sensation of power was overwhelming, unlike anything Rensa had ever experienced before.

"Stand back!" Carnifex warned, holding out a clawed hand to keep his Knights at bay as an energy field that manifested as a wave of pure darkness warped and shifted around the Black Ranger and sent howling winds rushing out from its' epicentre where the teen stood.

Within the storm of swirling and pulsing energies that had been unleashed the moment he had activated the Battleizer Andros had given to him during their last meeting Rensa himself struggled to retain not only his consciousness but also his sense of self and awareness of everything around him as the raw power he was being exposed to was joined by a cascading rush of information, the Battleizer was made for an entirely different manner of Power Ranger and the act of melding two technologies was accomplished through the sheer force of the Morphing Grid alone, information being forced into the Black Ranger's mind to allow him to control this new tool leaving Rensa with a trickle of dark blood running from his nose within his helmet.

Eventually the energy field dissipated with a final rush of air and Carnifex saw what the Black Aegis Ranger had become.

Rensa's base Ranger had transformed, the stylized white lightening bolt that adorned its' torso and swept from his collar to his left hip before reaching back and encompassing his entire right arm had become a brilliant fiery red almost in homage to the Ranger whose Battleizer he wielded whilst his helmet had become something fearsome; the visor had retained its' overall shape though it too had turned red whilst the sculpted face and snarling maw of the Osore, the apex predator that stalked the wastelands of his home-world had grown larger and its' fang-filled snout now reached out in front of him. Along with this transformation Rensa's suit had formed additional armour, the silver diamond shaped plate adorning the centre of his chest had expanded outwards to create small, angular armour plates adorning his shoulders and a harness of sorts that wrapped around his torso and attached to a powerful propulsion system mounted on his back that lacked the wings of Andros's former Battleizer; additional armour adorned Rensa's knees and knuckles, fitting them with sleek, streamlined and deadly spikes whilst the true weapons of the Battleizer were far larger and easier to spot. Attached to each of Rensa's forearms was a huge, curved blade whose edges reached passed his hands and arced back to rest behind his shoulders and were each fitted with an energy weapon of some kind resting on the outside of the Black Ranger's arms; overall the wings resembled the wings that Andros had boasted whilst using the Battleizer save for their new serrated edges.

The Battleizer had once transformed Andros into what those on Earth had deemed a futuristic, winged warrior; what Rensa had become could only be described as a rocket propelled berserker and as the Black Ranger let out guttural, snarling breaths; the dusty and blasted floor cracking beneath him as he shifted his weight and adopted a low, skulking stance Carnifex couldn't help but feel that he might not have had the measure of the boy the way had assumed.

"No more talk Carnifex?" Rensa snarled, repeating his earlier mocking observation with his voice strained as he channelled the Power of the Morphing Grid in amounts that he had never imagined possible before and leaving his every nerve charged and buzzing as his senses were heightened, his blood pounded in his ears and his breathing became shallow as the act of simply containing his knew might left a feeling of immense pressure in his chest.

Carnifex however simply readied his sword which continued to glow in the darkness as golden flames crackled and blazed around it.

"No more words" the crimson-scaled draconian nodded simply before turning to the six Knights of Wyvern that had accompanied their Lord to serve as a personal retinue and nodded simply "Attack!" the six warriors, each a reptilian monstrosity capable of tearing a man apart with their hands brandished their weapons, a collection of swords, axes and pole-arms and rushed forwards with fierce battle-cries and roars of challenge on their lips.

Rensa responded in kind.

For the Black Ranger launching himself into the fray felt less like a conscious decision or distinct action than it did simply a release, as though the new power the Battleizer had granted him were a savage and rampaging beast that he had simply given up trying to restrain. The jets mounted on his back and shoulder-blades let out a fierce roar of their own and sent Rensa surging forwards with a jet of flames and a contrail of red light behind him, he was invisibly fast with only a screaming wind and the coppery scent of blood filling the air to mark his passage; the Knights of Wyvern were brought to a stunned halt as they realised that the Black Ranger had ripped through their midst and was now stood behind them with a shallow furrow torn into the ground and two their number lying motionless, pools of dark blood expanding out from beneath them.

"CUT HIM DOWN!" Carnifex bellowed, the mechanical wing that rested along his left arm like a cape peeling away and the triple-barrelled cannon that lay beneath it unfurling to unleash a maelstrom of energy attacks that streaked through the space between them only to be countered and rendered useless as Rensa extended his arms and fired the cannons attached to his newly bloodied, arm-mounted blades; bolts of deepest obsidian colliding with Carnifex's attacks and neutralizing them in a series of fiery explosions whose bloody aurora of an afterglow hid the two warriors from each others' view.

Carnifex regained sight of the Black Ranger just in time to see another of the Knights of his household be laid low.

The saurian warrior's entire body stiffened and froze in place for an instant before their weapon slipped from their grasp and they slumped to the ground with dark, sizzling blood spattered across earthy and bronzed scales as the overpowered Power Ranger appeared before them in mid air, streams of ebony and fiery red trailing behind them and the dull boom of the sound barrier being broken echoing out as the Black Ranger drove his knee into the once proud warriors' skull. Before Carnifex could even process that he had seen another of his chosen Knights fall the Black Ranger vanished in a blur of motion once again only to appear directly in front of a fourth opponent and strike them in the chest with an open palm with enough force to send them sailing backwards with their armour crumpled and misshapen.

Finally Carnifex retaliated.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" the air shimmered and warped unnaturally around him, the iridescent blue tips of his crimson scales glowing before a sphere of golden light enveloped him; a moment later Carnifex drove his blazing sword into the ground and unleashed the stored arcane energy that had been building within him, the ground beneath his feet being turned to glass as a wall of golden fire rushed out in every direction, steadily increasing to white-hot temperatures as it incinerated everything in its' path.

When the flames subsided however the Black Ranger was still standing, the rockets attached to his back did not grant him the ability to fly but it clearly did give him the ability to leap impressive distances as Rensa was now several feet away and rising to his feet after his acrobatic back-flip had carried him several dozen feet before he landed in a crouch; seeing this Carnifex let out a furious snarl and allowed his mask of erudite composure to slip as he turned to the only remaining pair of Knights

"AFTER HI-" Carnifex was cut off as a beam of light ripped through the air close by, the dust that filled the atmosphere sizzling as it was scorched though the draconian Acheron hybrid realised that this attack was a deep emerald green in colour, the signature colour of Lord Zedd's traitorous bastard.

Which meant that the Green Ranger and likely the rest of them would be here at any moment.

"Very well" Carnifex ground out, twirling his sword and forcing his emotions under some semblance of control. Retreat was anathema to his very nature yet the monster knew that there was nothing to be gained by perishing here, outnumbered and surrounded in terms of tangible benefits or simple honour and pride and Carnifex was finally forced to conclude that this battle was over.

"TO ME!" he yelled, his two remaining warriors rushed to his side and Rensa blurred into motion once again, seeming to flit around the battlefield in order to disguise his true intentions before striking some unprotected flank yet the Acheron hybrid used this brief moment of hesitation to his advantage, unleashing a volley of attacks from his shoulder cannon in all directions before breathing out a jet of flames that formed a barrier around him.

When the flames subsided Carnifex was gone.

Rensa came skidding to a halt, shoulders sagging and breathing reduced to laboured pants as various warning messages began to flash across the inside of his visor, informing him that he would not be able to maintain this form for much longer and confirming what he already knew deep in his bones due to the deep weariness beginning to set in. Glancing around him he saw the carnage he had wrought and winced slightly, whilst death was far from new to him and bodies rent open by savage claws was a sight he had long since become accustomed to he could see his fellow Rangers approaching through the fog of war, they would be here any moment and despite their duties as Power Rangers he knew that they still fund such naked violence unsettling. Deciding that there was nothing that could be done he simply turned towards the glowing and pulsating obelisk of blackened stone that had been his initial target, the ward-stone that kept Lord Zedd's artificial darkness in place and promptly aimed the blaster mounted on his right arm.

The ward-stone exploded with a single blast and darkness above them subsided further, seeming like a positive omen to the Black Ranger even as his Battleizer deactivated and his armour returned to its' regular state with a low whine and he began to sway on his feet with exhaustion, only to be caught by Mercy as the rest of the Aegis Rangers reached him.

"You did it" she assured him "We've got this….we can win this"

* * *

Dana realised she had been a fool to think she could face Lord Zedd alone.

That realisation came to her at the precise moment that her attempt to bring her axe down on the tyrants' skull, letting out a yell as she leapt into the air and swung with all her might was countered was countered with an almost offensive lack of effort; the former Pink Lightspeed Ranger, currently wearing the Titanium armour that had once belonged to her brother was halted in mid-air and forced back as Lord Zedd lashed out with his own weapon. Her momentum was robbed from her even before the two blades connected and they did a glowing, thrashing aura of bloody crimson ripped into the blade of her axe; destroying the weapon in a shower of sparks and explosion of twisted metal before sending her hurtling to the ground some distance away to land in a crumpled heap. Battered but undefeated Dana dragged herself first onto her hands and knees and then into a crouch, her helmet had already been destroyed and the force of the impact had left he seeing stars whilst the burning, stinging pain and the sensation of blood trickling from a gash in her forehead where she struck the floor kept her focused as she turned to face Lord Zedd once again.

Just in time to see Merrick and Taylor charge into battle.

The two Wild Force Rangers fought as one, displaying the kind of unity that could only be achieved through decades of working alongside one another; Merrick holding the Lunar Cue in its' blaster form and unleashing a volley of withering fire that seared the air and ground around Lord Zedd, bolts of glowing energy impacting against the jagged surfaces of his armour whilst Taylor rushed close, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger closed the distance in a blur of motion, flitting from one place to the next in a dizzying display before finally appearing before Lord Zedd and slashing at his midsection with her sword and then quickly following up with a volley of fluid and graceful attacks that came from all angles and culminated in her using a powerful kick to her opponents armour to fling herself in to the air and deliver a slash to Lord Zedd's armoured helm. The moment Taylor had drawn close enough Merrick had shifted the Lunar Cue into its' sabre mode and charged with a wordless yell, he and Taylor working such perfect tandem that her blow to the warlords' skull came at the exact same moment as the Silver Wild Force Ranger delivered a lunging, stabbing attack at Lord Zedd's body.

Yet their attacks did nothing.

"Pitiful" Lord Zedd taunted, his mocking laughter hanging in the air as he simply kicked Merrick in the chest with catastrophic Force; the sound of bone cracking clearly audible despite his armour as he he sailed backwards through the air, his weapon falling from his hands before he came crashing to a halt behind where Dana stood and watched in open mouthed horror. The monstrous display of force was not over and before Taylor could even reach the ground after her own failed attack Lord Zedd's massive, clawed hand flashed out as he seized the Yellow Wild Force Ranger by the leg and slammed her into the ground with enough force to leave the laying dazed and motionless in the bottom of a shallow crater.

Time seemed to come to a halt for Dana, the Titanium Ranger's world narrowing do to the sound of her own hammering heartbeat and distorted and ragged gasps that the sound of her breathing was transformed into by the respirator covering the lower half of her face; the noise of the battles raging all around her, the pain in her own body and the sensation of the inhospitable atmosphere of Unus prickling against the exposed skin of her face all faded away as she watched Lord Zedd loom over Taylor's downed form and raise his monstrous, double-bladed broad-sword with the intent to impale her much the same as he had his own father. She wasn't consciously aware of deciding to move, only that what little of her surrounding still registered in her mind had become a blur as she charged forwards with a wordless scream of rage and defiance as she pushed her aching muscles far beyond the limits of human endurance and willed the Power itself to give her more strength, yet as Lord Zedd's sword began to fall it became painfully clear that she wouldn't make it.

Then the impossible happened.

"WHO DARES INTERFERE?" Lord Zedd's voice boomed and echoed across the desolate landscape and answer was provided as the flash of light that hand blinded each of the combatants subsided to reveal the identity of the newcomer.

"It can't be!" Dana exclaimed

"So Paradoxa was such a failure that you still draw breath?" Lord Zedd snarled

"No….your follower murdered the last Triforian to wear this armour. I am Lord Morsus and I am here to see that your crimes are answered for" Dana's eyes widened further still as she recognised the name and voice of this new Gold Zeo Ranger who had intervened and saved Taylor from the murderous wrath of Lord Zedd, his golden staff held outstretched in both hands and wreathed in coruscating light that surged from the gem mounted in its' head as he held the two blades of the tyrants' enormous sword at bay. The ground cracked beneath Lord Morsus's feet and the air became charged with the sheer amount of magical energy permeating it as slowly and with great effort the Gold Ranger began to lift Lord Zedd's weapon, forcing it away so that Taylor could free herself and Dana was left watching in silent disbelief as the Yellow Wild Force Ranger escaped whilst used the opening to shift his weapon back into its' blaster form as he rushed closer and snapped off a volley of shots.

Lord Zedd's response was devastating.

With a wordless roar of exertion the towering, armoured tyrant span away from the Gold Ranger and extended his left palm outwards; a sphere of pure midnight black formed in his taloned grasp and trembled with some unfathomable power before imploding and unleashing a howling and shrieking wall of pure concussive force. Dana felt fresh cuts be torn into her exposed face and whilst she was still flung to the ground she was the furthest away from the epicentre of the attack and by far the least affected; Merrick's armour was littered with gouges and the shattered remains of his weapon lay by his side and Taylor was struggling to drag herself to her feet close by and the pained gasping sounds escaping her alerted Dana to a horrible truth, that the Yellow Ranger's helmet was broken and that she had no respirator beneath it. This was nothing however to the condition of the Gold Ranger's armour.

"You were never meant to be a Ranger and you will die here for your foolishness" Lord Zedd sneered at Morsus whose armour glowed with heat and was littered with gouges whilst the entirety of the shield that had adorned his chest had been shattered and his helmet broken open to reveal that the wizened old man had shorn the silvery beard that had previously reached to his waist and that his already papery skin and a distinctly sickly cast to it, caused by both the sudden exposure to the inhospitable atmosphere of Unus and the simple strain of using a Morpher that his body was not truly compatible with that left blood trickling from his nose and the corners of his mouth

"You are right on both counts I'm afraid" Morsus answered simply "But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make for my people, so that they rest of your forces may be dealt with more swiftly" as he spoke his words were punctuated by several flashes of light above them and Dana, along with each of the other combatant glanced upwards to see that the artificial darkness that had once shrouded the base from view was all-but entirely absent, the Aegis Rangers having brought down several of the ward-stones and that the Alliances ships battling the Dark Empire's ship out in the gulf of space had been joined by a small contingent of pyramid shaped Triforian vessels and that whilst the Triforian people were pacifistic almost to a fault, these particular ships were certainly equipped for war.

Lord Zedd was in motion again faster than the eye could see.

The ground trembled as he and Morsus each traded cataclysmic blows, the Gold Ranger's body continuing to fail him as they launched themselves at one another, their attacks both physical and arcane maelstroms that sundered everything around them and for several moments it was all Dana could do to watch until her brow furrowed and the cold, calculating and rational part of her mind that was responsible for most regrettable decisions asserted itself.

Dana took her respirator off.

"What're you doing?" Merrick demanded

"Taylor can't breathe get this over her face and call for a retreat" the Titanium Ranger answered simply, each word feeling like knives in her throat now that she was exposed to the choking atmosphere yet still she persevered and forced herself forwards, breaking into a full sprint towards where Lord Zedd and the Gold Ranger duelled, each step forward suddenly a laboured and painful thing.

The battle reached its' end before she could join it

"NO!" the scream of rage, agony and countless other emotions scorched Dana's throat as she sunk to her knees at the sight of Lord Zedd's monstrous sword bursting from the Gold Ranger's back as Morsus's body betrayed him at a crucial moment

"And so ends the weakest Ranger" Lord Zedd taunted as he held the dying Lord Morsus, whose Morphed state flickered around him as his power failed aloft on the blade of his sword "You never had a chance"

"Perhaps not….perhaps I was a fool for believing that even you could be possibly be reasoned with in some way" Morsus choked out "But this isn't over quite yet" before Lord Zedd could form the mocking reply that he intended to deliver the Gold Ranger's body began to glow with the light of a miniature sun, forcing the Rangers to look away yet each of them heard booming thunderclap of an explosion as Morsus channelled the last of his strength and vast reserves of magic into a final attack and when Dana, vision beginning to blur and spin dared to look in Lord Zedd's direction she was stunned to see that the tyrants' armour had been reduced to a near molten state by the cascading waves of magical energy and that the sounds currently splitting the air asunder were his roars and howls of pain.

It was over shortly however.

"ENOUGH!" Lord Zedd bellowed before driving his sword into the ground and sending a shock-wave travelling outwards that shook the ground with enough force to cause the burning hulks of several of his own warships to collapse in on themselves.

"FULL RETREAT!" Lord Zedd roared as he opened a portal behind himself, still pouring destructive magic into the surface of Unus through his sword until the moon threatened to crack at the seams "THIS MOON WILL FALL UPON ITS' WORLD AND END THOSE DARE DEFY MY MIGHT!" Lord Zedd ripped his sword free and vanished through the screaming portal that he had torn into reality and Dana realised that they had won; it had cost them a great many lives and if Lord Zedd's tirade were to be believed then Unus itself was doomed and yet the truth remained undeniable

The Dark Empire were leaving Alliance space.

Dana clung to that fact as her body finally failed her and everything faded to darkness.

* * *

The Aegis Rangers had reunited and were once again the process of dismantling a swarm of the Dark Empire's seemingly innumerable, but now finite supply of Putties; something that was almost a welcome return to normalcy at this juncture.

Mercy had placed herself in front of Rensa since she and the others had found him, the various sensors of her helmets' visor had alerted her to the massive amount to energy being channelled and discharged during his battle with Carnifex and the Knights of Wyvern and it was obvious that the Black Ranger was exhausted even if he chose not to discuss what had happened. The Red Ranger was fierce in her protective mindset and the next group of Putties to approach the Aegis Rangers felt the full force of her anger; four of the warbling automatons rushed at her in a loose semicircle formation with their limbs thrashing wildly until Mercy rushed into their midst and delivered a spinning heel kick to the torso of the first Putty she reached that shattered its' entire body as she struck the circular plate mounted in its' chest. She continued to be a blur of movement as she carried the spinning kick into a sweep that threw a second Putty off-balance whilst at the same time using her other knee to parry a kick from a third before turning at the waist to swing her right elbow out to block a punch from the same Putty before dropping into a crouch and bringing right arm arcing around to smash the Putties' legs out from beneath it and reducing the things' body to shattered stone with a few will places blows to its' weak point; from here the Red Ranger leapt to her feet and prepared to deal with the remaining pair of Putties that had positioned themselves both in front of and behind her only for them to be destroyed before she could act, the Putty in front of her being shattered in a hailstorm of golden light as Marigold finished off the last of her own group of Putties and turned her attention to Mercy, the Putty behind the Red Ranger falling to the ground with a heavy thumping sound as Rensa simply leapt onto the things' chest and broke it apart.

"Thanks" Mercy panted out, grateful for the assistance even she had intended to be the one protecting him.

Mere feet away Aslaug and Tempestus fought side by side against their own contingent of Putties with their weapons at the ready; the two of them making an unlikely yet undeniably effective pair as the Blue Ranger's grace and agility effectively corralled the chattering constructs into place for the Yellow Ranger's raw power to be used against them.

"Most excellent!" Tempestus exclaimed as he weaved between two of six Putties that they fought against and twirled his staff in a way that both parried their wild and uncoordinated blows and batted them aside with enough force to leave them reeling and struggling to reorient themselves until a mighty swing of Aslaug's axe cleaved through them entirely. A third Putty was shattered as the Blue Ranger brought the opposite end of his staff crashing first into its' knee and then it's skull before shattering it with a fluid maelstrom of blows to the chest whilst Aslaug destroyed the fourth by driving the shaft of her axe into its' face to stun it before kicking it square in the chest, swiftly claiming the fifth Putty as she decapitated the fifth and knocking its' still flailing body aside

"Heads up!" Mercy announced her presence before appearing in a crimson blur of motion, landing on the flat of Aslaug's axe in a crouch before springing forward to deliver a spinning elbow to the last of the group of Putties

"Hey" she addressed Aslaug in a tone that was almost playful, her confidence that had been shaken by recent missions returning to her as she added "Come on, we can take down another ward-stone; all we've gotta do is get through these Putties"

Panthera and Kay had made it the closest to the next ward-stone that the Aegis Rangers had been intending to destroy before being brought to a half by a group of Putties and promptly cleared out the majority of the incoming attackers with a combination of the Green Ranger's energy attacks and the Pink Ranger's bladed weapons being hurled into their midst, leaving the two Rangers with only a few final warbling automatons to deal with. One of those few Putties collapsed, its' body crumbling as Panthera planted her feet in the centre of its' chest and used it as a springboard to back-flip away, landing in a crouch with her arms crossed over chest and springing upwards as she lashed out, her blades piercing the chests of two more Putties. A final pair of the stone constructs charged at her only to be crushed and shattered with ease as Kay collided with them, the Green Ranger's gladius piercing through the torso of the first before they span kicked the second in the face, sending it crashing to the ground and finally ending it by stomping through its' body

"Thanks" Panthera noted, voice tinged with faint amusement "But you still owe me a couple"

"You keep track?" Kay asked, equally amused as they tried to recall each of the many times that they and Panthera had intercepted an attack meant for the other

"Of course" Panthera grinned "Now come on, let's take out that-"

She was silenced as both she and Kay were flung to the ground.

"What was that?" she demanded, dragging herself to her feet as the wall of concussive force that had washed over them subsided, only for the ground to begin shaking as cracks and fissures began to appear across the surface of the barren and dust covered moon the fought upon. Kay helped her up and the two of them saw that their fellow Rangers had dealt with the groups of Putties that had been bogging them down

"Are you guys okay?" Mercy called out as she led the way and was the first to join them

"Yeah" Panthera nodded "But seriously what happened"

"Uh guys?" Marigold called out from the rear of the group, gaze turned firmly downwards "The ground's still shaking….and I'm getting some pretty weird readings here" Tempestus followed her lead and turned his attention to the still quaking surface of the moon only to gasp out in surprise

"It would seem that….it would seem that the entire moon is experienced dangerous seismic activity" he met Mercy's gaze "We have a matter of minutes before Unus begins to collapse under its' own weight"

"Okay team" Mercy began, asserting control over the situation "Time to pull out, Commander Cruger; teleport us back to your ship….Commander Cruger?….Mission Control? Anyone?" dread began to seep into the Red Ranger's voice as she realised that she couldn't contact anyone

"That shock-wave was magical" Kay breathed out "The amount of interference it caused could be blocking out signal?"

"That or all available channels are in use?" Marigold offered

"Doesn't matter" Panthera noted urgently "We need to find another way off of this moon or we're all gonna die; Mercy nodded in agreement and quickly scanned her surroundings in search of a possible solution before finally being rewarded with the sight of a mass of burning and misshapen wreckage that she realised was the rear half of a Dark Empire warship that had been destroyed before it could take off, the half of the vessel where its' power source would be

"Okay I've got an idea!" she declared "Look Dark Empire teleporters aren't great and they don't have much range but we can use the one on that ship to get us onto one of the Alliance ships in orbit"

"Can you use a Dark Empire teleporter?" Tempestus asked cautiously

"I can" Kay answered "At least in theory"

"It's the best chance we have" Aslaug noted gruffly

"Okay it's settled then" Mercy insisted "Now come on Rangers let's move!" at her command the seven Aegis Rangers promptly ran for their lives.

* * *

Taylor, Merrick and Dana teleported aboard the command bridge of the enormous ark-ship that Cruger had controlled throughout the duration of the assault on Unus; the scaled and canine alien rushing to the side of the veteran Rangers as he saw the bloodied and broken state that they had returned in.

"She needs medical attention right now!" Taylor all-but screamed as she ripped the respirator that Dana had sacrificed herself to provide her with from her face whilst Merrick desperately tried to resuscitate the unconscious and deathly pale form of the Titanium Ranger, whose armour had failed and whose face was smeared with her own blood that leaked from several deep wounds.

"She's breathing but we're losing her!" Merrick exclaimed "I can barely find a pulse"

"Computer, two to medical!" Cruger barked out, his voice gruff yet laced with concern as her turned to medical "Merrick stay with her, explain what happened" before the Silver Wild Force Ranger could reply he and the comatose and rapidly fading Dana were teleported away from the bridge in a stream of light so that they could be given medical treatment, leaving Taylor and Cruger alone; the Yellow Wild Force Ranger flying to her feet, still holding Dana's respirator and wheezing and gasping desperately as she tried to force herself to speak

"The moon….breaking….evac-"

"Is already underway, you were the first ones to be pulled out" Cruger assured her

"What's….what's happening" Taylor choked and sputtered "The Triforians-" Cruger held up a hand and silenced her before taking her by the shoulders and gently manoeuvring her to somewhere that she could sit

"Breathe soldier, you need to breathe" he urged her though the bruised and battered woman persisted, struggling to rise to her feet until her body betrayed her and her trembling legs collapsed beneath her; her skin was ashen and ghostly pale and slick with cold, clammy sweat yet the intensity of the fire in her eyes never wavered as she forced herself to speak again, showing Cruger exactly the kind of unrelenting determination and commitment that had made her a Power Ranger

"Eric?"

"Lord Zedd's attack has cracked Unus to its' core" Cruger began, certain that he didn't truly need to explain the severity of the situation but simply breaking it down into easy to manage and process portions for his own good "The moon is slowly shattering but luckily the Triforians were prepared….the idea that Lord Zedd might do something so drastic if the tide of the battle turned against him wasn't out of the realm of possibility; our own ships are assisting the Triforian fleet in targeting any debris before it can enter the planets' atmosphere whilst all of the Triforian City States are preparing themselves for any tidal and geological effects caused by the destruction of one of their moons, they assure as that with the magic and technology at their disposal they will persevere….their moons are sacred to them though, it's a blow that their entire culture will feel, along with losing another Gold Ranger" Cruger watched Taylor relax, if only a fraction and only for a second before her eyes became hard again as the initial relief at learning that Triforia would not be bombarded and decimated by city sized meteors formed from its' own shattered moon wore off and her mind turned to another, almost equally important matter

"Eric is safe" Cruger said bluntly, assuaging her fears before she could do something foolish like attempt to stand again before she had seen a medic.

"Where?" her tone was pleading and coming from the ragged, scorched throat of someone who had been exposed to the atmosphere that was not intended for humans to breathe it was a pitiful sound that only served to stab at Cruger's heart.

"Lord Zedd's final attack caused a massive spike in magical interference….not as complete as the cloaking field that was initially over the Dark Empire base but enough to make teleporting people out difficult" Cruger admitted, pacing across the command bridge of his massive ark-ship and slowly making his way to one of the myriad control terminals as he spoke "You were lucky that you, Merrick and Dana were so quick to fall back or the ships' sensors wouldn't have been able to locate you….fortunately we can still target and extract larger groups, the Silver Guardians have been falling back and rendezvousing with each other so that they're in groups big enough to detect. Eric and his squad however were one of the first to be pulled out, his efforts to liberate the Dark Empire slave camps were successful….the Ark ship is being used for its' intended purpose of saving people from despots"

"We….won?" Taylor croaked out, sensing a deep contentment and quiet joy that went far beyond simple happiness at the victory they had achieved radiating from the alien canine.

"We did" Cruger nodded, voice barely above a whisper as he began to cross reference the various squads that were reporting back against those that had been deployed "Not without sacrifices but every man and woman who laid down their lives today did so for the good of…..No, no-"

"What's wrong?" Taylor demanded, managing to raise her voice despite the pain it obviously caused her; Cruger made no effort to answer and instead frantically checked and rechecked the streams of incoming data and upon finding no discrepancies began actively searching for the homing beacons of those he sought, only for it to prove impossible amidst the interference plaguing Unus as it slowly collapsed; a realisation that forced him to accept the harsh truth staring him in the face.

"The Rangers, they're still on the surface and I can't locate or contact them" he answered, ears laying flat along his skull and voice trembling as he added "We've lost contact with the Aegis Rangers"

* * *

It was chaos aboard the ruined Dark Empire ship, an unforgiving and desperately brutal fight for survival that surpassed anything that the Aegis Rangers had seen thus-far in the careers as Rangers. Warning lighting illuminated the path ahead of the seven of them as they sprinted through the heavily damaged corridors, casting everything in a frightening crimson glow whilst alarms screeched and blared, rising above the sound of chain reactions caused by the destruction of the entire front half of the warship ripping through what was left of it and pitched battles amongst its' crew as they fell upon in each other in acts of utter barbarism, fighting for access to the few remaining escape pods or crash vaults in the hope that they might survive the end of Unus or in several cases simply murdering each other to settle old grudges before they perished.

"How much further, Kay any idea?" Marigold asked, her twin Buster-Pistols letting out a near constant stream of golden light as she opened fire without hesitation on any Dark Empire warrior that they encountered; one such warrior attempting to lunge at them only to be sent toppling to the ground with a burning crater in their chest, the Gold Ranger being horrified to see their alleged allies turn on them and begin looting their body, executing them in cold blood when they tried to resist.

"I don't know for certain, I know it should be this way but I don't have a floor plan of every single model of Empire warship uploaded into my brain" the Green Ranger answered, lamenting the limitations of the knowledge that had been uploaded into their still forming mind before they had been unleashed upon their fellow Rangers.

"Wouldn't help anyway" Mercy noted grimly "The Alliance has files, but I'm looking at them now and the Captains of these ships customise them to the point that no two are the same"

"The teleporters are always near the main engine rooms and engineering though, basic design choice" Panthera offered, her lived experience of various spaceships designed by dozens of species far outweighing the second hand information that Mercy or Kay had access to "Found a shortcut, down here!" she added swiftly before turning off of their current path and leaping down a hole that had been rent into the floor of the deck they were currently on.

"Come on, after her!" Mercy called out, following the Pink Ranger who lead the way through yet more ongoing carnage, drawing her katana and cutting or simply barging through any resistance that she encountered, the rest of the Aegis Rangers close behind her until finally Panthera came skidding to a halt in front of a solid door comprised of some unknown metal that it was clear to see was heavily armoured and reinforced, a smoking control panel behind it.

"Damn it!" the teal-skinned alien snapped "The door's sealed shut, we can't get in"

"ITS' THE POWER RANGERS!" Mercy turned and saw a small contingent of Dark Empire soldiers rushing towards them, a plethora of ranged and melee weapons at the ready

"We need to get this door open!" the Red Ranger insisted "Kay, Mari handle them; everybody else form the Power Blaster!" the Aegis Rangers complied and in a matter of seconds the air was filled with the yells of falling enemies as the Green and Gold Rangers ploughed into them whilst the Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink and Black Rangers combined their weapons and, in a flash of white light that was wreathed in lightning the colour of each of their armour the door to the ships' teleporters was blasted open and the seven Rangers hurried inside; the chamber etched with runes and glyphs that emanated with some residual darkness that warped and charged the air around them seeming far more welcoming that they would in any other circumstances.

Only for a fresh problem to present itself.

"Tempestus, Kay….can you get it working?" Mercy asked hopefully

"I think I can operate it" the Blue Ranger nodded "But we don't have power….the damage has disabled it" the admission hung in the air for several seconds and the Aegis Rangers shared fearful glances, each of them easily able to read one another's expressions even beneath their helmets until finally, with a slow shaky breath Kay stepped forward

"I think I can power it up"

"How?" Aslaug asked

"Empire teleporters are a lot more straightforward that Alliances designs….and a lot less safe" Kay began "They're powered by Acheron magic and use the equivalent to blunt force rather than science….but I've been studying Acheron magic with my Grandfather, I think I can generate enough power for us to teleport out of here"

"The floor's still shaking and we're running out of time" Rensa noted "And it won't be long before somebody else tries to use the teleporter" the Rangers each shared a glance, each of them turning towards Mercy who considered for a single moment before nodding

"We're out of choices….do it" with the approval of the leader they would forever think of as their cousin the Green Ranger steadied themselves and rested their hands against one the of the control panels of the teleporter, allowing their mind to recede from the physical yet still being aware of Panthera laying a hand on their shoulder for luck and Tempestus preparing to begin preparing the teleporter; Kay found that channelling the ambient magical energy in the air was far easier in their morphed state and within seconds their entire body had begun to glow with a strange, ethereal light which coalesced around their palms before being forced into the arcane machinery of the teleportation chamber; a screaming sound filling the air as glyphs and runes began to shine with the same green glow, several of them cracking as the entire chamber began to tremble

"Oh that's not groovy" Tempestus muttered as his fingers danced across several control panels "Kay whatever you're doing is causing multiple error readings-"

"Can you get us out of here?" Mercy demanded

"I can try, but I don't know of-"

"THEN DO IT!" the force of her yell was almost enough to break Kay's concentration yet the Green Ranger continued to provide Tempestus with all the magical power that he would need up until the last moment when the Blue Ranger announced that they should all brace themselves and the familiar tingling sensation of teleportation began to set in, indescribably different in some fundamental way to the Alliance teleporters that the Rangers were used to though there was no time to contemplate that as the entire of the Dark Empire ship vanished from view in a flash of light.

It was instantly clear that something had gone wrong.

Tempestus had likely been attempting to teleport them onto any of the Alliance ships in the area that had their shields lowered to accommodate the action or failing that, down onto the surface of Triforia where they could re-establish contact with either Mission Control on Promethea or Commander Cruger. It was clear to see that wherever they had been teleported to was neither of those places, primarily owing to the utter lack of ground of any kind beneath Kay's feet.

They were falling.

The seven Rangers had found themselves in mid-air, surrounding by nothing by the alien sky of a world that they could not readily identity and the lights of alien cities far out in the distance whilst directly below them the vast, unlit expanse of a vast and barren wasteland rushed up to meet them and howling air screamed and whooshed around them as they plummeted downwards.

"Hold onto me!" Kay called out, struggling to be heard over the howling air as they reached out took Panthera's hand in theirs, lacing their fingers through the Pink Ranger's as she flailed helplessly; Mercy reached out and took Kay's free hand in one of hers whilst the other clasped onto Aslaug and soon the seven Rangers were falling in a circular formation as they held onto each other.

Exactly as Kay had intended.

With a wordless roar of exertion the Green Ranger channelled all the magic that their body could handle first into their own armour, which began to glow brightly and distort the air around it as its' edges seemed to bleed into their surroundings and then into the armour of the other Rangers, a sphere of jade green light enveloping them and causing their descent to look like some prophetic falling star.

"HOLD ON!" Mercy screamed out as the ground rushed up and an instant later everything went black.

**Author's Notes:**

And that is how you do a cliffhanger.  
One more chapter of this volume to go and then we're two thirds of the way through the story.  
…..What if I told you I'm ending the next chapter on a cliffhanger to set up for the final act as well?  
Also, I think after the next chapter I'm gonna take a hiatus for a just a few weeks; my RWBY story is reaching its' final few chapters and I want to focus on that and then I can devote all of my attention to Aegis; I feel like it's for the best because I've noticed that while working on the two stories at the same time I've ended putting similar story beats in both.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:  
So yeah Rensa has a Battleizer now, two things to notice are one that it has a physical toll on his body while it's in use, which puts a limiter on how long it can be used at any one time and two that it's effectively a repurposing of Andros's enhanced form with some additional details and homages like the red part of the suit and visor….overall I wanted it to look savage and primal, which along with it being repurposed technology from somewhere else makes it really fit Rensa and his home-world.  
Yeah Battleizer Rensa is on some Anime bullshit, out fighting like it's Dragon Ball Z or MHA the way he just vanishes when he moves.  
Carnifex can mix magic in with his sword fighting and shoulder cannon, he did it when he was first introduced.  
Insert the Goldar line about living to fight another day here.  
So the other Rangers found Rensa…..in the middle of a pile of bodies.  
It was at that moment Dana knew, she'd fucked up.  
Lunar and Merrick's combo attack on Zedd was based on the scene from Doom-Fist's short where he took Tracer out….and I don't even play Overwatch.  
Oh you know it's gonna be dramatic when time starts slowing down.  
Like….Morsus said that Triforia would send aid…..but come on, you didn't really think that he could stop Lord Zedd did you? You saw what Lord Zedd did to Zebidiah right?  
Yeah, there's a reason that there's a limited amount of Power Rangers...using a Morpher you can't handle will kill you.  
Yay for Triforian cavalry.  
Heroic sacrifice from Dana….And I'm gonna be entirely honest, I actually originally planned for her to die in this scene but there was already too much going on.  
Also yeah she had to take her respirator off, because the Lightspeed helmets are the only ones that have those, Taylor didn't have one.  
Damn…..Morsus had one final fuck you stored away, as we saw when they finally started fighting back much earlier in the story, when Triforians finally do start using force it gets pretty nasty.  
And yeah….Lord Zedd is strong enough to shatter a moon.  
Protective Mercy, enjoy.  
Also, the Putty fight was indeed a welcome return to form that felt like an intermission in this chapter….I was definitely listening to Combat by Ron Wasserman as I wrote it.  
Little touches like Mercy getting her groove back when she does combo with Aslaug or Panthera keeping score of how many times she and Kay have saved each other are always nice to add.  
That was Lord Zedd's shock-wave hitting their location.  
Oh….did you think it was gonna be so easy? That the Rangers were just gonna leave?  
So yeah, Dana is still alive but she is not gonna be fighting again for a long time; like I said I was planning on having her go out in a blaze of glory here.  
Props to Taylor, out here making sure the job gets done no matter what condition she's in.  
Triforia only has two of its' three moons now but it's not a total wipe-out like Liaria was, they had enough preparation to start raising shields and having their most powerful mages and fleet on stand-by.  
So Eric is back and he liberated several thousand slaves and prisoners, good on him.  
This is, at least technically a victory….they have achieved the goal they set out to.  
Interference from the magical attack making them impossible to locate plus the fact they're on a ruined Dark Empire ship that may or may not have some of its' cloaking field still intact, there was no way Cruger was gonna find the Aegis Rangers.  
The Dark Empire praises betrayal, seeing it as a way to ensure that strength and cunning are promoted, we saw that with Paradoxa….add that to a situation where there aren't enough escape pods and you get a massacre.  
It could have done more descriptive writing here but I feel like it would have taken away from the energy and pacing off the scene, I wanted it to feel frantic and hectic without any breathing room….but hopefully without being verbal shaky-cam.  
Ha, did you really think Kay learning magic from Zebidiah was going to be a throwaway thing? Did you think Zebidiah mentioning that he may just need a catalyst was unimportant?  
So yeah…..that went wrong.  
The whole reaching out and grabbing each others' hands…..now on first glance that might look like an homage to the skydiving scene in the '95 movie, but it was actually based on that one scene at the end of Toy Story 3….yeah, hits different now doesn't it?  
So….we all know that the Rangers survived, the question now is where are they?

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	53. Aftershock

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 52 – Aftershock**

Carnifex had escaped the doomed moon of Unus, reaching the Command Bridge of the Draco-Ocidendum in time to watch the maelstrom of anti-orbital barrages and sheer magical might that Triforia was forced to unleash upon the city sized meteors and fragments that fell towards their world in what could best be described as a supreme act of cultural masochism.

The Draconian Acheron hybrid had first teleported back aboard his warship after it had become apparent that he would be unable to best the Aegis Rangers, especially not with the Black Ranger having ascended to some new, higher Morphed state capable of laying waste to his finest warriors and pursuing a blood feud against him. Once aboard Carnifex he had immediately been confronted with a problem, those same Knights of Wyvern of his personal household whom the Black Ranger had slain were also members of the bridge crew of his ship and he had been forced to replace them by knighting and promoting several of his fallen warriors' own squires and retainers as the custom of Wyvern dictated, yet far before any of them were ready for such responsibilities. Carnifex had been determined to persevere however and had pushed onwards, his return to his ship was far from the cowardly fleeing from a fight that his enemies would certainly allow themselves to believe it was; Unus was lost and following Lord Zedd's final destruction of the moon the Dark Empire General simply had more pressing matters to attend to.

His goal was, as always to enact the grand vision of Lord Zedd and see that the Dark Empire reigned supreme.

With that single purpose in mind Carnifex, surrounded by his remaining Knights and those who had been newly made brought the Draco-Ocidendum roaring into life and streaking up from the barren and blasted surface of Unus; Lord Zedd had, by his actions if not his word ordered a full retreat and Carnifex took to space with the tattered and bloodied remains of the Dark Empire fleet gathering around him fully intending to see that order followed. Through the fearsome leadership of the Acheron hybrid combined with the sheer, unrelenting and frenzied willpower of those who knew themselves to be doomed and no small amount of simple good fortuned it had been done, the Alliance fleet and the Triforian vessels that bolstered it were forced to focus the vast majority of their firepower and tactical prowess on the seeing that the remains of Unus didn't cause a cataclysm on the planet the moon had orbited allowing Carnifex to lead the Dark Empire's remaining ships free of their enemies' jaws, even avenging themselves by destroying a few of the Alliances' smaller warships as they escaped.

Carnifex had known better than to consider it anything less than a crushing defeat.

No ship under his command had escaped Unus undamaged and more than one vessel had been lost when its' main reactor failed and caused an apocalyptic firestorm as its' crew tried to push it beyond its' limits; even at faster than light speeds it had taken the remains of the Dark Empire fleet an inordinate amount of time, what would surely be at least a day on most worlds just for them to reach the furthest and most remote edges of Dark Empire controlled space; a series of outposts, fuelling stations and listening posts that had been established by ships that were originally part of the Vanguard Fleet before Paradoxa had wrested control of it from Yokai, conquering everything in their path and establishing what was initially intended to be a supply line for larger invasions of entire star systems and returning resources from plundered worlds back to the Empire.

It was at one of these outposts that Carnifex had ordered the ships under his command to be docked, only for each and every Captain of every remaining vessel to summoned to an open clearing in a forested world whose population the Empire had hunted for sport before subjugating and there, under the direct orders of Lord Zedd himself Carnifex watched as those Captains were summarily executed for their failures, yet the draconian Acheron hybrid was spared the inglorious fate of perishing on some worthless backwater world and was instead informed that Lord Zedd demanded his presence on Acheron itself. Carnifex, knowing better than to make the warlord wait had hopped from starship to starship and planet to planet, teleporting as far as the Dark Empire's admittedly inferior teleporters would him to in each instance and leaving himself feeling decidedly ill, a condition made all the worse by the simple, base terror in his gut yet finally and in an impressively short amount of time he had made it to his goal.

He stood in the throne room of the Acheron palace itself.

Under less bleak circumstances this might be considered something of a holy pilgrimage, certainly an honour that few were ever afforded and even as he sank into a low bow, armoured snout brushing against the floor of the suspended walkway that led to dais that was currently cloaked in shadows Carnifex couldn't help but cast his eyes around and took in the various trophies and displays that bore testament to Lord Zedd's scope as a conqueror, banners, weapons and armour taken from vanquished armies alongside the heads of those who would not submit which gave way to more esoteric and advanced trinkets, the largest was the entire prow a warship belonging to some long dead race that had been torn asunder by Lord Zedd's own hand which in turn gave way to the helmets, weapons and Morphers of fallen Power Rangers, those closest to the throne naturally being those whose deaths had brought the most personal satisfaction to the tyrant.

"My Lord" Carnifex fought to keep a whimpering note out of his voice, he was a warrior and would show no cowardice in the face of whatever judgement might come "I arrived as soon-"

"Silence!" Lord Zedd's voice thundered from the darkness, the air pressure in the throne room becoming choking in its' intensity as he spoke again "Stand!" Carnifex hastily followed the order, rising to his feet and for a moment daring to believe that he would escape without punishment.

A notion he was soon disabused of.

"YOU FOOL!" crimson lightning tore out of the shadows and washed over Carnifex's body, tearing an agonised scream from the saurian as his every nerve was set ablaze and his clay hide blackened by a heat far beyond even the volcanic world he hailed from whilst the attack sent showers of sparks from his mechanical augmentations which were left shuddering and twitching beyond his control as she collapsed forward.

"I SAID STAND UP!" suddenly Lord Zedd was before him, the warlords' armour still burnt and twisted where the Gold Ranger had melted it onto his flesh with his final, dying sacrifice; he reached out with a single taloned hand and seized Carnifex by the throat, hoisting him into the air and choking the air out of him until the tyrant began to feel bones crack under his grip, from here Lord Zedd simply reared back his free hand and drove it into Carnifex's chest; audibly shattering his his ribs before dropping the hybrid and leaving coughing up mouthfuls of thick, dark blood whilst still trying his best to struggle to his feet once more and obey the order that he had been given.

"My invasion of Alliance space was a failure" Lord Zedd didn't yell this time, instead his voice was cold and detached in a way that seemed to promise far more agony than his rage would have "We have been pushed back to our own borders, licking our wounds and now they know my ways of waging war, they will be ready for us next time and our advance will be a crawl, slow, bloody and wasteful….trench warfare on a galactic scale. Do you have anything to offer for your failures?"

"My own life" Carnifex answered instantly, drawing his sword and preparing to fall upon it the moment the order was given; such was the price for failure

"You think so highly of yourself? That your life is worth so much to me it would repay this debt? That I would have you spared the same fate as the other Captains just to have you die here instead?" Lord Zedd demanded, his voice becoming a more ferocious snarl with each syllable before he forced a veneer of calmness in place and continued "No….I have a use for you and that is the only reason you continue to draw breath you miserable worm"

"Anything my Lord"

"The Alliance has agents within my Empire, agents that travel from world to world fanning rebellions against my rule, stealing and killing where they can and do everything in their meagre power to halt my Empires' advance….You will return to your ship, your crew will not have its' losses replenished and you will not be given aid; you are to hunt these agents down, alone and not return to me without the heads of my enemies. Know this Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of your name; you have no rank or titles now, you are an outcast and pariah, an exile trapped within my Empire"

"I understand my Lord" Carnifex bowed his head, grimly accepting his fate to wander his Lords' domain with the whispers of his failings at his back "I will see your will done"

"And as a reminder of your incompetence" Lord Zedd loomed over Carnifex, armoured talons closing around his Generals' bloodied right shoulder where the wound that had been made when the Gold Aegis Ranger had planted a tracking device on him and in turn caused the chain of events that had led to this moment was still plainly visible; Carnifex knew what would come next yet there was no way he could truly prepare for it.

His screams echoed through the throne room as Lord Zedd ripped his right arm off at the shoulder.

* * *

Commander Anubis Cruger was weary in a way that could never truly be encapsulated in words and yet as he took his place at his desk in his office, functionally a Command Centre in its' own right within the labyrinthine maze of the Lightspeed Moonbase that had once been Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa's palace he knew, deep in his aching bones that duty was far from complete.

The blue scaled and largely canine alien rested the ancestral sword of his people, the weapon a sigil that afforded him the right to command the massive ark-ship he had taken to Unus on its' stand on the wall behind his chair before taking a seat and allowing his shoulders to sag in exhaustion whilst his ears lay flat along his skull and a low, keening whine escaped him. Time was a hard thing to keep track of when one spent it any sizeable amount of it in the gulf of space or teleporting from planet to planet and Cruger was almost surprised to realise that he had been awake for a little more than a day and a half without rest, the Dark Empire had been lured into the trap he had set for them on Carpathia around mid-afternoon if he used the local time of the Promethea One colony that the Rangers had been deployed from and now it would be early evening there, the colonies' artificial day and night cycle preparing to shift into its' regulated darkness, though Cruger had spent so little time on any one location since the battle on and subsequent destruction of Unus that it made little difference to him.

It was being called a victory and the words left Cruger with his fangs bared and fire in his blood.

The Commander of the Moonbase and architect on the various operations that Project Lightspeed and the Alliance of worlds it served at large needed but could never be allowed to know of had only a few minutes to mentally brace himself and promptly return to the task of sifting through endless streams of data and reports, compiled and prioritised by Bulk and Skull before a fresh distraction presented itself in the form of an incoming communication, that it was a channel directly to his office and one he was unable to simply filter out told Cruger the identity of the person who wished to speak with him long before he glanced at that particular screen and confirmed his suspicions and that the line was secured to his satisfaction.

"Vice Admiral Johnson" Cruger gave a salute as he addressed the man who had been the Red Turbo and Blue Astro Ranger and had risen to one of the most prominent positions in the Lightspeed chain of command after succeeding Dana Mitchell.

"Commander Cruger" TJ answered with a salute of his own as he flickered into view on one of the many screens within Cruger's office, striking an imposing figure in his black uniform which bore the insignias of Project Lightspeed, the Silver Guardians and the two teams of Power Rangers he had been a part of along with the heavy scars adorning his face that he had received on the battle of Acheron where he had fought alongside Andros and watched many of his friends fall.

"I've received word from the Triforian Council" TJ continued "Casualties were lower than expected, in no small part thanks to the early warning we were able to provide and the actions of the ships under your command….however several pieces of their moon did reach the planets' surface and several smaller settlements outside of the main City-States were wiped out by the natural disasters that the impacts caused. It could have been a lot worse, it could have been another Liaria but there are still thousands dead, their entire populace are in mourning for them, the moon that they lost and their Gold Ranger….the staff was never recovered, Triforia will likely never have another Power Ranger"

"That's….." Cruger trailed off, whatever he had intended to say being unable to articulate as there simply were not words, yet the former Power Ranger before nodded in silent understanding, one of the few people who could understand loss and destruction on such a scale.

"I know" TJ murmured, taking a moment to simply feel the crushing weight weight of his responsibilities before continuing "But we all have our duties and we have to carry on….I'm of the understanding you've been visiting key listening posts and strategic locations, many of them off the books?"

"I have" Cruger nodded "I had to know that it was worth it….That we didn't sacrifice so much and so many for no reason"

"And?"

"The Dark Empire forces are gone….they've retreated out of Alliance space entirely, they fled the moment Lord Zedd pulled back" Cruger shook his head and let out a growl of annoyance "I can't bring myself to call it a victory, not at that high of a cost"

"Agreed" TJ nodded "Though I've received word that the three injured Power Rangers that were transferred from your ship will recover from their injuries….eventually, Merrick and Taylor were relatively simple cases, Dana however….she's likely going to be comatose for a while and there may be long term complications"

"But they're alive" Cruger noted

"They are" TJ agreed "Which brings me to the question of your ship and why it is currently out in open space, not docking or aiding with any of the ongoing work around Triforia, bolstering any of our defences in case of a counter-attack or responding to any communications"

"My orders" Cruger said simply, letting the reply hang in the air for a moment before it became clear that TJ expected a more thorough explanation even if he didn't verbally demand it

"The ark-ship is currently under Eric's command….the Quantum Ranger and his strike teams liberated thousands of slaves and prisoners from the mines that the Dark Empire had made on Unus, the ship will remain dark and radio silent until those we brought aboard can be processed"

"Processed?" TJ asked, arching a scarred eyebrow "They're not prisoners of war"

"No they are not" Cruger agreed "But we'd be foolish to trust them blindly. We have thousands of people who we can't account for and whose home-worlds are likely either destroyed or in Empire space; we'll have to take them as refugees and that means verifying that they aren't a threat….the galaxy isn't split into good and evil so neatly, just because they aren't willing subjects of the Empire doesn't mean that they aren't a risk to any world or colony we send them to, or that none of them are Dark Empire soldiers who took their uniforms off when they saw the battle was lost. There being processed, for everyone's good"

"Fine" TJ accepted finally "But be humane about it"

"I'll make no comment about humanity's own….humanity" Cruger responded, his own exhaustion beginning to bleed through into his demeanour, which the former Power Ranger he was speaking with simply accepted before asking one final question.

"There's one more matter to discuss and we can't ignore the elephant in the room here" his gaze became distant for a moment as he considered the team of teens whom he had helped train and what might have become of them before swallowing thickly and asking "Have you found any trace of the Aegis Rangers"

"No" Cruger answered simply "The Aegis Rangers are currently listed as missing in action…..and I want you to know that I will not be changed that listing to 'Presumed dead' under any circumstances, not will I be giving up the search"

"I expect nothing less Commander" TJ told him "May the Power protect them; wherever they are"

* * *

Billy strode through the corridors of the Lightspeed Aquabase, noting that whilst it had been repaired with admirable speed and diligence following the Green Ranger's attack that had done so much damage and that it had been an unparalleled marvel of human technology when it had first been envisioned it was, and would likely forever be a pale imitation of the Aquitian technology that it was based on. The former Blue Power Ranger was entirely unable to focus on matters such as architecture and the minutiae of designs however and instead prowled through what had once been the Alliances' primary military installation on Earth itself with his heartbeat hammering in his head and both fire and ice surging through his veins as he tried to wrestle with the maelstrom of emotions that threatened to overcome him; the limited amount of engineers, scientists and other staff present on the Aquabase moving aside and allowing him to pass without comment as he seemed to exude an aura of fierceness that went far beyond the physical until finally he reached his goal.

"Justin!" Billy marched into his successors' workshop and laboratory casting his eyes around before letting out a disappointed sigh at the sight that greeted him.

Justin was a wreck.

The former Blue Turbo Ranger's workspace was often in a state of organised chaos, however the current condition of the place more resembled a disaster area with papers sand upturned furniture strewn about and several crates and more delicate pieces of machinery smashed into unrecognisable fragments in a show of devastation that made it very clear that the younger man knew of the tragedy that had brought Billy here whilst Justin himself sat in a corner of the room on the floor, hunched in on himself with bloodshot eyes that bore dark rings under them, his obvious lack of sleep caused by more than his customary unhealthy work hours. Billy made his way over to Justin and simply held out a hand in silence which the other Former Blue Ranger simply stared at in abject confusion for a moment before taking it and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"They're gone….the Rangers are gone" fresh tears leaked from Justin's eyes and his voice was hoarse and cracking yet Billy could understand it all, he had been similarly broken when he had first received the news though now he had focused and refined his fear and righteous anger into an edge.

"They're lost, but that doesn't mean that they're gone…..Zordon was lost, Andros and the others found him again. I've been lost in Goldar's Dark Dimension" Billy forced Justin to look at him and bored into the younger mans' eyes with a steely and unflinching gaze "Science and rationalism be damned I will not accept any evidence that they're gone. My son is one of those Rangers and so is your daughter-"

"She's not my daughter, not really-"

"AND SO IS YOUR DAUGHTER!" Billy repeated, his raised voice echoing off of metallic walls and more vehement that Justin could ever remember hearing it as he cut to the core of the Turbo Ranger's grief; no matter what the circumstances that had led to her creation were and no matter how little of his own genetic material had gone into the gene-splicing process that refined the DNA of several former Power Rangers into a single being Justin couldn't help but consider Mercy his daughter on some fundamental level and the idea of being robbed of the chance to from a more meaningful relationship with her broke his heart in ways that Billy Cranston felt no shame at all in using to his advantage.

"Right, my daughter" Justin finally agreed, his voice only becoming more defeated as he did so.

"And you know that they're still calling Unus a victory….even with the Gold Zeo Ranger Powers gone and all of the Aegis Rangers missing….you know what's going to happen don't you?" as Billy spoke his voice filled with venom and vitriol until sneering distaste dripped from every syllable and his tone was something dangerous; Justin nodded slowly and his bloodhot, tear-stained eyes narrowed as the realisation hit him.

"The Alliance is going to move on, honour their sacrifice and just carry on"

"Exactly" Billy bit out "So many Ranger teams lose their powers fighting the villain they were formed in response to….now that Lord Zedd's forces have been pushed back the Alliance as a whole is going to think that it's over, they're going to wait until we need Rangers again and then have me make synthetic Power Coins and have you make new Morphers so they can pick a fresh batch of teenagers to throw into battle"

"No!" Justin snapped.

"No indeed" Billy almost snarled "We're getting our kids back, whatever it takes"

"I'm in" Justin managed to murmur, his eyes regaining their clarity and focus as the former Turbo Ranger pushed passed his grief and forced himself to channel it into something usable "Whatever it is you're planning, I want in"

"I knew you would, that's why I came to you" Billy answered "I'll admit I don't have any concrete solutions yet….the first thing I need you to do is help Grace and I build a new body for Zebidiah"

"What, how does that-"

"If he dies our leading expert on the Dark Empire and Acheron magic is gone, that can't be allowed to happen" Billy answered "Besides, he's with us on this; Kay is his grandchild"

"Okay, who else have you spoken to?"

"My wife and Andros" Billy admitted "Cruger means well but he's a good soldier, too good….he'll follow orders eventually; if we're going to be acting independently of the Alliance and Project Lightspeed then we need contacts outside of the regular chain of command-"

"Like the guerillas and insurgents that Andros, Zhane and Karone led" Justin surmised.

"Exactly, we don't know where the Rangers are so we need eyes and ears in as many places as possible" Billy answered "With that being said I might not have an exact plan of how to bring them home worked out, but I do have some solid ideas in mind for other people I should involve"

"Who?" Justin asked, suddenly cautious as he saw something hidden in Billy's expression; the older man simply shook his head"

"Believe me" he answered "It's better I don't tell you"

* * *

Elgar, following his latest reanimation within a cloned body after his most recent death on the surface of Mirinoi had given up the life of space piracy and marauding, likely for good as the act of restoring Andros, a Power Ranger to life through the same methods had seen him censured and outcast by his former peers which in turn meant that if he should be slain it again it would be a far more permanent affair and as such Elgar had instead vastly reduced the scope of his illicit dealings and even found himself decent, honest hard work after going into business with an alien entrepreneur who had established themselves in the interplanetary quarter of Mariner Bay, a man named who went by the name of Piggy. Whilst Andros, no longer able to Morph due to the limitations of his cloned body had retired to his home-world of KO Thirty-Five his fellow Astro Rangers and guerilla resistance fighters had returned to working within the shadows of Empire space to hinder and harass their enemies by any means available and Elgar, having no further need of the vessel had entrusted the latest iteration of the Megalodon into Karone's care, reasoning that anyone who could be both the Empress of Evil Astronema and a Power Ranger needed a suitable ship to command.

It was this vessel that she currently stood upon the Command Bridge of.

Command Bridge was admittedly a far too grandiose term for the space, though cockpit seemed unsuitable somehow. Seated before her and to the sides were Zhane, the Silver Ranger acting as her trusted partner and right hand in all things as always and Cullis, the silkworm like alien whose body resided within an armoured cocoon of his own making having elected to part ways with Elgar and continue to wage war alongside them for reasons that he had never divulged.

"Long range scanners?" Karone asked, voice an almost metallic rasp after spending so many hours in a state of focused and intense silence as she and her small crew waited for the proverbial penny to drop and the Dark Empire to reveal some grand master plan that they had been caught unawares by.

"Nothing" Cullis answered, their shake of the head looking more like a flailing wriggle though the sight of it did little to amuse Karone at that moment. Before their attempt to halt Carnifex and his forces in their tracks before they could rendezvous with the Vanguard Fleet under Lord Zedd's command, the battle that had seen the Astro Ultra-Ship destroyed the guerilla fighters from KO Thirty-Five, the liberated Acheron Prison World of Dread and the assorted others that fought alongside them had been scattered and dispersed throughout key planets within enemy territory, forming dozens upon dozens of smaller cells and insurrections and now that she had returned to Empire space Karone, taking up her brothers' mantle had the task of co-ordinating these various groups and fashioning the information that each of them provided her into a workable overall plan to bring Lord Zedd's war-machine grinding to a halt. A little over a day ago however the situation had changed and they had been none the wiser until was upon them, all across Dark Empire space they learned that shipyards were being ordered to be on high alert and forces sent to the border of the Empire itself whilst most concerning of all was the information that had reached them from Acheron itself; Lord Zedd had returned. After the initial surge of reports Karone had ordered total silence from all of the insurgent cells, the only transmissions reaching the Megalodon being from a select few individuals within the Alliance capable of contacting the vessel.

The news they had imparted had only stunned Zhane and Karone even further.

"We have an incoming transmission….encrypted channel" Zhane announced, the Silver Ranger's voice cautious as he relayed the information, hands darting across controls as he cycled through multiple encryption keys before finally a weak smile crossed his weary face as he announced "It's Andros"

"Good" Karone breathed out, wearing her own smile at the thought of speaking with her brother again "On screen, let's get to the bottom of this" Andros appeared on the viewscreen of the Megalodon and both Karone and Zhane were momentarily surprised and then pleased by his appearance, his new cloned body, despite being artificially aged to match the original had a more youthful appearance about it that was caused by more than the simple absence of old scars and deep drown lines, Andros seemed genuinely well rested and at peace in a way that he never had whilst operating behind enemy lines.

Though the illusion was shattered as his expression darkened.

"We have a situation" Andros said simply, wasting no time with preamble or pleasantries.

"We know" Karone answered "Lord Zedd is back on Unus, the Dark Empire fleets are scrambling and the last we heard from Alliance space was a message from Elgar, apparently Billy Cranston was in Mariner Bay looking shifty"

"He was and it was Billy that contacted me to give me all of the details about what's going on" Andros confirmed "The Dark Empire is in disarray because the Aegis Rangers were at the head of a massive assault on their base, Lord Zedd and all of his forces have been pushed back-"

"That's-" Zhane's interruption was silenced with a raised hand

"Unus was destroyed and the Rangers are missing" silence filled the bridge of the Megalodon, heavy and oppressive until Karone finally managed to find words

"Rensa….Andros I'm so-"

"Billy believes that the Rangers are still out there somewhere. The amount of magical interference when Unus was destroyed meant that they couldn't be teleported out and they haven't turned up anywhere in over a day" Andros paused and shook his head, visibly refusing to accept the idea that they were gone "There were still Dark Empire ships trying to take off and a lot of them slipped through the Alliance blockade when Triforia's moon collapsed….I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone here when I say that if I was on a collapsing moon I'd take any available way out"

"You think they stowed away on a Dark Empire ship?" Karone asked gently

"I think it's something we have to investigate"

"Consider it done" the villain turned Ranger said simply "We'll have our cells spying on every space-port we have access to"

"Thank you" Andros managed a small smile "I knew I could count on you"

* * *

The Rangers had fallen like a comet towards the surface of an unknown world, enveloped in emerald light as Kay channelled their own magic and the Power itself into a shield to protect them and, against all odds they had survived the impact.

Though things had been no less difficult from that point onwards.

The seven of them had been rendered unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time by the force of their collision and had awoken to find themselves laying at the base of a crater several dozen feet across and roughly a dozen feet deep which they had hurriedly scrabbled out of, survival instincts telling each of them that to remain here was to invite death even in their stunned and disoriented states. Upon exiting the crater that their arrival had caused Mercy examined each of her Rangers and found that they were, mercifully mostly unharmed and sported only minor cuts and bruises whilst their clothes were blackened and torn in several places and gave them all distinctly dishevelled appearances and after wandering some distance away from the crater, setting off with no distinct goal in mind other than to be elsewhere the Aegis Rangers had finally stopped and truly taken stock of their surroundings.

Realising how truly lost they were.

The sky above them was a pale purple that was liberally streaked with wispy, yet somehow impossibly dark contrails of darkness that they had initially presumed to be simple clouds only to later realise that they were in fact smoke being pumped into the air by heavy industrialisation although perhaps on this world the clouds and smoke were simply one and the same; the sky was illuminated by twin suns whose pale and meagre light was rendered hazy by the atmosphere and whilst the glaring orbs did little to warm the airless and stifling environment they did cast long shadows out across the ground. The ground itself had been another surprise, at first the Aegis Rangers had thought they were walking on sand only to come to the bleak and shocking realisation that the desert they were traversing was not a naturally occurring one and was in fact made of ask and dust, a grey-beige wasteland of burned detritus and industrial waste that stretched as far as the eye could see; Panthera had been the first to note that their surroundings heavily implied that the world that they had found themselves on was not only inhabited but industrialised and that they would be wise to find the nearest a settlement, an idea that Mercy had initially agreed with and chosen a direction before setting off; hoping that she and her friends would find food and shelter before this world revealed itself to have any particularly horrific fauna or weather to plague them with. Eventually they had see the vaguest outlines of a city in the distance, a massive and sprawling thing made of twisted spires and roaring furnaces that belched and churned acrid smog into the atmosphere whilst a swarm of aircraft and spacefaring vessels hovered and buzzed above it like a swarm of mechanical locusts yet, as bleak as it was to the seven stranded Rangers whose communicators were seemingly out of range of any of their allies it was an oasis and a possible safe haven in the endless ash wastes.

Then the Putties had come.

A small group of scouts whose distinctly inhuman forms were covered in rags had led a group of Putties on thick chains out into the desert of industrial leavings that the city before them had likely produced, the Putties being a design that the Rangers were unfamiliar with; the things were quadrupedal and sported limbs ending in wide splayed claws that raked through the ash yet they still had the same flailing movements which led to them bounding and thrashing their way forwards, their skulls were elongated into a grotesque and hairless facsimile of some snarling beast and the customary warbling they emitted was distorted and of a much lower pitch. The things, chained up as they were put Aslaug in mind of some sort of hunting beast and once she had voiced that opinion Mercy had ordered the Rangers to quietly and carefully retreat, the purple sky above them darkening and lightening again as they remained out in the wastelands now that the undeniable truth had been revealed.

They were stranded within the Dark Empire itself.

Finally however, as the suns began to set and the horizon began to dim once again Mercy had been forced to order the Aegis Rangers to begin making their way towards the city in the distance. They were hungry, thirsty and without any shelter beyond what they could dig into the ash with their own hands; furthermore whilst it seemed that this world, whatever it was had a breathable atmosphere the harsh reality was that as an Aquitian Tempestus needed the water of his home-world on an at least semi-regular basis and as such they could not remain in the ash wastes for any extended amount of time and Mercy had found herself giving concerned glances to Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger began to develop a cough, though Aslaug assured her it was simply a product of far more dust and smoke than she was used to.

Currently the seven of them were making their way through the streets of the Dark Empire city, finding it to be every bit as horrific as they had suspected it might be. The monstrous spires that formed the city, each of them teeming with the downtrodden masses of the Empire's populace reaching up into the sky like enormous colossi whilst their bases were piled high with waste of debris and shanty towns spilled from every darkened alleyway and secluded space to give the place the appearance of bursting at the seems; the smog was thicker here and formed a layer of grit filled haze which left a foul, sandy taste in each of the Ranger's mouths and threatened to block the light of weak suns entirely; though it was occasionally pierced as some monstrous and winged carrion-eating beast or other swooped down from its' nest in the upper reaches of the spire and plucked away one of the sick and dying rabble that populated the city. The air was also filled with noise, roaring machinery causing a persistent dull rumble over which countless voices were layered, the city was filled with beings of all shapes and sizes, giving the Rangers the distinct impression that this world was some sort of trading or industrial hub within the Empire and merchants vied for dominance, hawking their wares with rising gusto which occasionally spilled over into violence with one group murdering another in cold blood for space or simply to remove competition. The noise buffeting them and sheer mass of countless varied lifeforms however did at least allow the Rangers to speak without fear of being overheard or recognised as being out of place and it was Mercy that eventually asked an obvious question

"How did we get here?" her voice was barely above a murmur yet each of her friends heard her and once she saw that she had their attention she continued "We know where we are….I mean we know what this world is even if we don't know exactly where, so how did we get here?" there was a moment of silence as they continued on words, Mari sticking close to her and Aslaug whilst Panthera scanned their surroundings for any potential danger or opportunities and Kay and Rensa both used their limited understandings of Dark Empire glyphs and sigils to try and guide them, hearing the question however the Green Ranger came to a halt with their inhuman pink and black eyes downcast whilst their voice cracked as they replied.

"I'm sorry cousin….It was my fault"

"I don't understand?" Marigold piped up "What happened?" where under normal circumstances Tempestus would likely have been the one to provide the answer to such a question the dark-skinned Aquitian teen was currently notably dizzy and worse for wear after so long without water and so Kay was forced to continue, their words heavy with shame and regret.

"When I forced my own magic into the ships' teleporters it must have responded to the commands we gave it in a way we didn't expect, Tempestus warned us that it wasn't working the way it should….I was focusing my magic on the desire to go home, if I had to guess I'd say that this is the world where the ship, or at least its' central computer were first made, or this is the port it normally operates out of"

"You did what you could, we'll figure things out from here" Panthera assured him quietly, the teal-skinned alien drawing close and lacing her fingers through theirs.

"That doesn't makes sense" Mercy noted quietly as she cocked her head "Dark Empire teleporters are trash, the don't have the range or the power to send us this far.

"No, but I do" Kay countered sadly, ending the conversation and leaving the seven of them in stunned and heavy silence as they continued onwards until after several moments of making their way through the choked streets a fresh distraction presented itself.

"Watch your step filth" the voice was low and dangerous and upon hearing it Mercy and her fellow Rangers whirled around to see that Tempestus had staggered into the path of a tall and burly creature whose gorilla-like body was covered in a greenish blue, craggy armour littered with jagged protrusions that had the appearance of coral from which tattered and ragged clothing was draped, though it covered little and even whilst standing on all fours, knuckles dragging on the filthy ground the thing was tall enough to look Aslaug in the eye; as the alien leered at them with its' singular, slitted eye a low snarl escaped it.

"My apologies, I didn't see you there; I was-" Tempestus fell silent as the alien lashed out and sent him toppling back with a dull thud of flesh on flesh, the skin beneath the edge of the Aquitians' mask like facial bones cracked and bleeding. Mercy stepped forward and put herself between her friend and the attacker whilst the rest of the Aegis Rangers bristled and readied themselves by moving into position, Rensa surreptitiously looking for any piece of litter that might serve as an impromptu weapon.

"Make something of it, flesh-bag" the alien rumbled as they strode closer, Mercy swallowed as she realised that as skilled in hand to hand combat as she was this was not a fight she would be able to win without morphing and also that if she were to reveal herself to be a Power Ranger on this world she would find herself in an unwinnable position within moments; a single moment seemed to stretch out for an eternity before her as she struggled to find a way out of the situation.

And then without warning the belligerent alien collapsed.

A lone figure streaked downwards from high up in the spires of the city and landed in a crouch driving their knee into their would-be attackers' back and crushing them into the ground with a crash and cracking of bone and carapace. The Rangers were left frozen to the spot even as the citizens around them continued on with their business, such violence apparently commonplace; Mercy watched with baited breath, only vaguely aware of her team taking positions at her sides as the figure rose up to their full height; they wore stained and tattered robes with a hood pulled forwards to conceal their identity, revealing nothing more than a humanoid appearance.

"If I were to search each of you right now I would find a Morpher" the figure asserted simply, leaving no room for argument and yet Mercy somehow found herself relaxing as she realised that whilst the voice was hoarse and cracking as if its' owner rarely spoke, its' accent was an unmistakeably familiar one. The figure slowly reached up and lowered their hood and whilst her fellow Aegis Rangers found themselves relaxing at the sight that greeted them Mercy's deep brown eyes widened first in shock and then in recognition; the robed man was indeed human, a once tanned complexion that had paled after so long away from the light of Earths' sun, brown hair that begun to thin and was now streaked with white due to age and the stress of living in such a place; sharp, angular features and strong jawline rendered drawn and gaunt and littered with a plethora of old and faded scars whilst eyes that had been haunted and lifeless for years stared at the Aegis Rangers with the first sparks of hope beginning to fill them once more.

Mercy let out a gasp of surprise as she realised exactly who the man before her was.

"You're Rocky DeSantos" she breathed out in disbelief "You're a Power Ranger!"

**Authors' Notes:**

And scene.  
I told you at the mid way point of this arc that it was gonna be cliffhanger after cliffhanger after cliffhanger.  
We are now two thirds of the way though this story as this chapter concludes the entirety of the second act.  
The first act ended with the Rangers moving from Earth to Promethea one and Kay defecting from the Empire, I did say that this would be an even bigger paradigm shift and I think I delivered.  
However….I'm gonna have to be a bastard and leave you with this cliffhanger for a while; I'm gonna be taking a hiatus from this story for roughly a month while I finish off a RWBY story that I've been working on for over three years. This also means I won't be posting anything on the one year anniversary of starting Aegis so I'll just say here thank you to everyone who's stuck around for a year.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?:  
Off the bat I'm gonna say that this chapter had a lot more scene setting and world building compared to the amount of dialogue in it than I usually write but I had to break from my usual style to make it work.  
_S__upreme act of cultural masochism_….seems like an apt description for the act of having a moon that's also sacred blown up and then having to shoot the debris out of the sky.  
Also yeah Carnifex is still alive and I had to make a point of reminding everyone that he is far from a snivelling bitch; he pulled back because it was a tactically sound choice and he had duties to attend to.  
Yeah he got through the Alliance fleet and Triforias' limited warships with just the battered remains of the Dark Empire fleet just on the strength of his Big Dick Energy.  
That was the expected response to failure from Lord Zedd, just line up everyone and hand out executions.  
So Lord Zedd is back in his palace on Acheron itself and was just calmly sat there waiting to hand out a smack-down.  
_Trench warfare on a galactic scale_….now that's just a bleak concept.  
Lord Zedd handing out the verbal smack-down as well as the physical.  
So now Carnifex is going to be hunting down Zhane and Karone's insurgents and pursuing a vendetta against the Rangers…..and also he's gonna need his right arm replacing after that.  
Interplanetary jet-lag must be a bitch.  
I mean it was_ technically_ a victory.  
TJ is here, the conversation Cruger had with Billy at the start of the arc was originally gonna be with TJ so now here we are and yeah, he officially has Dana's old role.  
Thousands dead, Gold Ranger staff destroyed, Dana in a coma, Merrick and Taylor injured and the Aegis Rangers missing….Oof.  
Several thousand freed slaves/prisoners from Unus, which is a good thing by any metric but also, Cruger's concerns are fair ones.  
Poor Justin, but also Billy is just as broken and hurting just as much but he handles it differently….but also poor Justin.  
Billy out here taking no shit, those Rangers are their kids and they're gonna get 'em back.  
Feel free to take humanity chewing Rangers up and spitting them out and just throwing another set into a grinder when they need them as a commentary on whatever you want.  
So Billy is planning on going rogue and he has _(Presumably Cestria) _Zebidiah, Justin and Andros and is planning on recruiting some other, less desirable people.  
I actually included a little recap on what Elgar is doing and why he isn't on the Megalodon because I initially forgot and had to go and reread a few chapters.  
Also little recap on what the Astro Rangers are doing and how they're doing it, basically a lot of underhanded fighting.  
So Karone is in charge now and she knew something was going on, she had bits of information but not enough for the whole picture.  
Andros is doing relatively well now he's back from the dead.  
So now the insurgents or at least the Astro Rangers know to look out for the Aegis Rangers, Andros had enough information to make an educated guess and got the result right even if the way he got there wasn't.  
This final scene was the worst offender for too much world building and not enough dialogue but it had to be done.  
Long story short the Rangers are alive but they're out of communication range and stranded on a Dark Empire industrial world that has literal deserts of dust and ash between its' cities which is definitely based on Necromunda from the 40K universe.  
Bloodhound Putties are a thing now, I'll have fun with them later.  
I made a point of reminding you at the start of the arc that Tempestus needs water from Aquitar, now he's stranded a long way from it.  
Yeah Dark Empire cities are grim places.  
And there's a brief explanation of how they got stranded, Kay overcharged the teleporter and things went south.  
Fight with belligerent local interrupted by robed/cloaked stranger….well this is cliché, but also a great way to point out that the Rangers can't safely Morph here.  
And there's our robed stranger….if you think you saw that coming you're a liar because it was a total left field plot twist.

No reviews on the last chapter.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	54. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Arc 13)

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 53 – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy**

Billy Cranston, former Blue Power Ranger, chief scientist amongst Project Lightspeed and one of the brightest minds of humanity and indeed the Alliance as a whole was, under normal circumstances a calm and methodical man these being traits honed over years of study and hard work in various fields of study and experimentation, several of which he had invented wholesale and was not at all prone to fits of irritability.

These were far from normal circumstances however.

Tempestus, his adopted son and only child; along with the entirety of his team of Aegis Rangers were still missing in action after their disappearance following the battle for and subsequent destruction of Unus, the first and largest of Triforias' moons. It had been mere days since the fateful battle to push the Dark Empire forces out of Alliance space had been a nominal success and yet gone so terribly awry and Commander Cruger, TJ Johnson and many others in positions of authority had reached out to Billy in an effort to assure him that his son would be found and returned, that all was well and that it was only a matter of time yet Billy knew that time was against them all; there was no telling where the Aegis Rangers had gone and the unshakeable truth was that Aquitians needed the water of their home-world to survive, Billy knew Tempestus to be a capable, resourceful and intelligent young man but he had no intention of pitting his only child's abilities against the threat of a slow and ignoble death as his organs failed and as such he, along with the aid of a select group of trusted confidants including his wife Cestria had begun forming their own plans.

Plans that Billy was most displeased to have interrupted.

This displeasure was manifested in an uncommon and entirely unbecoming scowl marring the man's face which seemed to have aged, new frown lines and grey hairs appearing steadily ever since Kimberley, his fellow Ranger and oldest surviving friend had sacrificed herself for the cause. Billy stalked and prowled through the corridors of the joint base the Project Lightspeed and Promethea operated on the colony ship Promethea One which, until days ago had been the home and base of operations of the Alliance's only fully functional team of Power Rangers until eventually he reached his destination and his irritation was momentarily forced from the forefront of his mind as a sudden chill ran down his spine and the unnatural charged sensation in the air caused the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck to stand on end.

"Magic" he noted, his tone grumbling and as a close to contemptuous as it seemed that the former Ranger could manage; whilst he could understand the fundamentals of the healing and shamanic arts that his wife practised the kind of primal, reality bending arcana that Zebidiah Lord and sorcerers of his ilk practised was almost offensive to a man of science and it was Zebidiah's quarters that he had been summoned to, the former Lord Zedd having been insistent in his requests to speak with his one time respected adversary in private.

"Indeed….it seems that you humans struggle with blending the arts and your science together on a fundamental level, as this body shows" Billy cast his eyes around and instinctively braced himself as something came skittering out of the shadows only to be momentarily confused and finally left almost laughing despite himself as he saw a small robot, vaguely canine in shape and sporting a face made of blinking lights that were arranged in a permanently smiling face with a grill like speaker beneath them from which the voice of the former Lord Zedd issued

"This is what Grace has been working on?" Billy asked, burying his amusement beneath simple scientific interest as much as he could though a faint chuckle still coloured his words.

"A proof of concept, to see how feasible it is to transfer my consciousness and memories into-" the machine fell silent, moments later lights that formed its' face flickered out ox existence with several bulbs popping faintly followed by sparks and black smoke spewing from the innards of the machine before it keeled over and collapsed lifeless and inert.

Then the door to Zebidiah's chambers opened with a whoosh of freezing air that howled around the former Blue Ranger which Billy took as a sign that he should enter.

"That" Zebidiah's voice came from the stasis tube that had been fitted into the chamber so that he could at least oversee his own affairs "Was unfortunate" the door sealed behind Billy and with Zebidiah's mental presence having entered his quarters glyphs and runes lining the walls glowed faintly and came to life with a faint magical humming that charged the air like static electricity as well as warming it to something more tolerable; Billy quickly focused as Zebidiah's mental image came into view within the tube, robed and sitting cross-legged whilst levitating in the way the sorcerer had often done whilst his own body had been available to him, a condition that Grace Sterling was hoping to return him to even as his own flesh and blood form continued to slowly waste away.

"You wanted to see me" it wasn't phrased as a question

"I did" Zebidiah nodded, his voice taking on the merest hint of the distorted growl that it had once been "And I'll spare you the pleasantries and get straight to business"

"It would be appreciated"

"A shortlist of potential Rangers has been drawn in case the Aegis Rangers cannot be located before the next threat that requires them arises, you've done nothing to make this prospective team ready" Zebidiah intoned bluntly, raising a hand to silence Billy's retort and continuing "Grace tells me that the Zords are still being repaired yet you've contributed very little to the task….One learns things about those they war against and I know you to be someone who does not give up so easily, especially not on your son; so tell me Billy what are you planning?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Lightning crackled through the air and Billy dropped into a combative stance, one that he had not needed to use for years only to be left glancing around as the flash of light subsided and the former Lord Zedd's breathing returned to normal from the ragged snarl that it had become

"I had thought that we had come to understand, if not trust one another" the former Lord Zedd noted, Billy being surprised to hear what sounded like genuine hurt in his voice

"There's nothing to tell you….not yet anyway" Billy finally answered, conceding that he was at least planning or attempting something, realising that it would be fruitless to deny it further as Zebidiah simply knew him too well to believe such falsehoods.

"Then you will inform me when whatever you have planned proceeds" Zebidiah demanded bluntly, his voice softening as he added "Kay is my grandchild….I have trained and watched over these Rangers since they became a team; I would not stand by and allow harm to come to them after they have given so much"

"I can't tell you" Billy shook his head, pausing a moment before finally deciding that he owed his enemy turned ally some sort of explanation

"We will find the Rangers" he said simply "But when we do I am going to have to do things that are….beyond questionable and the Rangers are still going to need someone to guide them, I will do everything I can to bring them home and they will need you to be here for them when everything is said and done"

"I understand" Zebidiah nodded, in truth Billy's drive and focus had always been admirable to him even when they were opposed; the former Blue Ranger's determination to achieve his goals by any means without ever stooping to barbarism was an aspect of the image that Zebidiah, when he had still been Lord Zedd had held for his own sons that they had both fallen so terribly short of.

"Good….you'll know when the plans begin" Billy nodded "I have to return to work. I will bring them home" with that Billy turned on his heel and left Zebidiah's chambers leaving the sorcerer oddly reassured.

Even if the Power could not protect them, wherever the Aegis Rangers were they had Billy Cranston and that alone might just be enough.

* * *

The Aegis Rangers had learned that the industrial world within the Dark Empire that they had inadvertently been teleported to had no official name and was instead given a numeric designation by those who had conquered it centuries ago and ruled with an iron fist ever since; the locals of the world however, few of whom were descended from the worlds' original inhabitants had dubbed the planet _'__Mercator'_ and the city that the Rangers had travelled to from the ash wasteland that they had initially crashed in was the worlds' capital; a port and merchant city and a shipyard wherein vast resources including raw materials, food, water, breathable air for those planets within the Empire that lacked it and even prisoners were loaded onto freshly made warships that would carry them to whatever world they would do their masters' bidding on. The city and world itself had remained much as they had been upon the Rangers first arrival, if one ignored the twin suns and smoke-clogged pale purple skies or the alien architecture of the massive buildings that a shanty town had risen and grown around like moss it was almost possible to forget that this was a city within the Dark Empire, the brazen crime and callous disregard for life were hardly different to that of any other major city after all and it was only when enforcers wearing ragged robes made periodic appearances to unleash the monstrous canine Putty-Hounds upon the populace with horrific results and seemingly at random that the illusion was shattered and just how lost the Rangers were was made clear again.

Which Mercy was all too happy with, the had no intention of allowing herself to become comfortable in this place.

She and her fellow Aegis Rangers had followed Rocky DeSantos after the former Red Power Ranger and Blue Zeo Ranger had rescued them, though Rocky had ambivalent towards the presence overall as he led them back to what could only be described as a home in the loosest or most mocking sense of the word; the building he resided in was clearly intended to be some sort of storage facility located at the outer edges of the city that had seemingly been forgotten about and slipped through the cracks of a galaxy-spanning Empire and its' bureaucracy that had been looted of all contents before being transformed into some sort of workshop by one of the various criminal gangs brave enough to risk the Dark Empire's idea of justice that operated within the city, those occupants were long since gone and from hints that Rocky had dropped in his few morose and awkward conversations with the Rangers it seemed that the lost Ranger had some involvement in their disappearance. Mercy didn't concern herself with that however and focused on the task at hand, unleashing salvo after salvo of powerful and devastatingly accurate punches into the makeshift pads that Aslaug had fashioned over the course of the several days they had been here. Tempestus was in a part of the workshop that Mercy was yet to properly explore, the Aquitian keeping his mind active and decidedly away from the fact that he was beginning to feel the effects of being denied the water from his home world, Kay and Panthera had ventured out into the city to perform reconnaissance and learn anything of value that they could whilst Rensa and Mari were likely somewhere close by, simply coping by whatever means available to them; leaving Mercy and Aslaug to find their own peace of mind which the Red Aegis Ranger had chosen to do through training, the familiar exercises were oddly comforting and it gave her a sense of purpose, a feeling that she was preparing for some plan that might be enacted at any moment.

That sense of purpose was stolen from her as Rocky strode by, muttering as he passed them

"You won't be able to punch through the whole Empire, I don't recommend trying" Mercy came to a halt, expression faltering as she was left feeling hollow and empty for the briefest moment before she caught sight of Aslaug's suddenly furious expression, icy blue eyes narrowed as she slipped the pads from her hands and prepared to confront the former Power Ranger about his attitude.

"Let me handle this, please" she murmured, reaching up to kiss the much taller woman gently on the lips before rounding on Rocky, following him to a boarded window which he often peered through the cracks of, muttering to himself as he ensured that his home was safe from any potential threats.

"Hey, what is your deal?" she demanded hotly as she drew close "Do you want to win this fight or not?"

"Win?" Rocky snorted, the gloom casting long shadows on his face which deepened his many scars and only added to his harrowed and beleaguered expression; his eyes holding a haunted look and slightly unfocused stare as he shook his head "What I want doesn't matter….It can't be done, we can't win-"

"Okay maybe not against the whole Empire, not from here" Mercy admitted, scrambling to find a new angle "But we can get off of this world, rejoin the Alliance and-"

"And do what?" Rocky laughed bitterly, his words dripping with scorn "Sacrifice more people, throw more lives away just to buy ourselves a little bit more time; how many lives is one more day worth?….We can't win, not against the Empire"

"We have to try" Mercy said simply, voice cracking as saw something that she had never believed possible; a Power Ranger, one of the first of humanities greatest heroes with their spirit broken and crushed "We have to….we're Power Rangers"

"You're a kid that means well trying to play hero" Rocky countered sadly "All the real Power Rangers died twenty years ago….I was there, I saw it happen"

"Kimberley didn't" Mercy retorted, voice dropping to a whisper as she spoke "She kept fighting to the very end and she taught me to do the same, so that's what I'm gonna do. Billy is still out there and I'd bet anything he's working just as hard to get us off of this planet as we are….what happened to you Rocky, you're a legend on Earth, they named an entire class of starship after you"

"Never meet your heroes" Rocky snorted before reaching into his pocket and placing something down in front of Mercy, her brown eyes widening as realised that she was staring at the shattered fragments of what had once been the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin.

"As for what happened" the former Ranger continued "I wasn't using this coin….Jason was, my Zeo Morpher was broken in the assault on Acheron, I found Jason's body in the wreckage three days after the fighting officially ended. I spent two years on Acheron carrying a broken Power Coin and two broken Morphers stealing food and any tools I could find, living in gutters and trying to repair those Morphers thinking that I might, just might be able to go home, to save someone, to do something, anything that made a difference….Then I realised that nobody was coming, they'd just assumed that everybody who didn't make it onto the Astro Megaship was dead; the Power Rangers were Earths' heroes and they left us to die"

"Well somebody came" Mercy said simply "My team are going to go home and make a difference. I hope you'll join us" with that she turned and walked away, Rocky's weary and bitter voice sounding from behind her as she did so.

"They left me behind for twenty years kid….before you try and be the hero ask yourself if the galaxy is worth saving"

* * *

The walls of the workshop seemed to blur and warp as the floor shifted and rocked unnaturally causing something akin to bile to rise up in Tempestus's throat before the dark-skinned Aquitian teen recognised these phenomena as simply being signs of his own deteriorating state and steadied himself, taking several deep breaths of air that tasted stale and only reinforced how claustrophobic and airless this hellish planet truly was.

"Gnarly, most assuredly gnarly" Tempestus muttered to himself as he wiped his face with his hand the way one might wipe away sweat though as an Aquitian he did no perspire the same way as a human, instead what he wiped from his brow were countless minute flecks of some rough and coarse material, a mix of dead skin and the hardened mask like tissue that adorned his face; both it and the purple ridges of his skull had slowly began to began brittle and craggy as his body steadily grew more and more sickly.

He was weak, tired, feverish and had been unable to keep food down since yesterday whilst a series of near constant shooting pains in his gut told him that at least one of his organs was faring badly and unless he found a way off of this planet soon, the Dark Empire world of Mercator would be where he perished. Despite the bleakness and increasing severity of his situation however Tempestus's current project was not directly tied to the Aegis Ranger's efforts to escape the planet that they had been stranded on and returning home.

Instead he had found something that his admittedly hazy and addled mind refused to let him turn away from.

Rocky, despite his obvious lack of faith or apparent interest in the Ranger's plans had allowed Tempestus to use the tools and resources at his disposal which had proven themselves to be surprising in their scope, the former Power Ranger had acquired an impressive array of equipment both for his own use and to be sold and bartered for other essentials with the locals; it had been whilst searching through this veritable mountain of scrapped and discarded devices however that Tempestus had found something that had made his coral pink and currently bloodshot eyes widen in shock.

A pair of Morphers, each of them a different design both of them clearly damaged beyond their ability to function.

Seeing this the Blue Aegis Ranger had quickly realised that this must be the source of Rocky's current defeated and dejected state and had proceeded forward in the only way that made sense to him; on Aquitar he had been capable of fixing and maintaining almost any piece of equipment, infrastructure of vehicle within his underwater city state and, being the child of Billy Cranston had seen Morphers being worked on before; Tempestus in what amounted to a rebellious phase also sneaked glances at his adoptive fathers' notes and various prototypes of what would go on to become his own Aegis Morpher, allowing him the confidence to say that he had at least a basic understanding of the concepts involved and having seen Kay's original Morpher that had been cobbled together from the pieces of those belonging to slain Rangers he knew that his idea was possible. It was a potentially risky endeavour with a very low chance of success but until a better plan was presented it was ll Tempestus had and he had thrown himself into the task with all of his remaining strength, the workbench before him was now littered with the components of a Power Morpher and a Zeoniser whilst the walls were covered with a seemingly endless litany of calculations that were all but indecipherable.

And now his dedication and hard work would, hopefully be rewarded.

Sliding another component in place Tempestus stared intently at what he held in his hands, in truth little more than a hastily assembled mass of jumbled parts and by no means a completed Morpher, it was a however a potential proof of concept and he found himself sucking in another lungful of stagnant, dusty air to steady himself before murmuring with the feverish excitement of a madman

"Are you ready to rumble?" as he spoke he activated what would go onto become a proto-Morpher and let out a yelp of surprise as arcs of crackling energy radiated out from the thing before cheering faintly as a series of readings were given and he realised that his work was unstable at best and far from complete but functional.

He could build Rocky a Morpher.

His victory was cut short however as his stomach lurched and the room span, a sudden wave of nausea crashing over him as he became suddenly and painfully aware of the weight of his own body without the buoyancy of water and just how dry the air was before he staggered to the left and toppled over, only to be caught by someone whom he could not quite identify with his vision blurring and his ears ringing.

"Easy Tempestus, we've got you" Mari whispered gently as she and Rensa carefully moved their sickly friend to a sitting position to a corner of the room

"You need rest" Rensa noted

"I need to work" Tempestus countered "I made a breakthrough-"

"Tell us about it when you've rested" Mari countered firmly, the Gold and Black Rangers having entered his workspace upon hearing his outbursts "You can't work like this, you can barely stand up….whatever it is you're working on, you're risking it by working on it in this condition, you can't focus" Tempestus's mouth worked silently for several seconds, the Aquitian becoming aware of how dry it was and in turn how raspy and croaky his own voice sounded as he managed a reply

"You make a most excellent point" with that Tempestus allowed himself to pass out as both his illness and exhaustion claimed their toll on his body.

* * *

For Kay prowling the streets of a Dark Empire city was a glimpse into the culture of the Empire that they had been created to expand and fight for and the Green Ranger could honestly say that they had come to loathe it over the course of a few short days.

"Hey, you okay?" Panthera asked as she regarded them with obvious concern, the two of them wore ragged robes that she had acquired days ago when it had become clear that the Rangers would need to explore the city if they were to achieve anything and her amber, catlike eyes gleamed in the light of the city from beneath the heavy hood that had pushed her deep purple hair which naturally formed a spike Mohawk down and aside, leaving ruffled and messy strands falling front of her face.

"I will be" Kay murmured, almost shrinking into their own ragged and nondescript item as they added "This is what I was made for….turning worlds into this. I hate the Dark Empire, I hate everything that Lord Zedd does, it's like the Empire find everything that makes the galaxy special and bury it or take it apart to be reused" there was a rarely heard venom in the Green Ranger's voice and their inhuman pink and black eyes seemed to shine as they vented their anger; they had learned in their short life that the galaxy was a beautiful place filled with things that needed to be seen and experienced to be believed and the idea of reducing it all to the nightmarish vista of smog and steel where life was cheap and fear, violence and simple hopeless apathy reigned supreme like the city that they had found themselves in was abhorrent.

"Yeah" Panthera nodded "I've been in more port cities than I can count….this place, it's like it's had it's soul pulled out" the teal-skinned alien let out a sigh before lacing her fingers through Kay's and lazily swishing her tail before wrapping it around their waist whilst the Acheron human hybrid leaned into her; the two of them taking in the view of the city as the considered their next move.

Panthera's initial plan had been to venture to the ports or shipyards of the city and see if it was possible to simply steal a ship, this idea had been proven to be untenable however as the shipyards were far too heavily defended whilst the ships themselves would need a crew of far more people than they had at their disposal and the idea of forming an insurrection in the limited amount of time at their disposal was laughable; the space ports were also unusable as the traffic entering and leaving them was heavily regulated, Mercator was deep within the Empire territory and there was none of the usual chaotic bustle and clashing with dozens of cultures that Panthera had expected after years of travelling between cities in neutral, contested or otherwise wild and lawless space and so, with their initial plan thwarted the pair had made their way to a bridge between two of the twisted and monstrous spires of the city so that they could look down at the heaving mass of downtrodden and oppressed life in the hope that something would occur to them.

The sudden gleam in Panthera's eye was all the indication Kay needed

"You see something?" they asked hopefully.

"That" she pointed to a something in the distance and Kay followed her gaze, realising that she was indicating towards a specific structure located a little off from the centre of the city, relatively close to where the main space ports were situated though there was still an hours' walk between them on foot. The building was a jagged, branching mass of steel that sported countless sensors and similar contraptions that Kay could almost identify, the knowledge of the Dark Empire that they had been born with not amounting to the sum total of their cultures' history and technology.

"What is it?" they asked

"It's a communications tower….I think I can plan a route from our little hideout to there that would get us to it safely"

"You think we should attack it, or break in?" Kay asked in confusion

"I think it's going to have a long range communication system that lets this planet keep in touch with the rest of the Empire; they have to be organising their shipments somehow….I think we can use that communications tower to boost the signal from our own communicators-"

"And send word to the Alliance" Kay finished "Panthera you're a genius"

"Eh, I have moments….still not sure how I'm gonna-" she trailed off, whatever concerns she may have had falling silent as the sound of stone on metal reached her ears.

"Putty" she whispered, her suspicions being proven correct mere moments later as the automaton in question came into view; rather than the standard bipedal chattering construct this Putty was of the variety that they had seen in the ash wastes, quadrupedal with curved, raking claws and elongated snarling and bestial faces with a heavy, rusted collar around its' neck where it had been released from the chain that bound it; both Panthera and Kay saw the things' handler some distance away strolling lazily and uncaring towards them

"They don't know who we are" Kay realised, suddenly shocked and disgusted in equal measure "They don't know we're Power Rangers, they just wanted to watch that thing kill someone"

"Lucky us, that buys us a few seconds" Panthera noted as she braced herself, taking a stance that was low to the ground with her muscles coiled and ready as the hunting beast Putty came thundering across the walkway towards them.

"Ready" she hissed through clenched teeth "Now!" the Putty pounced and Panthera surged forwards whilst Kay leapt to the side in perfect co-ordination, the unmorphed Pink Ranger sprung upwards and drove her shoulder into the snarling automaton mid-leap, leaving it flailing, uncoordinated and vulnerable as Kay used the railings of the walkway to leap into the air and deliver a kick to the now exposed plate in the centre of the Putties' chest, shattering its' body and leaving debris raining down on those unfortunate enough to be stood below them. Both Panthera and Kay saw that the rag wearing handler of the Putty, presumably some sort of security or authority figure in this hellish city was staring at the two of them in open confusion and they used the few seconds afforded them to great effect, Panthera taking Kay's hand and dragging them in the other direction.

"Come on, we've gotta go!"

* * *

The room was dark and the was humid and stagnant, the stench of death hanging thick and oppressive in the steamy darkness whilst the ground was piled thick with corpses in various states of decay; the walls being lined with scores of security cameras and live feeds from all around the Capital City of Mercator, the images given a bloody red filter to match the faint overhead lighting and surrounding the floor of the room which had allowed to become essentially a festering pit of rotten, mulched flesh and nothing more. The room was the Central Command Centre for the Empire appointed overseer of Mercator and whilst it was a bleak and nightmarish place by the standards of most sapient life throughout the galaxy it was a fitting lair and seat of power for the creature currently studying the countless screens intently; a creature as freakish and repulsive as the lair they inhabited.

It was as if someone had misinterpreted the term 'Spider Plant' in the most gruesomely literal sense imaginable.

The original inhabitants of the planet that had become Mercator, long before the Dark Empire had claimed and colonised it centuries ago had been of an order of creature those native to Earth would struggle to comprehend, a mid-point between plant and animal an although the species had been entirely pacifistic; living on sunlight and nutrients in the once rich of the world the Acheron hybrids that had been created from that peoples' genetic stock had been as warlike and bloodthirsty as any other, their hostile and mutable genetics weaving into the unique plant and animal fusion to create something sickening.

The creature that inhabited the Command Centre was not one of those original hybrids who had brought Mercator into the Empire's grasp and crushed the life from its' limited resistance, rather a descendent of theirs who held their title through lineage alone;

Their body was black in colour and mottled with dark and drab browns; an armoured carapace between whose flesh mud-coloured flesh with a texture not unlike spongy or loamy soil could be glimpsed and whose segmented form curled in on itself so that the oversized pair of pincers that adorned its' bulbous and oversized abdomen rested just below the aliens' head, which itself was the stuff of nightmares. The hybrids' skull was an emaciated and dessicated husk of dried skin stretched between exoskeletal plates, a rounded and vaguely streamlined thing that sloped forward with an unsettlingly humanoid mouth filled with jagged teeth resting between a pair of serrated mandibles and wriggling pedipalps whilst they surveyed the various screens with eight compound eyes whose surfaces seemed to be perpetually shifting colour yet never once finding a hue that was less than jarring and unpleasant to look at. They did not stand, instead they hung suspended above the corpse-ridden floor as each of the many smaller segments of their body between their skull and abdomen sported several pairs of limbs, appendages that could best be describes at the sickening combination of insectoid legs and creeping vines, thin yet sturdy things that were covered with carapace armour and yet moved without bone, thin hooks lining their surface allowing the limbs to embed themselves in the walls and ceiling whilst the monster hung in the centre of the lair like the foul and diseased heart of some greater evil.

This was Cleobis-Radix, Arch Overseer of Mercator; an Acheron hybrid whose status within the Empire itself was one of near total unimportance, but here on this world and in this port city, they were a God amongst mortals.

After studying the screens that lined their domain an eager chittering sound that could almost be interpreted as a pleased chuckle. The 'Ragged ones' were a force that preceded his time as Arch Overseer, the line between policing and brutal oppressive force being blurred beyond any relevancy on any Dark Empire world had meant that terror troops like the Ragged Ones and the hunting beast Putties that they employed were well suited to keeping the population in line and Cleobis-Radix allowed them to indulge in their proclivities simply so that they remained feared; what was unexpected however was the sight of one of said hunting beasts being shattered and cast over a walkway by two individuals who were decidedly outsiders.

After some deliberation however, the answer had become obvious.

Rumours of insurgent cells and agitators had spread throughout the Empire, closely followed by rumours of the rewards that would be bestowed upon those who killed or captured these rebels and Alliance operatives; Cleobis-Radix chuckled and chittered to themselves because it was obvious that these figures who had escaped from the Ragged Ones and slipped out of view could be nothing else and after only a brief period of consideration it had become clear what their intentions had been.

They had been surveying their target.

"All Ragged Ones and attached security forces" Cleobis-Radix spoke in a buzzing drone as he slipped from the walls, his vine-like appendages ripping free and wrapping around themselves to form coiled and tangled masses of loamy flesh more suited to bearing his weight on the ground; long slender arms that ended in whip like fingers lined with hooks and legs, the monster seeming to shift between bipedal and quadrupedal stances every few steps as they adjusted their weight and sunk their roots into the rotten flesh underfoot, draining what few nutrients remaining in the festering meat.

"Proceed to the interstellar communications tower" he buzzed, voice filling with sudden eagerness and manic glee "Enemies of the Empire plan to attack us, we will be ready for them….I will be joining the defence in person"

**Author's Notes:**

So….I'm back.  
I said a moth hiatus, two weeks later here we are; starting up arc 13 and the third and final act of the story.  
So how have thing been on my end you ask? Well, I finished off a 165 Chapter RWBY Story that I've been writing for three and a half years and that was emotional.  
I also got a new job so uploads are going to remain weekly despite this being my only ongoing project because my free time has been massively reduced.  
But oh well, things are looking up for me, thank you for bearing with me; I hope you're all well and welcome back.

Now, let's summarise shall we?:  
The theme for the titles of this chapter is spy movies, tinker, tailor, soldier, spy fits for this because well, we've got some tinkering and plotting going on here.  
So we're picking up pretty much straight after the end of the last act, only a couple days because Tempestus really is on a timer.  
Billy is definitely planning something.  
The mind of the former Lord Zedd was, at least for a few short moments contained in the body of a small robotic dog and you all have to live with that knowledge….Because, a reminder, his body is dying.  
So no Zords for now, they're still damaged.  
Zebidiah sees Billy as the man he would have liked his sons to become, let that sink in.  
Mercator is just Merchant in Latin.  
Just a little scene setting for the Dark Empire city, I wanted it to be bleak but not cartoonishly so.  
So the Rangers are holed up at Rocky's little base, because of course he's squatting somewhere he can use as a base.  
"_You won't be able to punch through the whole Empire, I don't recommend trying" _insert the 'It's true but you shouldn't say it' meme here.  
Rocky has been stranded in Empire space for twenty years knowing that there isn't gonna be any rescue mission, he's definitely bitter and paranoid as well as traumatised.  
"_All the real Power Rangers died twenty years ago….I was there, I saw it happen"_ Ouch.  
Mercy is definitely a real Red Ranger, she's too stubborn to be anything else.  
So yeah, Tempestus is definitely ill and it's definitely gonna become an issue later on but for now he's still doing his thing.  
You didn't think Rocky was gonna have two Morphers and not have them combined right? I feel like the idea of combining two different Morphers into one Ranger was the most interesting and underused plot device that the Drakkon storyline introduced…..And the proof of concept already existed, because Kay had a scrapheap of a Morpher.  
In my head the way Tempestus passed out was funny.  
Kay has never seen a Dark Empire world in person before.  
Recon….totally not a date.  
Between the two of them Kay and Panthera have a lot of usable intel and are the best possible choice for scouting work but even then they have their limits.  
And there we have our first glimpse at the plot device of the arc.  
The hunting beast Putties from the end of the last chapter, they're scary but they can be beaten….Notice that we haven't seen the "Ragged ones" in action yet though.  
Coming up with a design for the monster of the week took a while, and then I gave my brother the nickname Spider-plant at work and my brain did a thing; so now we have something that's a cross between a Spider, an earwig and creeping vines or poison ivy that shapes its' roots and vines into limbs to walk and drains the nutrients out of corpses like they were soil then they're not hanging from the ceiling like a fleshy, bug-eyed Glados.  
Cleobis-Radix is "Rotten Root" in Latin.  
Police that's basically an occupying army….Topical.  
So Cleobis-Radix has seen Kay and Panthera but doesn't know that they're Rangers; he think that they're part of Andros's insurgency.  
The pieces will continue to move into place next chapter.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
Yeah that cliffhanger came from nowhere to be honest.  
But now you know what he's been doing.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	55. Mission Impossible

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 54 – Mission Impossible**

The Lightspeed Aquabase was functional once again, though at a greatly reduced capacity and it would likely be years before the base could be truly said to be fully operational after the extensive damage wrought upon it by the rampaging Dragonzord.

This had been an undeniable boon for the city of Mariner Bay, as a hub of technological development and research that had begun to outstrip silicon valley in recent years; owing in no small part to influx of interplanetary immigrants and students from across the Alliance being the former home base of multiple teams of Power Rangers and still housing their base of operations, a facility which created a plethora of jobs was considered vital to the cities' economy; even if many of the locals who had called Mariner Bay home for longer periods of time often grumbled that they would trade all of that to simply know that they would never be at risk of attack by another giant monster.

For Doctor Justin Stewart, former Blue Turbo Ranger the steady progress in repairing and repopulation of the Lightspeed Aquabase meant several things; not least of which was an almost Herculean workload. The Dragonzord had destroyed the bases' personal power station during its' attack and reworking the various backups and redundancies that existed as short term workarounds for such a solution to serve as a long term alternative whilst a new power source could be built by the teams of hundreds of engineers and construction workers hired from within the city along with a seemingly endless tide of Lightspeeds' own experts all of whom reported to the former Turbo Ranger directly had taken a considerable amount of time, to say nothing of the endless list of other tasks that needed to be attended to. The reconstruction effort had also been far from the only thing to demand Justin's time with other projects such as the design and creation of the Quantum Rex Zeta, a Zord that had been destroyed on its' first field test during the attack on Unus requiring his attention.

Along with his time his privacy and solitude had also been forfeit.

The countless people involved in the reconstruction effort had been joined by those who had and would continue to call the Aquabase home, whilst the children who had lived on base would not be returning unless and until it was deemed safe to do so and the base was fully functional again many of of the older Silver Guardian Cadets, several of whom were apprenticing under Justin and his co-workers to become engineers or take other specialist roles had returned and along with them the various teachers, drill instructors and plethora of other staff that their presence required along with a limited amount of the rank and file Silver Guardian soldiers who had been stationed in Mariner Bay. It was this steadily returning bustle that had seen Justin retreat to his workshop and laboratory which had once served as an impromptu Command Centre for the Aegis Rangers to operate from and designate the area as even more highly restricted than it had been previously in an effort to converse in private.

Specifically a conversation that would be occurring any second now if the sounds coming from his computer were any indication.

"Billy" Justin nodded in acknowledgement as he answered the incoming video call, noting to himself that the former Blue Power Ranger's face was stoic and bore fresh frown lines, carved into it like trenches whilst any warmth that his features had once held had been drained and replaced with only cold pragmatism and Justin, considering the circumstances could not find it in himself to blame the man for an instant

"Are we secure?" Billy asked bluntly and without preamble.

"Jesus Christ" Justin hissed through clenched teeth "Whenever you ask me something like that it hits me, what we're doing here-"

"We're doing what needs to be done and nothing else, the Alliance needs its' Rangers but they don't need our Rangers, our children specifically" Billy countered before repeating himself "So, are we secure?"

"As secure as I want to make it" Justin answered eventually "If I put too much into making us untraceable then it's going to draw suspicion, the best way to not get caught is to not look like you're doing anything wrong in the first place"

"Logically sound" Billy nodded

"So I'm guessing that this isn't just a social call" Justin breathed out, almost wavering before asking "Status update?"

"I spoke with Zebidiah earlier, he didn't know but he suspected and with him that's effectively the same thing….He's been told what he needs to know which is very little" Billy gave Justin a moment to process that information before changing topic "Repairs on the Zords are ongoing, I haven't involved myself directly in the process so that if we have to leave before they're completed there won't be any errors or delays caused by the handover-"

"But they won't be needed anyway" Justin added, a bitter edge creeping into his voice "Because we've still got no idea where the kids are"

"Not yet" Billy admitted "Although I trust you've built the remote teleporter to my specifications?"

"I have" Justin admitted, he had been confused when Billy had asked his fellow former Blue Ranger to build a small, easily concealable teleporter that could be keyed to his own communicators' teleportation beacon and activated remotely; once the plan had been explained to him Justin found himself almost preferring the confusion but if this plan would, as Billy had explained bring them closer to finding the Aegis Rangers then any price was worth paying.

"Good" Billy nodded "It took me longer than I expected, Cruger's cyber-security is impressive but I've found her"

"So this is it then, this is happening?" Justin asked, knowing the answer and almost dreading it so instead asking another question to delay hearing the inevitable "Do you think she'll help us?"

"Given her current circumstances I fail to see any other outcome" Billy answered coldly "She'll help us because it's the only choice she has….I'll send you the co-ordinates and the details that I've acquired, use encryption key eighty-seven and inform your contact. Move as soon as possible, it makes no sense to wait"

"You got it" Justin nodded simply, debating the idea of correcting Billy on his use of the cold and detached word 'contact' in regards to the man who would actually be taking the riskiest part of this operation before deciding against it. In the few moments that he remained silent the older man had apparently found something else that demanded his attention and ended the call; leaving Justin with stolen and classified information in his possession as considered what needed to be done next and wondering when exactly everything had gotten so complicated.

On reflection he supposed that it was the moment he had hidden under Rocky DeSantos's hospital bed and learned the identity of the Power Rangers that had been the first catalyst.

* * *

Mercy made her way through the safe house which was admittedly larger than one might expect and featured several rooms of not inconsequential size despite its' overall dinginess and the precariousness of their situation despite the shelter that it afforded.

It had been several hours since her brief verbal altercation with Rocky and since then the lost and clearly spiritually broken Power Ranger had left to perform some sort of patrolling of the surrounding area though it was clear that this was being done out of simple paranoia and an urge to vent frustrations rather than any semblance of an actual plan; Rensa had accompanied him in on this outing, the Black Aegis Ranger clearly believing that he could be some sort of calming or at least limiting influence on the unstable Rocky. Kay and Panthera were also absent, the Pink and Green Aegis Rangers were yet to return from their own scouting expedition into the deepest reaches of the Capital City of Mercator in an effort to learn anything that might be of use to them whilst Tempestus was still unconscious after collapsing as he worked on something that he had allegedly been highly excited about, though in his feverish state it was unclear how much of that excitement was warranted and Marigold had continued to watch him and ensure that his condition didn't deteriorate any further.

Leaving Mercy and Aslaug effectively alone within the safe house. The Red Ranger entered what could loosely be considered a living area, in that it was largely devoid of clutter, equipment and general detritus save for a handful of crates that had been used as seats and as she did so she saw a sight that would freely admit, if only to herself was more than a little distracting.

Aslaug was working out.

"H-hey" Mercy croaked, throat suddenly dry at the sight of her girlfriend in the middle of a press up, the sculpted muscles of her back and shoulders straining against her tank-top with the exposed skin being decorated with the faint lines of old scars and tattoos that were more private than the stylised beast adorning her left forearm and pure black band across her eyeline. Mercy herself had been unable to focus on training after her attempt at reasoning with Rocky though it seemed that Aslaug had plenty of energy to spare.

"Want me to spot for you?" Mercy offered, staring shamelessly at her girlfriends' muscles and figure "I'm sure we can use something here as weights"

"Honestly, I'm not sure it's helping" Aslaug admitted, her low and gruff voice tinged with rare doubt as she rose to her feet and stretched out, the flexing of her arms causing Mercy to swallow thickly despite herself though the taller woman seemed not to notice as she slunk onto one of the crates that served as seats nearest to a partially collapsed wall and let out a slow sigh that prompted Mercy to break from her own distraction and take a seat beside her, lacing her fingers though Aslaug's and leaning into her

"Talk to me" she requested gently, Aslaug allowed her head to loll tiredly onto Mercy's and paused for a moment to choose her words before obliging her

"I've made camp in enemy territory before, been surrounded on all sides and outnumbered before…..But this feels different" she paused and pulled back a moment, as she did so allowing Mercy to see the haunted look in her icy blue eyes as she added "I'm afraid we might all die here, put down like animals instead of warriors' deaths"

"No" Mercy said simply, forcing as much conviction as she could into the single word "Not gonna happen, I don't have a plan yet but I'll get us out of here; I'll find a way"

"I've never doubted your abilities to lead, only my own ability to follow" Aslaug murmured gently, prompting Mercy to pull her close once again; this time into a crushing hug as she buried her face in the larger woman's neck

"You're the strongest person I know, there is nothing you can't do" she insisted earnestly as she tightened her own grip on Aslaug, arms wrapped around her waist until Aslaug's hands gently cupped Mercy's cheeks and pulled her up into a slow, gentle kiss

"I love you"

"I love you too" the pair stared at each other in silence, eyes locked and silently asking permission which was readily given; the days that they had spent trapped on this hellish planet had taken a toll on them and with this being the closest thing to privacy they would likely be given the sudden need for release and to both give and take whatever comfort they could was overwhelming.

The next kiss was not gentle.

Their lips came crashing together, Aslaug's teeth grazing Mercy's lower lip until the darker skinned girl all but dragged them both down from the crate and onto the hard floor to straddle Aslaug as she kissed every part of her she could reach; in response the taller woman's arms snaked around Mercy's back and pulled her down on top of her, Aslaug kissing and biting at her neck and collarbones as she frantically pulled her lovers' clothing away from her shoulders with Mercy taking Aslaug's hair out of its' tied back wolf-tail, her fingers tangling in the dusty blonde locks as she threw her head back and bucked her hips against Aslaug's thigh when Aslaug kissed and teased way down to Mercy's breasts, lovingly taking each nipple in her mouth in turn

Only for the moment to be spectacularly ruined by the sound of a door being thrown open

"Shit!" Mercy's exclamation could only be described as a panicked yelp, she leapt to her feet and quickly readjusted her clothes before pulling Aslaug to her feet; the two of them managing to share an abashed look with Mercy reaching up on the tip-toes to kiss the Yellow Ranger briefly before the source of the intrusion made itself known, Panthera and Kay came skidding into the room and if the fact that the Pink Ranger didn't immediately begin tormenting the still flushed and dishevelled pair and giving them knowing glances wasn't enough indication that something was amiss then the fact that both she and the Green Ranger were panting and out of breath after clearly running some distance was.

"What's wrong?" Mercy demanded, forcing herself into the role of leader and pushing her own feelings aside to better focus.

"We ran into Putties and Empire security, don't worry we weren't identified" Panthera managed to gasp out between breaths, holding a hand up to silence Mercy before she could interject "That's not the important part, get the others….I think I know how we can get off of this planet"

* * *

The twin suns of Mercator were setting at opposite ends of the horizon, causing the pale sky to steadily darken behind the veil of smog, ash and dust that was belched and churned endlessly into the worlds' atmosphere; the twilight casting long and sinister shadows along the ground which only served to make the Capital City of the Dark Empire world ever more foreboding and frightening in appearance, the influence of the Empire corrupting a sight that had once been beautiful the way it always had. To Rensa that sight was still a novel one however, being born and raised on the prison world of Dread whose atmosphere was entirely impenetrable and whose surface was trapped in a permanent artificial night had meant that sunrises and sunsets were things he was entirely unaccustomed to and the contact lenses that Billy had made allowed to appreciate the sight without being blinded by light that his eyes were never meant to see.

At the moment however the Black Aegis Ranger was currently preoccupied with more important matters, namely following Rocky DeSantos.

"Being alert is good, especially on a world like this….I understand it, but there comes a point when you have to admit that you're chasing shadows" Rensa noted, his quiet and surprisingly gentle voice conversational in tone as he trailed a few paces behind Rocky and using his unnatural ability to cling to any surface and contort himself in order to do so more easily, the lost Power Ranger himself was currently clad in ragged robes not too dissimilar to those worn by those who served as enforcers on Mercator which, judging by the way many who saw them shrunk aside in fear was likely a conscious decision Rocky had made.

"Did you follow me just to lean over my shoulder like Jiminy Cricket?" Rocky grumbled irritably

"What's a Jiminy Cricket?" Rensa asked without missing a beat, drawing a sigh from the older man as the two of them continued to prowl through the streets. Following his earlier brief and somewhat heated discussion with Mercy Rocky had left the safe house and ventured deeper into the city with seemingly no rhyme or reason in the various twists, turns and shortcuts he was taking though from the constant stream of mutterings that spilled from him Rensa had learned that someone had been watching the safe house as if scouting ahead of some pending attack, or at least that was what Rocky believed as it had been several hours and no sign of any would be trespasser had been found. The Black Ranger had followed after him as he saw and recognised far too many of the signs that Rocky stood on a precipice and was on the verge of doing something that he would not be able to retreat from, his mental state being something that Rensa was painfully and intimately familiar with made all the worse by the years of isolation and trauma that he had suffered though so far each of Rensa's awkward, stumbling attempts to speak with the veteran Ranger and broach the subject of their shared experiences and common ground was halted by Rocky's scathing indifference.

Any further attempts the Black Ranger wished to make were prevented as he followed Rocky around a corner into an alleyway only to be weave aside on instinct alone as a metal bar was swung at his face.

"Grab them!" Rocky snarled, wasting no time and simply lunging at the attacker himself and tackling them to the ground with ease before wrestling the bar they had used as an impromptu weapon from their grip and pressing it down on their neck.

The attacker was a small and scrawny creature, barefoot and clad in rags; largely humanoid in appearance save for their electric blue and entirely hairless skin and a decidedly alien face featuring oversized, elliptical eyes that were blood red in colour and without pupils and a mass of fleshy tendrils in place of a mouth; despite this the creature could still speak and it was at this point that Rensa realised that the attacker was young, likely an adolescent no older than himself

"Why are you following me?"

"Don't play dumb" Rocky growled, pressing the bar down onto the aliens' neck more forcefully to choke them "You were spying on us! Who do you work for? Is it the authorities? ANSWER ME!" the alien kicked and struggled for several moments before realising the futility of the situation and choking out an answer

"Not the authorities" they continued to struggle "The Talon Cabal, they knew someone was living there and wasn't paying them protection...they just wanted me to find out how many people"

"Extortionists" Rocky sneered, a smile formed on his face at the notion of such a simple and commonplace answer to his worries though it was one that lacked any warmth and its' predatory nature served only to alert the alien of how doomed they were; Rocky rose to his feet and kept the adolescent alien trapped underfoot as he hefted the pipe and swung.

Only for it to be sent flying from his hands.

"No" Rensa hissed savagely as he intervened, appearing between Rocky and his intended target in a blur of motion to strike Rocky's wrist and force him to release the pipe whilst at the same time kicking the spy in the head and rendering them unconscious before glaring at the former Power Ranger with his pitch black eyes narrowed "There, now they're unconscious and can't tell anyone anything….But you would have killed them"

"You don't understand how things work here" Rocky snapped furiously "This isn't like-"

"I was born on a Dark Empire Prison World and raised by Andros of the KO-Thirty Five guerilla resistance; I understand better than you think" Rensa shot back, cutting across the tirade before it could begin

"I understand that sometimes what people who've lived peacefully think is right will get them killed, I understand the hard choices but I also know that there are some things a Power Ranger can. Not. Do." his glare became more intense as he added "And so do you"

"Then maybe it's a good thing I'm not a Power Ranger any more" Rocky scoffed

"Yes you are" Rensa's answer was blunt and his tone made it clear that he would brook no argument yet it was clear that Rocky would likely try and argue regardless and so he continued

"If you weren't you wouldn't have spent so long trying to repair your Morphers and you wouldn't still carry that" he pointed to the pocket he knew the remains of the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin were carried in and as Rocky scowled Rensa followed up without hesitation "If you weren't still a Power Ranger you wouldn't have put yourself at risk to help us"

"There's a long way between being a Power Ranger and being some guy who didn't want to see a bunch of kids get killed"

"Maybe not as much as you think" Rensa shrugged before gesturing to the unmoving form of the adolescent alien who had been compelled to spy on Rocky's abode by the local criminal element and adding "But what's one more kid? Killing them won't stop whoever sent them" Rocky paused for a moment, fists clenching into white-knuckled grips as he considered; haunted looking eyes narrowing before finally he relented

"Find somewhere to put them, if we leave them in an alleyway someone else will kill them for whatever they have in their pockets" Rensa nodded in agreement as he turned towards the alien and took hold of their ankles, preparing to drag them somewhere out of view in a display that would, on most civilised worlds have been a cause for alarm whilst Rocky shook his head and sighed, offering an opinion from behind Rensa

"Andros, Billy, Kimberley….everyone who was left" he swallowed thickly and Rensa knew without looking that Rocky was wiping his eyes "They did a good job with you kids, a really good job"

* * *

The inner sanctum of the Fire Ninja Academy was an odd place, ancient scrolls and magically infused weapons and artefacts older than recorded history itself stood side by side and juxtaposed sharply against the latest technology Earth and the galaxy-spanning Alliance that it was part of had to offer. The inner sanctum served as a personal chamber for the current head of the Fire Ninja Academy and in its' centre was a small wooden table, low to the ground and surrounded by soft cushions; its' surface buried beneath countless scrolls and trinkets along with more modern documents including various blueprints and staff rotas, the possession of which would be an immediate cause for suspicion if anyone within a position of authority at Project Lightspeed were to learn of them; the table was illuminated by several candles placed around the room and, more prominently by the light cast by a large screen positioned in the wall at such an angle to allow anyone appearing on it to take part in any meetings held at the table.

A lone figure was knelt at the small table, knees resting on one of the cushions and their gaze snapping up from the documents as the screen was activated. The figure was a man in perhaps his mid thirties, he was tall and slender though beneath his black cloak he sported a defined and athletic physique, his skin was light brown and his features were sharp with high-cheekbones and eyes that softened from their hawkish intensity after a moment and his jet black hair was tied back into a tight bun; the man was known to his students as Sensei Kazama and he was the head of the Fire Ninja Academy as well as a former aide to a team of Power Rangers, though to Justin Stewart he was known by many other names; many of them not uttered in the presence

"Hey handsome" Justin yawned wearily as he appeared on the screen, his words causing the flames of the various candles around the room to flare and shine a little brighter for a moment as Kazama's innate abilities affected them.

"Justin I received your….package" he murmured cautiously only to roll his eyes as Justin snorted

"Phrasing" the former Turbo Ranger chuckled

"I am in love with a man-child" the ninja sighed, though a soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth; the moment between them being all too brief before the seriousness of the situation asserted itself and both men's expressions hardened and were filled with sudden tiredness from the weight they were forced to carry

"I got it" Kazama nodded "A remote teleporter, keyed to Billy's communicator, can't be activated by the recipient, completely undetectable….this is happening"

"It's happening" Justin nodded in confirmation "It was set in stone from the moment Billy made the decision"

"And yet he isn't the one taking the risks-"

"He's risking enough" Justin countered "Besides it's not about who risks what, the Rangers have risked more than any of us and we need to get them back….I need to get them back and I'll do whatever it takes"

"I….damn it I want to say I understand" Kazama sighed "I understand part of it, I would have done anything for my team but that was different, they were my students, they were in my care….You and Mercy, it's-"

"Complicated" Justin nodded, summing up the situation between himself and the Red Ranger who had been made from the combination of genetic material from at least a dozen former Power Rangers, himself included "I'm not her dad and even if I was I haven't been much of one….But I refuse to leave them out there; and that's why we need her, if anyone has the intel we need it's her"

"You know that you're going to have to go into hiding for this" Kazama noted "The Shadow Ninja Academy would offer you safe passage"

"You spoke to them about this?" Justin was suddenly concerned, though only for a moment as Kazama's silent assurance relieved him

"I had to" he explained "You're asking me to break into a maximum security Lightspeed prison that doesn't officially exist, I can handle their cyber-security but actually getting in and out is going to take a level of expertise I don't have; the Shadow Ninjas do. I'll be the one to speak with the target though"

"Okay" Justin nodded, a dozen emotions playing across his face as having the truth of what it was they were planning spoken aloud so frankly forced him to confront exactly what it was he, Billy, Kazama and anybody else Billy had enlisted in his plans were soon to be guilty of; treason, espionage, aiding and abetting those whose crimes should see them reviled by the galaxy as a whole and as his stomach churned he forced himself to remember that it was all to save the Power Rangers.

He would do it all a thousand times to protect them.

"We move out tonight" Kazama said gently "Have your things ready"

"They've been ready since Billy told me what he's planning" Justin assured him "I'll lay low until we find the Rangers but then-"

"I know" Kazama nodded in understanding "And may the Power protect you" the two of them shared tender looks and a single moment of peaceful silence which lasted until Justin chose to speak, his next words ruining the mood expertly

"You too hot stuff"

* * *

Tempestus had awoken to the sound of shouting, something that under normal circumstances would have seen him intervene and attempt to diffuse the situation through less combative means but currently he was simply far too preoccupied by the task before him.

Trying to perform incredibly delicate work, with potentially dangerous tools all whilst his vision blurred and swam with fresh waves of nausea as his condition steadily worsened.

It was clear that those who had been absent earlier in the day had returned and that whatever news they had returned with had become a major source of contention for the Rangers with, as far as Tempestus could tell, Rocky attempting to be a voice of reason tempering what he doubtlessly considered recklessness or foolishness on Mercy's behalf with the rest of the Aegis Rangers, again from what the Aquitian could decipher each agreeing with their leader to various degrees; Aslaug predictably being the most gung-ho and open in her support whilst Mari, clearly shaken by everything she had experienced in her short time as a Ranger erred more on the side of caution.

It was obvious that Tempestus would have to cause a paradigm shift in the situation soon

Royal blue light of a similar shade to that of his own armour flashed and crackled as he worked, an intense energy charging and pressurising the air as he focused, his pale and coral pink eyes overcoming the glassy and unfocused look that had overcome them in recent days as the dark-skinned alien teen recited an endless slew of calculations and parameters in a slurred and jumbled mutter under his breath until finally the entirety of the dingy and makeshift workshop that he had sequestered himself away in was illuminated by a blinding light that was almost as bright as Tempestus's own tired smile as he gazed down at his work and saw that it was a success.

What lay before him on the table was the union of a Power of Morpher and Zeoniser, the proof of concept that he had completed earlier expanded and developed into something far more complete in a matter of mere hours as the Blue Aegis Ranger's mind and hands raced with fanatical zeal and inhuman fervour despite his slowly worsening condition. The top half of the device was largely rectangular in shape though its' edges were rounded, the resemblance to Tempestus's own Aegis Morpher being owed entirely to the fact that this was in fact one the Morphers that the Aegis Morphers had been based on; the once gleaming silver finish of the Power Morpher had been stripped away by time and mistreatment which left the thing with a blackened, pitted and scratched exterior whilst its' bottom half had been ripped away entirely in a way that almost certainly been violent and left the jagged, tooth like track through the centre of the device with the appearance of a twisted mechanical overbite. The damaged section had been replaced with the gutted and reforged remains of Rocky's own Zeoniser; the circular attachment to one of the gauntlets sat over the indentation intended to hold a Power Coin on the Morpher, clearly intending to hold one in place whilst the rest of the device which has once channelled a fraction of the power of the Zeo Crystal sat beneath the rest of the chimeric device in a mass of circuitry and blinking lights that had been crudely covered over as well as possible with what limited material was available to make a rudimentary casing.

"Groovy" Tempestus finally murmured to himself as he lifted the device from his now scorched workbench and carried proudly into the part of the safe-house that had become an impromptu meeting place, where raised voices threatened to give away their location to any who wished to know it.

"THIS IS THE ONLY PLAN WE'VE GOT DAMN IT! IT'S BEST CHANCE WE'VE GOT!" Mercy yelled as she and Rocky stood mere feet apart, not quite within striking distance of one another despite how painfully obvious it was that tempers were dangerously close to spilling over, Rocky's scarred and lined face twisted into a sneer with his retort, shot back with equal volume and exasperated anger

"YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF CHANCES TO DIE KID, THERE'S NO SENSE IN RUSHING TO TAKE THIS ONE" Mercy's knuckles clenched and audibly cracked, a wave of anger and tense nervousness radiating our through her into the other Aegis Rangers scattered around the room who each visibly bristled at the slight against their friend; the Red Aegis Ranger simply remained silent for several seconds and chose her words carefully, yet clearly without any consideration for her current adversary's feelings

"So what do you want us to do?" she demanded icily "Stay here and waste away with you?" Rocky let out a low, guttural snarl that could only be the product of having spent so much time away from humanity before answering

"Not here, we need somewhere else….Between the spy Rensa and I dealt with and these two being seen" he gestured to Kay and Panthera whose expressions were defiant and unapologetic "We can't stay here-"

"All the more reason to move-"

"You're not listening to me! Rocky interjected forcefully, his tirade about to begin again in earnest when Marigold, who had been largely quiet and withdrawn over the last few days stepped forwards and cleared her throat loudly; having seen Tempestus out of the corner of her whilst the others were preoccupied with the ongoing argument

"Hey Tempestus" she exclaimed brightly, effectively ending the heated debate "You should still be resting"

"Couldn't rest, had work to do" the Aquitian answered simply, voice hoarse and rasping "What's going on?" at this question Marigold turned to Mercy and Rocky, giving them both a glare that both implored them to be reasonable and at the same time dared them to be otherwise. The current and former Red Rangers exchanged glances before coming to some unspoken agreement, with Rocky being the one to answer the question.

"Kay and Panthera went scouting, they've found a communications tower and they think they can use it to contact the Alliance-"

"That's bodacious, it's certainly a workable idea" Tempestus muttered, the gears already begin to turn in his mind; though it was admittedly a slow process

"Workable, but not smart….not right now" Rocky shook his head "They were seen by the Ragged Ones, security was already going to be tight around there, not it's going to be stepped up even more….Even with seven Rangers you won't be able to make it-"

"What about with eight Rangers?" Tempestus asked carefully "Would eight Rangers be able to do it?"

"What are you…." Rocky trailed off, falling silent and staring in rapt amazement as he stared at the cobbled together Morpher that Tempestus revealed and held out to him.

"Only Billy's son" the veteran and lost Ranger muttered as he took the proffered hybrid Morpher and slipped it into its' rightful place around his waist before taking the Tyrannosaurus Power Coin, shattered as it was and carefully arranging the broken fragments into the closest approximation of their proper shape as he inserted them into the indent they had once rested in, using the makeshift cover made from part of the Zeoniser to hold them in place. Several seconds passed as the tension in the air was replaced by a low thrumming that emanated from the device as it lurched into some semblance of life and Rocky, for the first time in decades felt the power of the Morphing Grid coursing through his body; he didn't morph, he didn't dare risk this moment being snatched from him and instead wore an expression that went beyond happiness, and reached a state enlightened and euphoric rapture, it was as though all the truths of the universe had been revealed to him in the form of an old friend and none of the younger Rangers had the heart to interrupt the state of pure bliss that left tears of joy streaming down Rocky's face for several moments.

Mercy eventually found herself compelled to speak, though her tone was gentle now

"Rocky….we're doing this either way, but we'd appreciate it if you chose to help us" Rocky's eyes regained some of their focus and when he gazed at Mercy it was as though he himself were much like his Power Coin; broken to the point of utter destruction and yet still carrying on against all odds. He nodded silently and turned his attention to Tempestus for a moment, wiping his eyes as he spoke

"I can't tell you how much this means to me, there really are no words….I don't know if eight Rangers will be enough, but I say we give it a try" he then turned to Mercy "Yeah kid I'm in and if you're half the Red Ranger your friends clearly think you are then I've got no problem following your lead on this"

"Okay then" Mercy nodded as she held out a hand to Rocky, a grin forming on her face despite the situation "Back to action?"

**Author's Notes:**

Okay so it feels like this arc is definitely taking longer to get the motor running but at the same time it's needed and it still works.  
Still getting into my new writing routine, but the RWBY story I've been working on for three and a half years is now officially complete so Aegis is now my only ongoing project.  
I feel like there's something I want to say here but I can't for the life of me remember what it is, it's been a long week.

So anyway, let's summarise shall we?  
The Lightspeed Aquabase is cool but thinking about how it affects everything around it is an interesting bit of world building.  
Justin has been a very busy guy.  
Common sense, the best way to not get caught is to look like there's nothing to catch; someone sneaking around draws more attention than just putting a hi-vis jacket on and walking straight in.  
So, Billy's plan is continuing and Justin has a part in it….And we're using pronouns instead of names because it's a surprise but one of my readers has already figured out who's coming soon.  
Look….sometimes thirst is eternal, even in crazy situations. Aslaug is built like a tank and Mercy finds that hot, no judgement.  
It's rare Aslaug looks vulnerable.  
See, if you've read my writing in the RWBY fandom then you'll know that cock-blocking is an art I have completely mastered.  
And now the Rangers have a plan, Billy has a plan and the boss of Empire security on this planet has a plan.  
Rensa following Rocky makes sense, he's had his own issues and was raised on an Empire Prison World, he has the most experience of what Rocky's dealing with and can talk to him in a way that the others can't.  
"_What's a Jiminy Cricket?"  
_So Rensa is really good at tracking and hunting people down….He didn't even see who Rocky was following for several hours, that's how good Rocky is.  
So that's where Rocky's been at mentally for a while now, willing to kill someone to stop a potential problem.  
The talk between Rensa and Rocky was interesting t write, because Rensa by a lot of standards is not a morally good person, but with where Rocky is at he still looks like light at the end of a tunnel.  
What you thought Justin was gonna be involved in a jailbreak and not involve his literal ninja of a boyfriend?  
"_Package"_ and that's all I'll say.  
Kazama was never a Ranger, he was a tech guy; like Cam if Cam never became the Samurai Ranger.  
Shadow Ninjas next chapter.  
Waking up to arguments, fun times.  
So Rocky isn't on board with the plan.  
And now we have a, presumably working hybrid Morpher….Because as Tempestus noted in his heart to heart with Billy a few arcs back; he doesn't invent a lot of new stuff but he can repair anything.  
Mercy threw a few barbs in that argument.  
Mari is the Mum friend and it shows even when she isn't actively doing it.  
I like the idea that the hybrid Morpher just constantly hums and buzzes, like the Dark-Sabre from Star Wars because of how cobbled together it is.  
I think Rocky's reaction was appropriate.  
It felt right that Mercy stepped up and said that the plan was going ahead either way, this is her without Mission Control to fall back on, this is Mercy being forced to grow into a more independent leader.  
And now Rocky is ready….Back to action indeed, I really do love using that line to emotional effect.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
You're right to be excited  
You're also right to be worried.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


	56. Ministry Of Fear

Power Rangers & All associated trademarks are property of Hasbro

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

**Chapter 55 – Ministry of Fear**

The mission called for stealth.

The twin suns of Mercator had set over the industrialised worlds' Capital City as a blanket of oppressive darkness fell over the twisted spires that reached into the smog-choked and endless shanty towns between them the Rangers had set out from Rocky's safe house, making their way through the city itself and keeping close to the lost veteran Ranger who now walked with a renewed air of authority and quiet control about him, each of the teens realising as they went just how truly bleak and threatening the city became once night had fallen. Gouts of roaring flames and noxious, ominously glowing waste from factories being belched high into the air lit the way overhead whilst the path most directly ahead of them was illuminated by flickering neon signs, glyphs and markings being daubed on walls and doorways in substance that glowed in a wider range and spectrum of colours than human eyes could see whilst the patrons of these late-running business, along with the shiftless, the inebriated and the destitute all glowered at the Rangers as they passed; giving Mercy the unshakeable feeling that this was all some ploy and that they were walking into an ambush though she refused to entertain the idea, much less speak it out loud.

Fortunately though the Ragged Ones, the cloaked and sadistic occupying force that kept Mercator and its' natives under control were seemingly elsewhere; with the Rangers having seen neither them or the misshapen hunting beast Putties that they employed thus far.

They had reached the communications tower and viewed it from the vantage point that Kay and Panthera had initially sighted it from, making adjustments to their plan and waiting until one group of overworked and downtrodden workers were preparing to be replaced by another so that they could make their move during the handover period before the eight of them crept closer to the perimeter walls of the enormous communications tower and now Mercy was pressed with her back against a wall, making herself as small as possible as she hid in an alleyway, waiting for the perfect moment to strike whilst trying her best to ignore the feeling of her heart hammering in her chest and focusing instead on Aslaug's hand clasping her own.

"They're taking too long, I don't like this" surprisingly it wasn't Rocky who had voiced their concerns but Marigold, the Gold Aegis Ranger was admittedly the least experienced of the team and in her current condition with an outfit that had once been pristine now stained and ripped along with the dark rings around her wide and frantic eyes she looked haunted and harrowed. Mercy could easily sympathise with her concerns as she was hardly comfortable with this situation herself and casting her eyes around she saw that Kay wore a mask of stoicism that failed to hide their nerves as they held a slightly trembling Tempestus upright whilst Rocky and Aslaug wore similar expressions of grim determination though it seemed almost certain that their private thoughts were vastly different.

Panthera and Rensa were still absent.

The Pink and Black Aegis Rangers had slunk over a partially collapsed section of wall into the vast compound from which the massive, many branched tower that they sought to infiltrate rose; the two of them having the best night vision and being by far the most adept at going unseen and there had been no sign of or word from them in over ten minutes, causing unbidden thoughts and worries to creep into Mercy's mind; doubts whispering treacherous ideas about her friends having been captured and killed to her despite her best efforts to silence them until a noise above her caused her to jump out of her skin, instinct and training vying for dominance as she tried to both block the unseen assailant and reach for her Morpher in the same instant.

"Relax, it's me" Panthera's low and husky voice announced in a whisper as she dropped into alleyway, giving Kay's hand a reassuring squeeze as she passed them before addressing the group as a whole

"We've taken out the cameras around that break in the wall" she informed them hurriedly "We've got a route into the main tower and Rensa is safe….he's getting ready to cause a distraction; we can do this without Morphing and attracting attention but we get one chance and it has to be now" the news hit Mercy like a physical blow and she needed several seconds that she was painfully aware that she didn't have to process the information before nodding in understanding and taking a deep breath to steady herself before turning to Tempestus who continued to use Kay for support

"You gonna be okay?" the Aquitian shook his head, not in response but in an effort to focus himself, brushing flakes of dried and brittle skin and chitin or cartilage like tissue from the mask of bony outcroppings around his face and taking in a shaky gulp of air himself before finally managing to answer

"I'll be okay" his voice was weak and wavering yet despite this Mercy found herself forced to believe her friend, knowing that she and her fellow Aegis Rangers simply could not afford to wait any longer; with that in mind she spoke again, addressing Rocky and Panthera primarily

"Okay, let's do this" and with that they were in motion; Panthera leading the way with Mercy close behind, the Red Aegis Ranger having Aslaug and Rocky at her right hand and Mari, Kay and Tempestus only a step behind as they rushed out of the shadows and hopped over the section wall that appeared as though something had crashed into it at some point in the past; landing silently within the Dark Empire installation and all but dragged into the cover of darkness once again by Panthera until, mere seconds after springing into motion the seven of them were hidden under a group of parked vehicles and in the darkest recesses available to them, waiting with baited breath for some signal that Rensa planned to give them.

The signal came after, in the form of an explosion of fire blossoming into existence on the other side of the compound.

"Now!" Mercy hissed the gritted teeth "Let's move!"

"Follow me!" Panthera ordered as she slunk out from under the vehicle that the two of them had hidden under, the entire group taking care to stick to the shadows and keep hidden as they rushed forwards once again; not allowing their eagerness to cloud their judgement as they slipped between small sheds and huts and other adjacent buildings to the long range communications tower until finally an entrance could be seen, just as Panthera had promised and it was plain to see that it had been left unguarded by security forces that had grown complacent and disorganised with inactivity; the bases' entire security likely sprinting towards whatever it was Rensa had blown up to get their attention.

Mercy found herself disabused of such notions a moment later when a dull crack pierced the air and a beam of light from some unseen snipers' weapon seared the ground in front of her, forcing her to come skidding to a halt and weave aside with the other Rangers following suit, achingly close to their goal

"ON MY POSITION!" a rattling hiss of a voice called out, the sniper announcing their location on the roof of one of the smaller buildings nearby "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! THE EXPLOSION WAS A DIVERSION!"

"Damn it, we've been made!" Panthera spat venomously "What now?"

"We stick to the plan, there's no choice!" Mercy called back, gritting her teeth as she pressed onwards, steadfastly refusing to look in Rocky's direction and see the disappointment or vindication etched into his features; instead she cast her eyes around as she continued to evade incoming attacks, painfully aware of the fact that enemy infantry was drawing closer by the second as she sought out the sniper that continued to fire on them.

She was allowed a fresh spark of hope as she caught sight of the reptilian alien wielding some unknown weapon a moment before Rensa announced his presence, the emaciated husk of a teen slipping out of the darkness to tackle their assailant from the roof; knocking them unconscious before bolting towards his fellow Rangers with fluid and graceful movements that were strikingly at odds with the rare panicked urgency in his voice

"We need to move, now!"

"COME ON!" Mercy yelled, urging the Aegis Rangers to move faster still until, finally they crossed the threshold of the communications tower, making it inside without being targeted by any sniper though as they did so the first wave of incoming enemies could be seen rushing into view with weapons at the ready.

"Damn it" Rocky growled, hands flying to his newly restored Morpher almost unconsciously "This isn't going well"

"Not a problem" Panthera assured him, pushing her way passed the veteran Ranger and ripping open a control panel for the doors, the first volley of shots ripped through the open doorway and the sound of alien war-cries growing deafening until, with a small smirk at her victory Panthera managed to seal the entrance, the re-enforced and armour plated metal plates sliding into place with a groan and a clank that was followed a moment later by the sound of lasers and other ranged weapons impacting against the sealed entrance to no effect

"That won't hold them forever but it'll hold 'em for now" Panthera informed the others.

"Good" Mercy panted out, catching her breath "Plan's still good….we made it this far, we can make it the rest of the way"

"We just need to find a control room" Kay murmured

"Don't worry Mercy" Marigold stepped forward, squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw in an effort to overcome her fears and be the Power Ranger that those around her believed that she could be "We're with you, we can do this"

"As great as this moment is" Rocky drawled irritably "I'm worried that we haven't seen the Ragged Ones….they should be here"

The moment he spoke the lights were extinguished, casting them into darkness; the sound of doors sliding open and closed throughout the massive tower and footsteps rushing towards them filling the air, punctuated by the sounds of panels within the walls sliding open and the crackle of a communication system being activated.

The enemy had been expecting them and they had walked into a trap.

* * *

Cleobis-Radix let out a buzzing, chittering laugh as he studied the looks of fear on each of the intruders' faces; the pincers adorning his bulbous abdomen clacking together as his countless whip and vine like appendages flexed and writhed, the tendrils uncoiling from the appearance of more humanoid limbs that they had been sculpted into for a brief moment; the abominable creatures' eyes shifted in colour with their mood until finally settling on a sickly yellow flecked with a vivid green as they opened an audio channel, one that could be heard throughout the communications tower as whilst he intended to speak directly to the insurgents he was doing so as a performance and show of power for his own followers to heed; another bout of laughter escaping him before he spoke, his voice echoing across the complex

"Alliance insurgents, traitors to the illustrious Empire of the great Lord Zedd and other assorted gutter-filth….You have been captured and your deaths are a foregone conclusion; choose now whether you wish to simply surrender or if you plan to suffer more '_entertaining'_ fates at the hands of my forces" the aliens' eight eyes shifted in colour once again, settling on a fleshy pink marked with splotches of purple as he watched a young human woman whose curly hair sported red tips begin giving orders; the insurgents had made their choice and it was clear that they intended to fight to the inevitable end. Their pedipalps flexed and a buzzing drone of annoyance escaped them as a camera feed was sent offline, the obvious leader of the group despite being far from the eldest having a teal skinned and violet haired Felidae rip the security away from the wall before the eight of them bolted, heading deeper into the building and ascending through several levels in an impressively short amount of time, the night vision of some of their number and a level of discipline and experience that was rare in ones so young allowing them to not only detect and avoid the hidden weapons systems mounted in the walls that sent bolts of coruscating light ripping through the hallways but also to simply barrel through the first line of defence that they encountered, a small group of security forces armed with small firearms and clad in light armour who could do seemingly nothing at all to stop these unarmed fighters.

That would simply not do at all.

Cleobis-Radix's expression, unreadable as it was to most became one of silent anger as he watched his plans meet their first stumbling block, yet it was one he had anticipated and prepared for. Knowing that these attackers intended to use the long range communications system for their own ends the alien had left the festering solitude of his own domain to oversee this operation in person and had brought the Ragged Ones, their hunting beast Putties and dozens of other security personnel here whilst also having the staff sent elsewhere so that they could not be captured or any traitors within their ranks could do no harm. Despite his boasts Cleobis-Radix had no plans to kill the intruders, at least not immediately; he was astute enough to understand that the insurgents would be far more valuable to him alive, living and coherent prisoners with sharp minds filled with information regarding plots against the Empire and the whereabouts of their fellow agitators would make a far more worthy tribute to Lord Zedd than simple corpses and would see him rise to a position of prominence far above the one that he had inherited and so, with a twisted sense of predatory glee he continued to watch the intruders scramble through the darkened corridors before realising that they were progressing far faster than he was comfortable with.

"An admirable effort, scum" Cleobis-Radix buzzed into the intercom system "But no further" with that he reached out with his tendril-like limb and entered a series of commands which caused a series of heavily armoured plates to begin sliding from the walls and ceiling, blocking off the various routes that the intruders could take; the alien taking a moment to relish the particularly terrified looks on each of their faces as one such blast door cut through the middle of the group; leaving the Aquitian, the older human male, the dark-eyed wretch and one of the human females on one side whilst the leader of the group, the towering slab of muscle that accompanied her, the Felidae and the being who looked as though they may be some sort of hybrid on the other.

"You will die here" the alien almost cooed, only for the words to die in his throat and his eyes to shift into a pale grey colour in fright as something he was entirely unexpected for occurred. Flashes of colour filled the hallway on either side of the blast door as seven of the eight intruders, all of them save for the older human male produced devices mounted on their wrists and were transformed into something that Cleobis-Radix had bee entirely unprepared for.

Power Rangers.

"No, no, no" he muttered frantically under his breath, killing the communication feed as he attempted to salvage his plan. He could not relent now, to do so would be certain death and so to would failure yet the fact remained that even with all of the forces at his disposal it was clear that the balance of power had shifted in the enemies' favour; with his mandibles clacking Cleobis-Radix opened a private communication channel to each of the squad leaders stationed throughout the maze-like tower.

"Lethal force! Kill them all! Move to intercept and slay the Power Rangers, we will be rewarded by Lord Zedd himself for our actions here today! Squad One I will move to assist you personally" underappreciated throughout the ranks of the Empire he may have been but Cleobis-Radix was still a Dark Empire warrior and Acheron hybrid and his skills and power would still prove critical, though before he made good on his promise to aid his fellow warriors he had one last task to perform no matter how much he might loathe it, if he were to call for aid from any of the city states neighbouring Mercator he would almost certainly be usurped within a matter of days and his death would be seen as the natural order of things.

And so instead he sent an emergency broadcast out into the stars so that any nearby warships could intervene.

* * *

The maximum security prison was one that officially did not exist, the black-site a dirty secret within the upper echelons of Project Lightspeed and the Alliance as a whole that had made many former Power Rangers uncomfortable upon learning of its' existence; seeing the place as something altogether too close to the kind of treatment that the various enemies they had faced would inflict upon their prisoners. As secretive as it was the site needed to be called something, though the tame and unsuspecting numerical designation that it had been given officially was rarely, if ever used as those who worked at or even simply referred to the place had collectively agreed upon a name that had begun to work its' way into what few reports were ever circulated about the place.

The Dark Dimension.

It was not the Dark Dimension that Goldar had once held sway over, though that incorporeal realm did, as far as anyone knew still exist and was merely waiting to be claimed by a new occupant; instead this prison had been named after that place and the name alone was enough to make Sensei Kazama visibly uncomfortable.

This facility was patrolled largely by state of the art robots, whose workings the Fire Academy Ninja had been made intimately aware off by Justin; the robots in turn were monitored by a team of dozens of experts located in a secondary secure facility close by with hundreds of armed soldiers and military hardware on stand by should a full-scale assault or attempt to take control of the machines in order to free the prisoners ever be attempted whilst under normal circumstances the living crew of the Dark Dimension and the inmates would never interact.

The prison had been made to house Dark Empire prisoners of war after all and housed only the worst offenders; spacefaring pirates, Empire grunts most other interplanetary threats that were captured could be processed and face some form of justice but each and every prisoner here had personally overseen the ending of millions of lives.

With the sole exception being the woman Kazama was searching for.

"I can't believe they have a human in here" he murmured

"After what she did, there's no other place for her….except perhaps a shallow grave" the reply came from Kazama's side and the speaker was largely hidden from view, his lithe frame clad in an entirely black outfit which seemed to be an odd union of classic ninja attire and state of the art tactical equipment, a sword slung across his back and held in place by a bandolier which also fixed a laser rifle and several grenades to his chest, the cowl covering his face being adorned with night vision goggles. The man beneath the cowl was Genko Adachi, long time friend of Kazama's, alumni of the Shadow Ninja Academy and former Black Ranger of the second team of Power Rangers to use the moniker 'Ninja Storm'

"A fair point" Kazama nodded before casting his eyes around again, searching in vain for any sign of where his target might be; the facility was utilitarian and minimalist but not in the futuristic way that many Alliance establishments favoured, instead of gleaming chrome and pristine white every surface here seemed to be a shade of drab grey; featureless walls illuminated by flickering lights and the faint glow of energy fields whose constant thrumming was the only sound to be heard and had likely driven more than one prisoner to insanity formed a never-ending maze which spanned for miles both above and below the ground in a location that Kazama was truthfully unsure of; the corridor was lined with cameras and other sensors that were currently being tricked by some magic of Genko's, the Shadow Ninja being adept in arts that Kazama found frankly unsettling and the cells of the various prisoners, each cell modified specifically to contain the alien held within.

The sound of metallic footfalls alerted Kazama to an approaching robotic guard and suddenly his heart was in his throat and years of training came rushing to the fore, clamping down on his fears the Fire Ninja widened his stance and mastered his breathing has he held his hands ahead of him, the first sparks of what would soon become a raging inferno flickering into existence around them until he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"No, there's no need" before Kazama could react he felt Genko tug him towards the nearest wall and the Fire Academy Ninja caught the briefest glimpse of a modified Alpha droid before being pulled in a portal that the former Black Ninja Ranger had opened, a swirling void that deposited them silently in another identical hallway that could have been mere feet away or several miles with no way to tell, the sound of roared threats and fists impacting against protective barriers informing Kazama that their arrival had been noticed by at least one of the prisoners, even if none of the aliens could see out into the corridor

"We need a plan" Kazama said simply, Justin had warned him that this task would be difficult but it seemed he had underestimated it still

"I have one" Genko assured him, the former Ranger having grown to become his former mentors' equal in the intervening years "Wait here"

with that the Shadow Ninja opened another portal and slipped away, with Kazama being entirely unsure where until he heard muted talking from inside one of the cells and realised with a sinking sense of horror that his old friend was attempting to reason and bargain with a captured Dark Empire Commander or some other interplanetary despot whose crimes were too great to comprehend.

And then there was the unmistakable thud of a body hitting the floor and Genko appeared in a fresh swirling vortex of darkness.

"What did you do?" Kazama demanded, both shocked and undeniably impressed

"I brought snacks" Genko answered simply, in a tone that made it very clear that beneath his cowl he was wearing a smugly satisfied smirk before adding "I guessed we'd have to talk to someone and I guessed that prison food being garbage is universal, so I traded information for snacks….Which I may or may not have laced with a 'very' powerful sedative"

"You can be scary sometimes Genko, you know that right?" Kazama chuckled, a feeling of nostalgia striking him as he was reminded of just how unorthodox in his tactics Genko had been as a Power Ranger.

"This way" the former Black Ninja Ranger said simply gesturing towards a corridor that, whilst being indistinguishable from the rest of the prison somehow had the feeling of being deeper in its' bowels

"You're sure?"

"The prisoners are allowed out to eat in small groups" Genko answered as he led the way "They're under heavy surveillance but she's the only human here, people talk and some of the prisoners are telepathic; word got around about the Alliance traitor….They keep her isolated" with that harrowing thought the two of them continued on in silence, Kazama reaching into the folds of his own Ninja attire to produce the small, easily hidden and remotely activated teleporter that Justin had made specifically for this purpose; the faint tug in the back of his mind as Genko used ever more power and struggled to blind and deafen the various security measures informing him of just how high risk his target was considered to be until finally they reached the end of a dimly lit hallway with only a single, matte black painted and heavily armoured door ahead of them.

"This is the place, I'll get you in and keep watch….Security apparently patrol four times an hour here"

"Got it, I'll be as fast as possible" Kazama nodded, stepping forwards into the whirling portal of shadows that Genko created and shuddering at the sensation of being plunged into icy nothingness as he did so. When he emerged he was inside the cell and was promptly confronted with its' lone occupant whom he realised looked different to what he had been expecting.

She had been mid push-up when Kazama had entered her cell yet the young woman had lost a considerable amount of the muscle mass and definition that she had once possessed, her figure now being thin in an unhealthy way that was only made more noticeable by how pale her skin had become with the lack of sunlight, her brown hair had been cut and cropped close to her skull in what was presumably a standard prison haircut whilst her cheeks appeared hollowed and sunken and dark rings around her eyes exaggerated her wary gaze

This was Charlie Morales, former commander of Alpha Squad; heir apparent to Commander Anubis Cruger turned traitor to the Alliance and humanity.

"Fire Ninja...Why?" she managed to croak out, her voice a hoarse and almost metallic rasp after being unused for so long, yet the sharp alertness of her gaze and the fact that she could identify Kazama so easily made it clear that he mind had not deteriorated; he stepped forwards and carefully placed the teleporter on the ground between before speaking.

"Hello Charlie" his voice was entirely devoid of warmth and his gaze held nothing but contempt for the traitor "Things have gone very, very wrong….And you have a chance to redeem yourself"

* * *

A Putty exploded into shrapnel as Mercy's katana tore through its' chest and midsection as she continued onwards.

She, Aslaug, Panthera and Kay had morphed the moment they had been separated from Tempestus, Marigold, Rensa and Rocky with the intention of breaking through the blast door that had separated them only to find themselves unable to do so, Kay and Marigold had both unleashed their considerable firepower yet the Green and Gold Aegis Rangers Rangers had seen their energy based attacks unsuccessful and with their separation it was impossible for the Power Blaster to be formed; footsteps rushing towards them and orders being barked in an alien tongue and both sides of the blast door informed the Rangers that time was not on their side and that they needed to act; at this point Rocky, who was yet to use his newly remade Morpher had promised Mercy that he would keep her friends safe and the two quartets of Rangers had split up, each of them taking separate routes in their attempt to reach a control room from which they would be able to contact the Alliance.

Both groups had run into resistance however.

"We've trained for this! Mercy barked "Keep pushing through!" the four of them burst into another long and darkened corridor though her eyes had steadily become accustomed to the gloom with the aid of her visor, a series of blast doors cutting off various branches and possible escape routes caused each of their stomachs to plummet until they saw that their were stairwells and signage that Kay would likely be able to read.

The problem was the warbling swarm of Putties that barred their way.

"Let's go!" Mercy yelled as she charged, the Putties that stood against them were of the regular variety, upright and humanoid with the arcane light that filled their eye sockets piercing the gloom though whether there was a Dread Forge somewhere in this city or the automatons had been made elsewhere was impossible to say. The Red Aegis Ranger crashed into their midst with devastating force, her sword vanished in a shower of incandescent crimson embers as she thrust her right arm out to block the wild swing of the first Putty, the strike sending her arm sailing over its' shoulder before she grasped it by the back of the head and pulled the automaton forwards as she leapt into the air, silencing the first Putty's chattering as she drove her knee into its' chest. Several more were on her in an instant and she continued her assault without hesitation, landing amidst the debris that had been a Putty a second before and launching a spinning back kick at a second Putty, the blow slipping through the automatons' sloppy attempt at defence and crushing it entirely, from there Mercy was a force of nature laying waste to all around her as she carried her spin into a vicious left backhand to the jaw of a third Putty that was then shattered as she drove her right elbow into its' torso before she clenched both fists together and swung a hammer-blow into the abdomen of the fourth, leaving it doubled over long enough for the Red Ranger to vault over it and deliver a flying kick to a fifth Putty before whirling around and crushing the still prone construct with a spinning kick and a flourish that sent rubble ricocheting off of the walls whilst Mercy sought out a fresh target.

Panthera was close behind Mercy and the Pink Aegis Ranger was as precise and devastating in her attacks as always, striking without warning or mercy. The first chattering construct was felled when Panthera vaulted off of the wall beside her and seized the thing by the skull to drag it to the ground where she proceeded to slam it bodily into the floor until its' from crumpled and shattered; without pausing she launched a series of low sweep and elbow strikes into the Putties that attempted to swarm over her, blows that would have left a living opponent with broken limbs and internal bleeding yet merely left the warbling masses of living stone stunned for long enough for her to deliver a series of crushing elbow strikes and rake her armoured claws through the central Z plate of each automaton, leaving her stood in the centre of a ring of rubble and debris.

Aslaug was as straightforward in her approach as ever, letting out a fierce battle cry as she charged into the Putties that had managed to slip through the onslaught of Mercy and Panthera and simply drove her shoulder into the entire body of the first construct she reached, her attacks came without the grace and fluidity of Mercy's fighting style or the controlled brutality of Panthera but their wild ferocity combined with her sheer power gave them a quality all of their own and the Putties could do nothing to stand against her; a dozen or more stony bodies being reduced to crumbling masses of shapeless debris in mere moments as she rampaged through them, her fists, feet, knees and elbows claiming several Putties with each blow until finally the Yellow Aegis Ranger had brought herself level with Mercy and ended her attack by completely nullifying a group of automatons that lunged at them both, kicking the lead Putty in the chest and sending it hurtling backwards into the rest of its' allies to cause a chain reaction of destruction.

The air around Kay was charged like the moments before a thunderstorm as the Green Aegis Ranger extended their open palm and fired a beam of emerald light into the skull of an oncoming Putty, leaving magma spewing from the stump of its' neck before kicking the thing aside as its' headless form continued to thrash and flail with only marginally less coordination; from there they saw that the Red, Pink and Yellow Rangers had the situation largely in hand and they proceeded to advance on the nearest stairwell, securing the way forward by crushing any of the few remaining Putties that were foolish enough to draw close, their glowing fists ripping through the animated stone with ease as Kay fought with calm and deliberate motions until finally they were sent reeling back by the force of something colliding them at great speed, the Dragon Shield protecting them as jagged claws raked against its' surface in a shower of sparks.

"GET DOWN! Panthera called out, giving Kay a moment to weave aside as the Pink Ranger's curved blades ripped through the space that they had occupied and struck the figure that had lunged at them, the Green Ranger only truly realised upon watching the thing collapse into ruin that they had been assaulted by one of the snarling and misshapen hunting beast Putties.

The realisation sent a wave of cold fear through them, which spread to his allies a moment later as the sound of snarling filled the air. Several more of monstrous constructs stalked into view appearing from the same stairwell that the Rangers had intended to use with the clawed limbs scratching the ground and their glowing eyes lighting the darkness around them, proving that the Rangers were on the right track but making it clear that they would not be allowed to advance without consequence and though the hunting beast Putties had slipped their chains the sound of clanking and rattling metal still followed them as a group of three figures stepped into view, their forms hidden beneath the tattered rags they wore and each of them exuding silent menace.

The Ragged Ones had come to collect their bounty

* * *

In her comparatively short tenure as a Power Ranger Marigold Utahima had become well acquainted with the sensation of fear, nothing in her training having prepared her for the roiling maelstrom of dread that had steadily become her norm no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, the plummeting of her stomach with each reveal of the Dark Empire's plans and the quiet whispering of doubts and worries in the back of her mind whenever she attempted to relax; yet in the twisting and darkened hallways of the communications tower Mari had morphed and once again the fear had been pushed away, thoughts that she was merely a poor stand in for the woman intended to carry her Morpher and memories of previous of previous failures being silenced.

She was a Power Ranger and fear was beneath her.

Time seemed to slow and bend both around her and to her whims as she moved, weaving around incoming laser-fire with speed and fluidity that defied what was possible, the golden cloak of her armour swirling around her dramatically as her Buster Pistols manifested in her hands and she took aim. Her targets were the group of admittedly well trained Dark Empire footsoldiers ahead of her; the visor of her helmet, encased in the stylised jaws of the Winged Lion of planet Leslie handled the darkness with ease and allowed her to see her surroundings. She along with Rocky, Tempestus and Rensa had searched for a different route towards where the control rooms were expected to be with Rocky's hard-earned experience of Dark Empire design principles having to suffice in place of Panthera and Kay's expertise; their progress had been slowed by this and only delayed even further by the near endless waves of attackers that threw themselves at the four Rangers at regular intervals, the latest of which was made up of a small group of alien infantry, fighters plucked from various species within the Empire who had positioned themselves at the far end of the corridor that the Rangers had been attempting to traverse and revealed the trap that they had laid when they had detonated a series of flash-bang and smoke grenades before unleashing a small mob of Putties from behind the various doors that lined the hallway.

Fortunately Putties were little threat to a Power Ranger in any circumstance.

Mari's pistols flashed as she opened fire, bolts of blinding light ripping through the air and ionizing the acrid smoke as it struck each of the enemy infantry in turn, armour that would have held against almost any other onslaught being rendered useless, leaving the aliens falling to the ground in rapid succession whilst the Gold Ranger herself remained largely unconcerned with the Putties until one of their number came rushing towards her; flailing in an attempt to knock her weapons aside only to meet its' end as she blocked and drove her elbow into the circular plate of its' chest before casting her eyes around and searching for her allies.

Tempestus, whilst clearly not at his best was faring far better now that the power of the Morphing Grid was flowing through him, bolstering his body as it had Marigold's mind; the Blue Aegis Ranger fought without his weapon and without much of his usual inhumanly fluid grace yet still the space around him was littered with the remains of felled Putties and Mari found herself staring as another was added into the heap of ruined stone, one of the rapidly thinning number of warbling automatons managing to land a punch on his helmet that echoed through the hallway with a resounding clang only for Tempestus to carry the momentum of the blow into a low spinning sweep, kicking the Putties' legs from beneath it before seizing one of them as he sprung upwards thereby slamming the construct into the ground before ending it with a crushing knee-strike.

Rensa fought in his regular Morphed state, either unwilling or simply reluctant to utilise the unrivalled power that his Battleizer afforded him and instead fought as he always had, using a brutal blend of speed, technique and unfettered animal savagery that was highlighted as he crushed the chests of two Putties at once by simply pouncing at them like the predatory monsters that stalked his home-world.

It was Rocky however that gave Marigold the most cause for alarm, the older Ranger fought a trio of Puttied at once and his limbs appeared as little more than a blur of motion, visible only as they impacted against stone bodies; the first Putty was destroyed as a maelstrom of jabs landed on its' torso yet before it could collapse under the barrage it was kicked backwards, its' crumbling body distracting a second Putty enough for Rocky leap over it, delivering a punishing aerial spinning kick before destroying the third Putty that had been flailing and chattering in search of an opening with a spinning backhand. What had truly stunned Marigold however was that all of this had been done in his unmorphed state.

"Why haven't you Morphed?" the Gold Aegis Ranger demanded incredulously, Rocky barely seemed to acknowledge her and instead scanned his surroundings as he dropped into a ready stance with practised ease, muscles coiling before he finally deigned to answer

"We never used to Morph for Putties, we should save our Power for when something worth it shows-"

"ONE HAS ARRIVED!" the voice that filled the air was a buzzing chittering drone, as though an entire swarm of furious insects had spoken at once, the sound echoing and seemingly coming from everywhere at once before the speaker revealed themselves fully in a nightmarish show of force.

None of the Rangers were ready.

Cleobis-Radix had been present the entire time, using the smog of the smoke grenades his infantry had thrown to move into position, his myriad vine and tentacle like limbs unfurling from the tightly woven masses sculpted into a bipedal form as he slithered and crept along the ceiling and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike; as the Rangers frantically glanced around in surprise the Acheron hybrid sent their hooked and barbed tendrils slithering down along the walls of darkened hallway and seized all four of his enemies in a single attack, flinging them to the ground and smashing their bodies against the walls and ceiling with thundering impact before casting them aside and focusing on a single target. The Blue Aegis Ranger's Morphed state flickered and wavered around him before finally failing to reveal that the Aquitian beneath it was clearly ill and suffering; the stench of rot driving Cleobis-Radix into a frenzy and the weakened state of his victim to much to ignore, the foul creature lowered himself from the ceiling above Tempestus with a twisted and murderous smile on his face as his segmented body curled in on itself so that the jagged pincers adorning his elongated abdomen could be brought to bare; the Blue Ranger was powerless and his death would have been a victory that saw Cleobis-Radix earn the respect of Lord Zedd himself.

Then a blur of motion halted his ambitions.

"It's Morphing time! Blue Thunder Dragon!" the words left Rocky DeSantos of their own accord, the Power itself speaking through him as he activated the cobbled together Morpher that Tempestus had crafted for him; the Morph was a strange thing by the standard of Power Rangers and seemed unstable somehow, taking a moment to begin as a low thrumming bass-note filled the air and a grid of deep blue light seemed to wrap around the veteran Ranger before a flash engulfed him.

What stood in the grizzled mans' place when the light subsided however was truly awe inspiring.

The Blue Thunder Dragon Ranger was both unique, belonging to no team of Rangers and yet at the same time a perfect combination of the two Power Rangers that Rocky DeSantos had been until this point. The deep blue of the armour shone with a vibrant, electric blue light as though it were lit from within and was broken up by a white belt, boots, gloves and diamond pattern running around the torso that resembled the armour of Earths' original Power Rangers, yet each section of white armour was highlighted with a golden trim, laden with detailing that was clearly based on the Zeo Ranger suits and the gold armour also extended to broad and rounded shoulder pads. The twin inspirations also carried over to the helmet of the suit which featured the sculpted mouth and perfectly triangular visor of the Blue Zeo Ranger yet around, in the fashion of the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers was a snarling maw, that of the Dragon Thunderzord that the helmet was stylised to resemble; golden horns trailing behind the helmet and fangs reaching down into the glossy black surface of the visor whilst in Rocky's hand was a weapon that shone with the same aurora of power as his armour, a halberd that appeared as though the original Power Sword had been fitted to the tip of that same Dragon Thunderzords' staff.

"Another Ranger?" Cleobis-Radix buzzed "Another corpse to present to Lord Zedd" Rocky merely pointed his halberd at the alien, relishing the feeling of the Power filling him in a way he had not experienced in twenty years and his voice boomed and echoed as he spoke

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Cleobis-Radix, despite being an Acheron Hybrid and not so easily cowered complied with the demand, his whip-like limbs retracting and knitting themselves into facsimiles of more recognisable appendages as the alien took on a fighting stance, long lashing fingers splaying wide and the pincer of his tail arching over his head as his compound eyes shifted colour to a furious magenta. Rocky paid little attention to the monster and turned instead to Mari and Rensa, both of whom seemed awed to be in the presence of this newly reforged Power Ranger

"Help your friend….I'll handle this"

**Author's Notes:**

And now the ball is properly rolling.  
Two chapters left to go for this arc, things are gonna pick up pretty rapidly.  
Now once again I feel like there should be something here, like I'm forgetting something but oh well.

That being said, let's summarise shall we?:  
Really leaned into setting the scene at the start, just flexing how dystopian this place really is.  
Mercy should have trusted her Red Ranger senses.  
Mari is still the rookie of the team and that's not gonna change any time soon.  
Of course they sent Rensa and Panthera to scour ahead, they're the natural choice.  
Did any of you believe Tempestus when he said he'd be okay?  
What else would the signal be, of course it was an explosion.  
Nice save from Rensa, I just imagine him pouncing on people like the Raptors in Jurassic Park.  
Okay, I feel like I could have made the fight towards the tower an entire chapter all on its' own as the pushed across the no mans' land but I feel like it would have actually detracted from it; I wanted to it be a frantic mess of an operation followed by the oh shit moment of the lights going out and making the scene last longer wouldn't have worked.  
Cleobis-Radix is a little bitch, but he gives a good ultimatum.  
See, he's a smarter villain than what Power Rangers usually gives us and that's the kind I enjoy writing; ones with actual plans and ideas, even when they have faulty information.  
I originally planned for the separation to happen when the lights went out but I felt that scene was going on a little too long and that it might actually better to see just how casual Cleobis-Radix was with it.  
He didn't know that they were the Power Rangers, now he does and the plan has had to change immediately; those changes include calling for back up from Dark Empire forces off-world….Now, who do we know who was basically sent into exile at the end of the last arc?  
Of course the maximum security black-site in a Power Rangers story is called the Dark Dimension, also yeah Goldar's place is still there.  
Shadow Nina Academy, former Black Ninja Storm Power Ranger….of course he wears a suit that's a mix between cliché ninja garb and splinter cell.  
I really enjoy the Ninja Storm Rangers using their elemental abilities; also what Genko does isn't strictly teleporting, it's more like the rifts and portals that Lord Zedd rips open but on a much smaller scale and range.  
So…..there's definitely a potential spin-off regarding the second Ninja Storm team and hell, since I mentioned a brief second Lightspeed team and "Lightspeed Black" being a covert ops Ranger, even a possible team up.  
I'm sure you could all guess who we were going to see when I said Alliance traitor.  
Billy's plan is to find the Rangers who were last seen trying to get onto a Dark Empire ship to escape a shattering moon, who better to get involved than Charlie; one of humanities' best covert ops specialists who has boarded more Dark Empire ships than anyone else.  
Of course there's more blast doors corralling them; but once Cleobis-Radix leaves the control room that'll stop happening.  
Standard Putty fight, not too much to say really; Mercy is a standard Power Ranger style fighter, Panthera breaks limbs and fights dirty, Aslaug is a tank and Kay adds their extra power into their attacks by default.  
And now the Dark Empire's elite troops have showed up, time for a boss fight.  
I should probably do more character study moments for Mari  
The Putty fight for the second group was shorter and I'll be entirely honest it's because I wrote the rest of the chapter during the weekend and the last scene in smaller intervals after work during the week; but it was enough to convey the Ranger's character, Mari is highly capable, Tempestus is off-form and Rensa is just a beast.  
And of course Rocky doesn't morph to fight Putties, why would he.  
The bad-guy was there all along, he was literally hanging from the ceiling waiting to drop down like a creepy, fleshy Glados.  
Yeah Tempestus's Morph failed because he was already on the verge of collapsing and it was taking more from him just to stay upright.  
AND THERE IT IS, this is what you were all waiting for right? Rocky's new Morph.  
Okay, it's the Blue Thunder Dragon because obviously Rocky was the Blue Zeo Ranger and the Red Ranger; except he didn't pilot the Tyrannosaurus Zord so I felt like it could either be the Red Dragon or the Ninja Ape Zord and one of those things is decidedly cooler than the other.  
So basically you're looking at an MMPR suit, with gold shoulder pads, the gold detailing from the Zeo suits around the white bits and the blue Zeo helmet with the triangular visor but with the Dragon Thunderzord mouth sculpted into the top of the helmet….And he's got a halberd and the entire suit glows  
Also I think the whole "Unstable Morph" that was also a slight homage to the way the Zeo Rangers Morphed was a nice touch.  
So, second boss fight has started….Believe me when I say I've got more tricks in store for you.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.  
I'm glad you like my world building, it's one of my favourite parts of writing if I'm honest.  
You were right to be worried.  
So….How excited are you now?

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.


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